Privilege and Practice in the Ottoman Chancery c. 1600: Kırklı Gedikliler
Journal: Osmanlı Araştırmaları
Year: 2023

As a measure of rationalization in the Ottoman central chancery after the Eğri campaign of 1596, forty imperial council secretaries (divan-ı hümayun katipleri) were granted permanent exemption from the campaign service required by their status as zeamet-holders. An archive register, KK 7530, lists these holders of ‘a position as one of the 40’ (kırklı gedikliler) and names 29 others who succeeded to vacancies in this group between 1598 and 1610. It is thus possible to examine over a twelve-year