Природна среда и модел на селищната система в българското пространство през XV–XVII век
The Natural Environment and a Model of Settlement System in the Bulgarian Habitat during XV–XVII Centuries

Summary/Abstract: The study concentrates on the settlement network in the Bulgarian habitat during the early centuries of the Ottoman rule. That network is considered as an indicator for the extend of development of the agriculture and how it was mastered by our people in its economic, cultural and social aspect. The analysis of the Ottoman “timar” registers shows that by the end of the XV century the settlement network has reached its limits for mentioning the human life and comprised the complex terraced natural releph from the Black Sea and the Aegean coasts up to 1000 meters altitude in the mountains. On the basis of the data of two “timar” registers for the sandjak of Tarnovo from the end of XV century, containing information about 442 settlements, a general model containing three separate features was reconstructed.The ratio of the distribution of the settlements in the planes, the foothills and the high mountains was 1:6:3. That uneven distribution of the density clearly shows preference for the middle zone, the especially low density in the planes and the relatively high degree of settlement in the high mountains. The model of the settlement network testifies for the achieved balance between the ecological realities of the Bulgarian habitat and the life of the Bulgarian generations which inhabited them which in turn determined the habitat’s intensive ethno-integrating function in the condition of the Ottoman conquest.

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