Osmanlı Doğu Sınırında Bir Ticaret Bölgesi: 19. Yüzyıl Sonlarında Şemdinan’da Tütün Üretimi ve Satışı
A Trade Region on the Ottoman Eastern Frontier: Late 19th Century Tobacco Production and Sales in Shamdinan

Summary/Abstract: In the Ottoman Empire, tobacco quickly became a popular agricultural product and constituted one of the most important income items of the state. In the 19th century Ottoman Empire, one of the places where tobacco was produced was the Shamdinan district of Hakkari sanjak, which was neighboring Iran The tobacco grown in the region is Şemdinan tobacco, which is known for its distinctive structure due to its climate, fragrance and large leaves. The tax on Shamdinan tobacco was collected by the officials of the Reji Administration and those who refused to pay the tax and tried to sell it illegally were reported to the Ottoman administration. On the other hand, some of the practices of the Reji officials were met with reactions in the region and sometimes there were conflicts between the officials and the tobacco growing families in Shamdinan. In addition, there were disruptions in the transportation of tobacco to buyers in Iran, which bordered Shamdinan, and the goods of Shamdinan merchants were confiscated. This study draws on Ottoman archival materials to explain how tobacco production and trade in Shamdinan affected the socio-economic balance in the region in the 19th century. It also emphasizes the mobility of tobacco, an important source of income for the Ottoman Empire, in a border region.

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