Charity, Waqfs and Food in the Sixteenth Century of İstanbul
Sixteenth century Istanbul contained numerous imarets that fed significant population. Apart from the imarets, food was distributed through institutions such as dervish lodges, masjids, mektebs, madrasas and tombs. Of these, dervish lodges and mektebs in particular supplied food to the urban poor as well as to their own staff. Masjids had a role in meeting need for sustenance among the people living in their vicinity, while madrasas unlike other institutions, served food mostly to their staff. Among the aforementioned institutions, dervish lodges were the ones to which philanthropists allocated the most food. Dervish lodges were thus were the most important institution in food distribution after the imarets. The support of people called “mürîdîn and muhibbin” was particularly important in the distribution of food by the dervish lodges. Holy days and nights special significance as occasions for serving food in these lodges. Based on data in Tahrir Registers of Istanbul Waqfs dated 1546, this study discusses food waqfs, other than imarets. As this data shows, the philanthropists who donated food to the needy included people of modest means as well as those possessing enormous wealth.
XVI. Yüzyıl İstanbul’unda Hayırseverlik, Vakıflar ve Yemek
XVI. yüzyılda İstanbul’da geniş kitleleri besleyen birçok imaret bulunmaktaydı. Ancak imaretler dışında zaviye, mescit, mektep, medrese, türbe gibi kurumlar aracığıyla da yemek dağıtılıyordu. Bunlardan özellikle zaviye ve mektepler kendi sakinlerinin yanında dışarıdan muhtaç insanların yemek ihtiyacını da karşılıyordu. Mescitler de yakın çevrelerindeki ahalinin yemek ihtiyacının karşılanmasında önemli rol oynuyordu. Medreseler ise diğerlerinden farklı olarak daha çok kendi mensuplarına yemek veriyordu. Bahsi geçen kurumlar arasında hayırseverlerin en çok yemek tahsisatı tayin ettiği müesseseler zaviyelerdi. Zaviyelerin yemek dağıtımında imaretlerin ardından en önemli kurum olduğunu söylemek mümkündür. Zaviyelerde yemek dağıtımına “mürîdîn ve muhibbin” adıyla anılan kişilerin desteği büyük önem taşımaktaydı. Zaviyelerde yemek ikramında mübarek gün ve gecelerin ayrı bir önemi vardı. Bu çalışmada 1546 tarihli İstanbul Vakıfları Tahrir Defteri’ndeki verilere dayalı olarak, XVI. yüzyıl İstanbul’unda imaretler dışındaki yemek vakıfları ele alınmıştır. İhtiyaç sahibi kişilere yemek verilmesi için bağış yapan hayırseverler arasında mütevazı imkânlara sahip kimseler olduğu gibi mali kudreti yüksek kişiler de vardı.
Sixteenth century Istanbul contained numerous imarets that distributed food to a significant population. Alongside the imarets, food was allocated through institutions such as dervish lodges, masjids/mosques, mektebs, madrasas and tombs. Apart from these methods, food might also be allocated to the people of the neighborhood, the poor, etc. without mentioning any institution.
Among these institutions, dervish lodges were the foundations that received the greatest amounts donated by benefactors. The dervish lodges were the most important institutions for the distribution of food to the needy after the imarets. Not only did the patrons of these dervish convents meet the food needs of the poor, but also “müridin and muhibbin” provided significant support for this charitable work.
In terms of cooking and distributing food, the next most important institution after the dervish lodges was the masjids. Neverthless, the number of philanthropists who devoted food to masjids/mosques was less than half those who donated to dervish lodges. Most masjid/ mosque donations consisted of modest charitable givings. Generally, the residents of a neighborhood made donations to the masjids/ mosques in their vicinity to the extent of their limited resources.
Thanks to these foundations, many people, especially students, orphans, dervishes and the poor, received sustenance. Among these institutions, some supplied food to their staff and the poor in general, while others supplied only their staff. Dervish convents and mektebs met the needs of both their own staff and other needy individuals. Masjids also played a role in sustaining the people living in their immediate surroundings. Conversely, madrasas, unlike other institutions, served food only to their staff, particularly their students.
On holy days and nights (the nights of Berat, Regaip, Mevlid and Kadir, in the months of Ramadan, Shawwal and Rebi’ülevvel, in the month of Muharrem and on the day of Ashura, on the feast of Ramadan and sacrifice and on Fridays )food distribution was essential in the sixteenth century Istanbul. The foundations with the greatest food allocation, which required cooking and distribution on holy days, nights and months were the dervish lodges. Benefactors attached special importance to distributing food to the people on holy days and nights. Most strikingly, four of the most generous benefactors who provided for food to be served on on holy days and nights were women from the palace circle. Two of these women devoted food to the dervish lodges, while the other two devoted it to the mektebs. The importance of holy days and nights in the distribution of food was especially pronounced in the lodges. Notably, six benefactors also dedicated food for allocation after the recitation of the Quran.
Among the philanthropists who donated for food, some made small donations according to their limited means, while others donated very large sums. In other words, food foundations were institutions to which people from varous strata of the Ottoman society contributed.
Based on data in Tahrir Registers of Istanbul Waqfs dated 1546, this study discusses food waqfs, other than imarets. This source provides important data on the benefactors who established foundations, the sums they donated for food, the time period when the food was to be given, the institutions to which food donations were made, those who benefited from the distribution of provided by benefactors and lastly the materials used during the preparation of meals. Various tables have been prepared using the aforementioned data. And these reveal many details about the foundations other than imarets that distributed food in sixteenth century Istanbul. These tables are presented in the appendix of the article.
