An Example of the Rumeli Eskinci Musellem Corps: The Ergene Musellems in the 15th-16th Centuries
Hacer AteşDuring the founding years of the Ottoman principalities, the first military units consisted of infantryman (yaya) and cavalryman (müsellem). Infantrymen participated in the war on foot, while the cavalryman participated on horseback. As a result of restructuring in the army, the positions of the cavalrymen changed over time, and they started to take on more background roles. The cavalrymen fulfilled certain duties such as road construction, cannonball production, mining, and castle restoration in return for their tax-exempt states. The Çirmen Sanjak was the most important musellem center in Rumelia, with the towns of Çirmen, Akça Kıznalık, Ergene, Hasköy, Tekfurdağı, Yenice-i Zağra, and Inecik being affiliated with Çirmen Sanjak. This study has been conducted by referring to various archive documents, especially the cadastral registers, and discusses the Ergene musellems, a branch of the Çirmen sanjak musellems. Ergene’s location is important due to being among the first conquered regions of Rumelia. For this reason, this study is thought to be able to contribute to the formation and structure of the early Ottoman military organization in Rumelia.
Rumeli Eşkinci Müsellemlerine Bir Örnek: XV-XVI. Yüzyıllarda Ergene Müsellemleri
Hacer AteşOsmanlı Beyliği’nin kuruluş yıllarında ordunun ilk düzenli askeri birliklerini piyâde (yaya) ve müsellemler (atlı askerler) teşkil etmekteydi. Ordudaki yeni yapılanmaların neticesiyle atlı olarak savaşa katılan müsellemelerin pozisyonları zamanla değişerek geri hizmet grubuna dahil edilmişlerdir. Bundan sonra müsellemler vergilerden muafiyetleri karşılığında yol açma ve temizleme, top güllesi yapma ve taşıma, maden hizmeti, kale tamiri, donanma için kürek yapımı gibi çeşitli hizmetlerde görevlendirilmişlerdir. Rumeli müsellemlerinin sayıca en kalabalık olduğu merkez Çirmen sancağıdır. Çirmen sancağı Çirmen, Akça Kıznalık, Ergene, Hasköy, Tekfurdağı, Yenice-i Zağra ve İnecik nahiyelerinden oluşmaktadır. Çalışmada bu nahiyeler içinden Ergene nahiyesi incelenmiştir. Bu sahanın seçilmesinde Ergene ve çevresinin Rumeli’de oluşturulan askeri-idari sistemin ilk örneklerinden olması etkili olmuştur. Başta tahrir defterleri olmak üzere çeşitli arşiv vesikalarından istifade edilerek hazırlanan bu çalışmada Rumeli eşkinci müsellemlerinin yapısı, Ergene nahiyesi özelinde incelenerek teşkilât yapısının oluşumu ve seneler içindeki değişiminin ortaya çıkarılması hedeflenmiştir. Çalışmanın Rumeli’de erken dönem askeri-idari teşkilât yapısının ortaya çıkarılmasına katkı sağlayacağı umulmaktadır.
The first military forces of the Ottoman principalities during the reign of Osman Gazi consisted of Turkmen groups. These military forces were unable to siege for long periods and sometimes failed to arrive at the battle in time. This necessitated the establishment of a permanent army. As a result, the decision was made to establish a permanent army consisting of Turkish youth. During the founding years of the Ottoman principalities, the first military units consisted of infantryman (yaya) and cavalryman (müsellem). According to the Ottoman chronicles, they are accepted as first becoming organized units during the time of Orhan Bey. Infantrymen participated in the war on foot, while the cavalrymen participated on horseback. However, as a result of restructuring in the army, the positions of the cavalrymen changed over time, and they started to take on more background roles, fulfilling certain duties such as road construction, cannonball production, mining, or castle restoration in return for their tax exempt status. The Çirmen Sanjak was the most important musellem center in Rumelia, with the towns of Çirmen, Akça Kıznalık, Ergene, Hasköy, Tekfurdağı, Yenice-i Zağra, and Inecik being affiliated with it. This study has been conducted by referring to various archive documents, especially the cadastral registers, and discusses the Ergene musellems, a branch from the Çirmen Sanjak. The city of Ergene was a part of Dimetoka when it was first established. However, due to the presence of many musellems in Ergene, it later became affiliated with the Çirmen Sanjak, the most important center of Rumelia. Musellems lived on farms called ocaks in peacetime. In the Ottoman literature, an ocak meant enough land to support a peasant family. Musellems made a living from the income they got from these farms. The population on musellem farms consisted of the musellems, the musellems’ assistants, called yamak, and the musellems’ sons, brothers, nephews, and freed slaves. When the musellems went to war, their yamak gave 50 akçe [small silver coins] to finance their war expenses. Musellems had served for many years in the Ottoman army but began to disrupt their service in the beginning of the 16th century. As a result of the changes made in the Ottoman military system, the number of musellems began to decrease toward the end of the 16th century. During the 16th century, the musellem corps were found in 14 villages in Ergene, with a total of 24 musellem corps present in these 14 villages. Toward the end of the 16th century, however, both the villages with musellem corps as well as the number of corps in the villages decreased significantly, with the musellem corps finally disappearing completely in the 17th century.
