Role of Foundations in the Reconstruction of Ottoman Cities and Towns

Abstract

Our aim in this study is not to discuss the establishment, functioning, and types of foundation institutions in detail. Our main aim is to emphasise the effects of the complexes, which are a collection of buildings and structures with different functions built within the foundation system in the Ottoman Period, on the construction, settlement, and therefore the physical development of cities and towns. With the zoning and construction activities carried out on cities, towns, and roads within the foundation institution, the needs of society in the fields of religion, education, trade, social, cultural, etc. were met. In addition, a significant part of the infrastructure (roads, bridges, water systems, etc.) works on cities, towns, and roads were carried out within the foundation system. While preparing this article, previous research and publications on this subject and our field studies based on many years have been utilised. The sources and publications used in the study are provided at the end of the article. In the establishment and development of Ottoman cities, social complexes and religious and social building communities were established in different parts of the cities and directed the formation of crowded districts. In Turkish-Islamic cities, complexes were generally designed and built within the framework of a plan and programme. Within the complexes, there are structures with different functions that meet the needs of the people of the city and town. These complexes can be found in almost all Ottoman cities and towns, especially in capitals such as Bursa, Edirne, and Istanbul. They also appear as benzil social complexes built on the main roads connecting these cities and towns. In this way, in addition to the physical shaping and development of cities and towns, the needs of their inhabitants were also met. New neighbourhoods bearing the same name as the social complexes emerged around these complexes built within the foundations, and thus, the new population coming to the city settled in these neighbourhoods. In addition to the three capitals of the Ottoman Empire (Bursa, Edirne, Istanbul), we can often see this situation in Balkan cities such as Skopje, Ishtip, Tetovo, Salonica, Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka, Dimetoka, Elbasan, Berat, Prizren, Plovdiv, Rhodes, Crete, Zigetvar, and Pe & ccedil;; Anatolian cities such as Konya, Kayseri, Manisa, Amasya, Trabzon, and Diyarbakr; and cities in countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, and Crimea. These cities, which were within the borders of the Eastern Roman Empire before they came under Ottoman rule, gained the character of Ottoman cities in a short period of time with the rapid reconstruction and settlement activities initiated after their conquest.