Abstract:

The most respectable resources presenting the financial status of Ottoman provincial organizations are budget and/or balance books recorded for the related province. Presenting income and expense budget data of the Kosovo Province will be one of the main references for socioeconomic studies to be carried on this region. In the present study, examining the budget and/or balance books recorded between 1878 and 1908 for the Kosovo province, we attempted to get a general idea about the financial status of the province. Moreover, we aimed to find out the total income and expense by determining the income and expense of foundations which were not recorded in the balance books. Comparing obtained financial data with the population of the province and calculatingincomeper capita gave the researcher the chance to evaluatefinancial status of Kosovo. According to these balance books, the most important income items were composed of tithe, cattle tax and virgü (a kind of special annual income tax). On the other hand, the most significant expenditure items were internal affairs, education and military. The gathered data made it possible to ascertain the level of development among the regions by determining income and expenditure per capita. Thus, in Kosovo Province, income per capita was around 42 kurus, expenditure was around 21 kurus. The balance of income and expenditure showed a surplus of 21 kurus. These figures are close to average of Ottoman Empire which was 45 kurus income per capita and 26 kurus expenditure.

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