Abstract:

States have created systemic road networks in the lands under their control in order to strengthen transportation and facilitate their control. In the Ottoman Empire, roads are mainly divided into three as right, middle and left paths in Anatolia and Rumelia. In the Ottoman Empire, the center's contact and official communication with the countryside was carried out through various structures in different periods of the reign through main and secondary roads. These structures listed until the XIX. century as ulak hükmü, system of menzilhanes, in'am hükmü, kiracıbaşılık and postal organization. We can obtain informations about the menzils from the official documents, and also menzilnames are another sources that give information about menzils, settlements and roads. In this study, first of all, the Anatolian and Rumelian road networks in the Ottoman Empire will be briefly analyzed. Then, the studies in the menzilname literature will be examined under four main headings as military menzilnames, pilgrimage menzilnames, menzilnames that the states officials-ulaks used and studies that examine the menzils as an architecturally.

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