Abstract:

A population census presents substantive data about the individuals in terms of gender, age, occupation, language, religion and education. Therefore, a population census occupies an important position in studying the sociological, economic and historical aspects of a society and making their social history. The first population census in Ottoman Empire, in a modern sense, was conducted during the reign of II Mahmud. This census, on the one hand, ascertained the number of male Muslims to be considered for military service and; on the other hand, it was used to identify the groups of jizya, a tax collected from the non-Muslims, in order to afford the needs of the new army which had replaced the Guild of Janissaries. In this study, the age groups and the rates of birth and death of Muslims and non-Muslims, and the jizya groups of non-Muslims, who lived in the central districts of Karahisar-ı Şârkî between 1835 and 1844, are examined with regard to the population registry numbered 1060 and 1064 in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archive

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