Abstract:

Hurufat Books are books in which franchise contents related to daily appointment to charitable foundation institutes and promotion processes are recorded. These books have been kept in alphabetical order and they generally involve the period between the late of XVII. Century and the first half of XIX. Century.  The charitable foundation processes in the books have been recorded under related district in accordance with transaction date and alphabetical order.  The large majority of the processes in question are about the new promotions to the charitable foundation institutes. The reasons of these promotions are different and they have generally been done by kadi or naib’s offer. Apart from these promotions, there have been some which have been done by trustee or neighbourhood vestry’s offer, too. However, it is obvious that shaykh al-islam’s approval has been applied in promotions of religious men such as mudarris. Studies made on the basis of Hurufat notebooks present very important data in terms of history of a city. Such studies exhibit the religious structures of a city such as mosque, masjid, tekke, zaviye, hangah; educational institutions such as madrasa, school, darü'l-hadith, darü'l-kurra; and administrative structuring such as kaza, sanjak, township and villages in a detailed manner. When assessed in this direction, Hurufat records are important sources for the city's history in the period they were held.

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