top of page

İstanΠόλις

Ottoman Census Registers Reading Group

Hilal Tümer, Marilena Bali, Elias Kolovos, Theodoros Tzanatos, Ayşe Ozil.

 

This project aims to decipher 19th century Ottoman Census Registers, called defters, to create a dataset of Rum communities and parishes. Information collected includes household and family relations, profession, place of origin, tax status, and even physical descriptions of individuals. 

Data Cleaning

Due to a lack of standardization among census questions throughout the period, early iterations of this project included transliteration of the defters and later input of data into a spreadsheet.

Data Visualization 

This data has allowed us to create large scale spatial understands of Rum neighborhoods through mapping of individuals homes and place of work. Comparing different census data creates a more nuanced understanding of the Rum community’s dynamism and evolution through time.

Monthly Meetings

The reading group gathers online once a month to discuss the defters. Those interested in joining are welcome to contact us. Please consult to this link for an index of names we gather at the registers. 

istanpolis1923@gmail.com

© 2023 by İstanΠόλις Collaborative. Created on Editor X.

bottom of page