Unrest in Northern Bulgaria. The Struggle for Supremacy between Trasteniklioglu and Yilikoglu (1800–1806)

At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, Northern Bulgaria became a scene of riots caused by the Ottoman Ayans. Osman Pazvantoglu, Trastenikoglu Ismail, and Yilikoglu Suleyman are some of them. The acute quarrel between Trastenikoglu and Yilikoglu covers the period from 1800 to 1806. The number of studies conducted on this topic in both Turkey and Bulgaria is quite small. The Presidential Archive contains nearly 200 documents on the Trastenikoglu and Yilikoglu affairs, with a large part containing information about the quarrel between the two Ayans themselves. After being appointed ayan of Ruse, Trastenikoglu began to operate with the center of Ruse, taking over the lands around Ruse and Tarnovo. Taking advantage of Napoleon's Egyptian march, which forced the Ottoman authorities to deal closely, Trastenikoglu succeeded in extending his power to include in his lands the lands of Svishtov, Razgrad, Omurtag, Shumen, Provadia, Varna, Dobrich, Sliven, Stara Zagora. Almost the entire Silistra sandzhak and the entire Black Sea coast from Constantsa to Midia was under his control. At the same time, he manages to limit the possessions of his rival Yilikoglu, forcing him to settle only with Silistra and Tutrakan. Yilikoglu himself was Delianorman's Ayan at the end of the 18th century and was later appointed Silistra's mutessellim. It is believed that at the beginning of the 19th century he was the second big ayan in northern Bulgaria after Trastenikoglu. The earliest information given by the Ottoman documents about Yilikoglu's atrocities and rebellions dates from 1897-1898. The present study aims to investigate the quarrel and rivalry between Trastenikoglu and Yilikoglu based on published and unpublished Ottoman documents from the Istanbul Archive. Particular attention will be paid to the social and economic impact of this struggle on the population in Northern Bulgaria.