Economic Development Models of Nahia Kara Lom Settlements in the 16th Century

On the basis of unpublished Ottoman register material from 16th century the focus of this study is concentrated on the economic development of nahiya Kara Lom during the first centuries under Ottoman rule. The study will present the dynamics in the settlement development of the region, based on the retrospective presentation method. Attention is paid to the demographic changes that took place in the researched region after the arrival of the Ottomans in these lands until the 16th century. The study of these two components is important because they directly affect the economic development of the region. The sixteenth century is the time when the economic development of the settlements in the Kara Lom region can be observed best and in the greatest detail. Detailed (mufassal) tax records from the century give full information on the monetary and natural components of land rent, the taxes of cereal crops and the taxes on farmed species of animals. The study of their values and variability in the settlements of the nahiya gives us the opportunity to highlight the specifics of their economic development. The researched data allow us to mark the individual and specific models of economic development of the nahiya Kara Lom during the considered period. The analysis of the monetary and natural component of the tax rent of the population highlights the leading position of agriculture in the region, which is characterized by a relatively well-expressed polyculture. All of this suggests the existence of continuity from the time of the medieval Bulgarian state. The inclusion of the Muslim population in these economic activities says a lot about the character of the population that settled the region in the 16th century.