Wealth and Power Reconfigured: Balkan Elites between Imperial Legacies and Modern Institutions. A Comparative Study of Financial Actors from the 18th to the 19th Century

This study investigates the economic dynamics of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Bulgaria through the unique lens of the ledger of Hristo Rachkov, a prominent money-changer (sarraf) and merchant based in Veliko Tarnovo. While primarily a prosperous figure in regional commerce, Rachkov also played a notable role as a financial supporter of the Filiki Eteria, the Greek revolutionary organization, thereby situating his activities at the intersection of local economic practices and emerging Balkan national movements. By combining primary archival materials with secondary historiography, this research sheds light on how wealth and prosperity were created, accumulated, and conceptualized in a society that had yet to adopt modern economic structures. The analysis departs from conventional macroeconomic indicators and instead asks how prosperity in premodern economies can be assessed. Using Rachkov’s records as a starting point, the study compares his financial activities, business strategies, and investment patterns with those of his contemporaries. This comparative framework allows for the identification of broader structural features of the Ottoman-Balkan economy, such as credit practices, risk management, and the circulation of capital across regional and transregional networks. In doing so, the article underscores the importance of merchants and sarrafs as mediators of wealth in settings where state institutions and modern banking mechanisms were underdeveloped. To deepen this inquiry, the research also employs Social Network Analysis (SNA) to map Rachkov’s connections with clients, partners, and associates. The resulting network visualization highlights the extent and diversity of his interactions, revealing how economic ties overlapped with familial, communal, and political affiliations. Such a methodological approach not only makes it possible to trace the diffusion of financial resources within local society, but also to illuminate the mechanisms by which commercial elites acquired influence and legitimacy. The findings demonstrate that Rachkov’s embeddedness in overlapping networks enabled him to leverage trust, reputation, and solidarity in ways that extended beyond purely economic transactions. By situating Rachkov’s ledger at the intersection of economic history, social network analysis, and the study of nationalism, this research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of wealth in the Ottoman Balkans. It suggests that prosperity in non-modern economies cannot be reduced to numerical measures of output or capital, but must also be understood through the relational practices that sustained communities and shaped trajectories of political change.