Ottoman 1883 Land Deed Field in Ma'mûretü'l-Azîz Title Armenian Citizens Armenia

Ottoman Land Title Deed – Mîrî Agricultural Land, Eğin, Mamuretülaziz Meşker Village (1883)

Description:

This Ottoman Turkish land title deed concerns an agricultural field located in Meşker Village, Eğin District, Mamuretülaziz Province. The village is identified today as Çakırlar Village. The property is classified as arazi-i mîrî (state-owned land), and its boundaries are recorded as being adjacent to properties or lands associated with Kirkor, the holder of another deed, Kabir, and Bogos. The deed therefore preserves several Armenian names within the immediate landholding landscape of the village.

The property is described as a field capable of accommodating two ölçek of seed, while its assessed value is recorded as 60 kuruş. The reason for issuing the title is stated as hakk-ı karar. In the Ottoman legal system, hakk-ı karar referred to the right by which a person who had continuously cultivated and worked mîrî land for the legally recognized period, without another person successfully asserting a claim to it, could obtain the right to have the land registered to them through a title deed. The title holder is recorded as Mıgırdiç, son of Avid.

Dated 11 Muharrem 1301 (12 November 1883), this deed provides an unusually detailed glimpse into rural landholding and agricultural life in the Mamuretülaziz region during the late Ottoman period. Particularly noteworthy is the concentration of Armenian names in the boundary descriptions, including Kirkor, Kabir, Bogos, and the title holder Mıgırdiç. The document therefore offers valuable evidence concerning the presence and agricultural activities of Ottoman Armenian inhabitants in the region.

As an original Ottoman land deed bearing its historical property information, this document is particularly significant for the study of Eğin and its surrounding villages. The combination of mîrî land classification, hakk-ı karar, detailed boundaries, and multiple Armenian names makes it an especially interesting primary source for Armenian social and landholding history in Ottoman Anatolia.

Key Features:

• Type: Ottoman land title deed (Tapu)

• Date: 11 Muharrem 1301 (12 November 1883)

• Location: Meşker Village, Eğin District, Mamuretülaziz Province (present-day Çakırlar Village)

• Property Type: Agricultural field 

• Land Classification: Arazi-i Mîrî

• Boundaries: Lands associated with Kirkor, another deed holder, Kabir, and Bogos

• Size: Capable of accommodating two ölçek of seed

• Legal Basis: Hakk-ı karar

• Title Holder: Mıgırdiç, son of Avid

• Assessed Value: 60 kuruş

• Historical Context: Documents Armenian landholding and agricultural activity within a mîrî land system in the Eğin region during the late Ottoman period

• Special Significance: Multiple Armenian names appear in the boundary descriptions, providing a valuable record of the local Armenian community and its agricultural landholdings

• Collectible Significance: Highly desirable for collectors of Ottoman Armenian history, Ottoman land deeds, Armenian genealogy, Eğin regional history, and late Ottoman property records.