Ottoman 1913 Salary Receipt Sultan Alaaddin Cafer Bey Foundation Sinop Alaeddin Mosque
Ottoman Salary Receipt from the Sultan Alaaddin Cafer Bey Vakfı – Sinop Alaeddin Mosque (1913)
Description:
This Ottoman Turkish document is a salary payment receipt dated 1 June 1329 (15 June 1913), recording the payment of 25 kuruş for the month of May 1329 to an employee serving as kayyım (mosque caretaker and attendant) within the Sultan Alaaddin Cafer Bey Vakfı. The document confirms that the salary was officially received, with both the clerk and responsible officer certifying the payment.
The Sultan Alaaddin Cafer Bey Vakfı was a historic charitable foundation established to support the maintenance and operation of the Sinop Alaeddin Mosque and its associated külliye complex, one of the most important religious and social institutions of the Black Sea region since the Seljuk and Candaroğulları periods. The mosque itself was named after the renowned Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I and remains the largest surviving Seljuk mosque in Northern Anatolia.
As a vakıf payroll document, this receipt provides valuable insight into the daily administrative functioning of Ottoman religious foundations during the empire's final years. It illustrates how vakıf institutions financed and maintained mosque personnel, ensuring the continuity of religious and communal services through structured salary payments. Such documents are important historical sources for understanding Ottoman charitable administration, local religious life, and the economic organization of mosque foundations.
The document bears official seals confirming its administrative authenticity and institutional use. Beyond its financial function, it represents a tangible record of the Ottoman vakıf system, one of the central pillars of Ottoman urban, religious, and social organization for centuries.
For collectors and researchers, this is an appealing historical document connecting Ottoman financial administration, vakıf history, and the long institutional legacy of the Sinop Alaeddin Mosque complex.
Key Features:
• Type: Ottoman vakıf salary payment receipt
• Date: 1 June 1329 (15 June 1913)
• Institution: Sultan Alaaddin Cafer Bey Vakfı
• Location: Sinop Alaeddin Mosque and Külliye
• Payment Purpose: Monthly salary for mosque caretaker (kayyım) duties
• Salary Amount: 25 kuruş
• Salary Period: May 1329
• Administrative Confirmation: Payment certified by clerk and responsible official
• Historical Context: Documents the operation and payroll system of Ottoman religious foundations during the late Ottoman period
• Institutional Significance: Related to the historic Sinop Alaeddin Mosque, the largest Seljuk mosque in Northern Anatolia
• Physical Features: Official seals present
• Collectible Significance: Valuable for collectors of Ottoman vakıf documents, mosque history, Seljuk heritage, and Ottoman administrative records