Ottoman Real Estate Tax Receipt 1908 Erzurum with Armenian stamp Armenia Muslim
Ottoman Real Estate Tax Receipt (Emlak Vergisi Makbuzu) Erzurum 1324 (1908)
Description:
An original Ottoman Real Estate Tax Receipt (Emlak Vergisine Mahsus Makbuz) issued to Ali Fevzi Efendi of Erzurum, Ali Paşa Mahallesi, dated 6 Temmuz 1324 (19 Temmuz 1908). The document records a total tax payment of 70 kuruş and 20 para, made under the fiscal regulations of the late Ottoman Empire.
What makes this piece particularly significant is the presence of an Armenian-language stamp in the section reserved for the official’s seal or signature. This detail provides tangible evidence that Armenian citizens were employed as government officials in provincial Ottoman administration in this case, in Erzurum, a region known for its ethnically mixed population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Such receipts are not only important for understanding Ottoman fiscal practices, but also for documenting the interwoven social structure of the empire, where Muslims, Armenians, Greeks, and others participated jointly in civic and bureaucratic life. This example offers a rare and direct glimpse into the shared administrative framework of the late Ottoman period, just before the Second Constitutional Era reforms took full effect.
Key Features:
- Date: 6 Temmuz 1324 (19 Temmuz 1908)
- Origin: Erzurum, Ali Paşa Mahallesi
- Taxpayer: Ali Fevzi Efendi
- Amount: 70 kuruş 20 para
- Language: Ottoman Turkish (with Armenian stamp)
- Document type: Real estate tax receipt (Emlak Vergisi Makbuzu)
- Features: Official stamp and Armenian-language seal by a government officer
- Historical significance: Demonstrates the inclusion of Armenian civil servants within Ottoman provincial bureaucracy and the multicultural administrative character of Erzurum during the early 20th century