Ottoman Road Construction Tax Receipt 1911 Istanbul Steamship Administration

Ottoman Road Construction Tax Receipt (Bedel-i Nakdi Vergi Tezkiresi) İstanbul, Beyoğlu 1327 (1911)

Description:
An Ottoman tax receipt issued in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, dated 1327 (1911), belonging to Asım Efendi, a ketebe (scribe) working for the İdare-i Mahsusa the Ottoman state steamship administration. In the late Ottoman bureaucracy, a ketebe was a trained individual responsible for writing official correspondence and documents, a vital role at a time when literacy rates were low.

The document records a payment of 20 kuruş for the “tarik bedel-i nakdisi” (road construction contribution tax) and 1 kuruş for the tezkire fee, totaling 21 kuruş. The bedel-i nakdi was a monetary tax collected from citizens to fund the maintenance and construction of roads and public infrastructure.

Bearing Ottoman stamps and handwritten annotations, this piece provides a fascinating glimpse into the daily bureaucratic and fiscal life of the Ottoman Empire, as well as the professional world of Ottoman scribes who played a key role in the functioning of state institutions.

Key Features:

• Date: 1327 (1911)

• Origin: Beyoğlu, İstanbul

• Taxpayer: Asım Efendi (scribe of İdare-i Mahsusa)

• Profession: Ketebe (official scribe)

• Address: Nalıncı Hacı Hasan Mahallesi, Kulaksız Caddesi

• Tax type: Tarik bedel-i nakdisi (road construction tax) + Tezkire fee

• Total paid: 21 kuruş

• Language: Ottoman Turkish

• Document type: Tax receipt (vergi tezkiresi)

• Features: Ottoman fiscal stamp and handwritten details

• Historical context: Illustrates the administrative structure of the late Ottoman Empire, where literate scribes like Asım Efendi played a crucial role in government offices and public record-keeping.