Ottoman Tax Receipt 1919 Armenian Merchant Pickle Shop İstanbul Aksaray Armenia

Ottoman Income Tax Receipt (Temettü Vergisi Makbuzu) 1335 (1919)

Description:
An Ottoman tax receipt dated 1335 (1919), issued for the payment of Temettü Vergisi an income or profit tax levied on tradesmen and business owners. The taxpayer is Araksi binti Karabet, an Armenian Ottoman citizen, residing and conducting business in Bayazid Ağa, Aksaray (Istanbul). The document records a total payment of 122 kuruş and bears official Ottoman stamps and handwritten signatures.

The receipt refers to shop number 48, which matches other contemporary tax records identifying the same property as belonging to a “turşucu” (pickle seller). Although this specific document does not specify the trade, cross-referenced evidence confirms that Araksi Hanım owned or managed the pickle shop previously registered under this number, demonstrating continuity of business activity in the same premises. You can find other documents related to this shop on my website.

This document is an important piece of evidence for understanding the active participation of Armenian citizens in late Ottoman urban commercial life, especially in Aksaray, a district historically populated by Armenian and Greek merchants operating near the Yenikapı port and the Beyazıt–Aksaray trade axis.

Key Features:

• Date: 1335 (1919)
• Location: Bayazid Ağa, Aksaray (Istanbul)
• Shop number: 48
• Taxpayer: Araksi binti Karabet (Armenian Ottoman citizen)
• Tax type: Temettü Vergisi (income/profit tax)
• Total amount: 122 kuruş
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Features: Hand-signed and stamped
• Historical significance:
  • Documents Armenian commercial presence in Aksaray during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
  • Provides continuity with other known records of the Turşucu (pickle seller) shop at the same address.
  • Reflects the integration of minority business owners into the Ottoman fiscal system.