Remuneration and Duties in Ottoman Waqfs: The Case of Hafsa Sultan Waqf (Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries)

Ottoman charitable endowments, known as waqfs, were established by the sultan, his family, and the members of the ruling class, serving as primary employment institutions during the classical period. These waqfs offered a broad range of social services through various public structures, thereby employing a vast number of individuals with diverse skills and educational backgrounds across the empire. This study focuses specifically on wage determination within the Manisa Waqf of Hafsa Sultan, the mother of the renowned Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, established in 1523. The waqf complex outlined in the endowment deed, comprised a mosque, a primary school, a madrasa, a dervish lodge (hankah) and a soup-kitchen (imaret). Subsequently, it expanded to include a hospital (dârüşşifâ) and a Turkish bath (hamam). Starting with an analysis of the endowment deed, this study further examines the seventeenth and eighteenth-century accounting books retrieved from the Ottoman Archives. These records reveal various aspects, including the waqf’s expansion, the increasing employment individuals, changes in daily wages over time, in-kind payments, challenges encountered during inflationary periods, and practical measures implemented to mitigate these issues.