Организация и статут на соларите (тузджии) в българските земи под османска власт
Organization and Status of the Solars (Touzdjis) in the Bulgarian Lands under Ottoman Rule

Summary/Abstract: This article deals with a class of the population which had special obligations and a special status in the Bulgarian lands under Ottoman rule; they were known as Solars or Touzdjis, and formed a considerable part of the population along the Black Sea coast in the 15th-19th century. Newly-discovered source material in the Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, provided the basis for a study of the changes in the number of the Solars during the period indicated, shows their ethnic composition and analyses the provisions for the specific regime of taxation applied to the Solars. The article also emphasizes, insofar as it is possible, the part played by the Solars in the economic life of the Bulgarian lands under foreign domination, and as persons possessing great experience, acquired in the course of centuries, in producing salt. This activity existed for many centuries before the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans.

• Details
• Contents