Author(s): Gordana Garić Petrović,Dragana Amedoski / Language(s): Serbian
Issue: 33/2012
Vlach nâhiyes represent separate category of administrative entities
within Ottoman Empire. They have been special military-administrative units
that have existed parallel to regular nâhiyes in the same area and have been
constituted by settlements inhabited by vlachs (eflâk). In the Sandjak of Kruševac
the population of vlach status was registered in the Petruš and Zagrlata nâhiye.
In the border territory (krajište) of Petruš presence of vlachs has been
registered since the reign of Prince Lazar of Serbia. They had a special role in
military service in Petruš area as well as in other border areas. After the Ottoman
conquest, vlachs have kept this role. Unlike the ordinary people (re‘âyâ), they have
enjoyed tax exemption in the same way as other members of military and auxiliary
units in the Ottoman Empire in exchange for the service they have performed.
Survey of vlachs in the Sandjak of Kruševac is an integral part of the
Survey of Vlachs in the Sandjak of Smederevo. This subordination was most
likely the consequence of the fact that the Sandjak of Smederevo had special
capacity as a border sandjak, up to the establishment of the Budim Eyalet in 1541.
Detailed survey registers of vlachs represent separate registry books or
abstracts within cadastre registries. Vlachs were registered separately due to
their particular status as military group and in order to perform inspection of
their total number, number of fugitives and migrants and replacement of
deceased. Such a survey is the Survey of vlachs in the Sandjak of Smederevo
from 1528, where vlachs were registered in the nâhiyes of Braničevo, Niš,
Lomnica, Prilep, Lepenica, Lefča, Morava, Kolubara, Zagrlata and Petruš. In
this paper, we present the translated Survey of vlachs in the Petruš nâhiye, as
an integral part of previously stated survey. According to this survey, vlachs of
the Petruš nâhiye were under authority of two knezes, Hussein and Radonja,
who were governing 13 primikurs, four of which were Muslims. In total 255
vlach households, 409 tâbi‘s, 20 ratajs and male members of their households,
11 widows, seven vaqfs, two mukâta‘as and five monasteries were registered.
More...
