Historical and archival evidence proves that Turkish (Ottoman and pre-Ottoman) military and administrative control over Gaza and Palestine was continuous, documented, and legally integrated from the Mamluk period through the Ottoman Empire.
This study demonstrates that Gaza and the broader Palestinian region were under Turkish (specifically Ottoman and Turkic-Mamluk) authority long before the modern era. Drawing on primary sources such as Ottoman tahrir (land-tax) registers, şerʿî court records, and Mamluk chronicles like al-Maqrīzī, along with works by historians including Halil İnalcık and Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth, the paper establishes the presence of Turkish military and administrative structures from the 13th to the 20th century. It shows how the Ottomans institutionalized governance through taxation, law, and defense networks, confirming that Turkish forces and administrators were integral to Gaza’s historical continuity—contradicting modern claims denying Turkish presence or authority in the region.
This article aims to chronologically and substantiate the Turkish/Ottoman military and administrative dominance in Gaza and Palestine in general, dating back to the Ottoman period and the pre-Ottoman period (especially the Mamluk period and earlier), based on primary historical documents and contemporary academic literature. The study utilizes primary sources such as Ottoman tahrir (tax/cadastral) registers, religious registers, travelogues of travelers, and Mamluk-era chronicles, as well as secondary literature such as Hütteroth & Abdulfattah, Halil İnalcık, and Walid Khalidi. Conclusion: Gaza/Palestine was subject to de facto administrative and military control during both the Mamluk and Ottoman periods; Ottoman-era documents directly demonstrate the administrative structure, population, and military organization in the region.
The historical arbiter and status of Gaza and the Palestinian territories are central to both academic research and current politics. This article aims to systematically present historical documents demonstrating the “dominance of Turkish soldiers in Gaza and the Palestinian territories.” The review is divided into three main periods: (1) the Ottoman period (especially 16th-century census records and later documents), (2) the pre-Ottoman Mamluk period and its chronicles, and (3) contemporary traveler and chronicle evidence from earlier periods. Each section will introduce primary sources and then analyze their evidence.
The study employed a quantitative-qualitative approach: primary archival documents (Ottoman tax and religious registers, Mamluk-era chronicles, and traveler records) were prioritized; spatial and temporal analyses were conducted using these documents; and cross-validation was conducted with secondary literature (modern historians and regional studies). The primary sources used were: Ottoman tax registers (16th century), Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname (17th century), Ibn Battuta Rihla (14th century), al-Maqrīzī’s chronicles (Mamluk period), Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth & Kamal Abdulfattah (1977), Halil İnalcık’s works, and Walid Khalidi’s works. Archival references will be cited—to the extent possible—using the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives (BOA) registration system.
I. Evidence from the Ottoman Period (after 1516/1517—especially the 16th century)
1. Ottoman Tahrir (Register) Records
Definition and nature. Tahrir registers were the fundamental documents related to accounting, population, and taxation in the Ottoman administrative structure; they contain details at the sanjak, district, and village levels. 16th-century surveys for Gaza and Palestine clearly demonstrate the region’s Ottoman rule, including the administrative hierarchy, taxpayers, and population.
Example evidence/device. A systematic compilation of 16th-century surveys by Hütteroth & Abdulfattah (1977), along with tax lists and settlement records from 1596, provides quantitative data on the Ottoman rule of the Gaza sanjak and its surrounding villages. These records itemize the region’s population, land use patterns, and tax categories. (Primary archive: BOA tahrir registers; secondary collection: Hütteroth & Abdulfattah, Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan, and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century.)
Analysis. The terminology “sanjak/kaza” and official appointments in the tahrirs demonstrate the Ottomans’ direct administrative and military involvement in the region. Tax collection and timar practices are the most concrete evidence of the region’s integration with Ottoman central authority.
2. Sharia Registers and Foundation Records
Definition and nature. Judge registers and foundation registers are the primary records of local administrative and legal events. Decisions from the judge courts of centers such as Gaza, Nablus, and Jerusalem, as well as foundation documents, attest to the legal existence of the Ottoman administration.
Exemplary evidence. Local judge registers contain records where Ottoman judges held authority and foundation revenues were registered by the Ottoman administration. These documents also provide information on participation in military expeditions, timar allocations, and security arrangements.
3. Ottoman Official Correspondence and Border-Administrative Regulations
Definition and Nature. Correspondence between governors, sanjak beys, and other officials in the Ottoman Central Archives (BOA) contains military-administrative decisions, garrison practices, and security requests regarding the region.
Analysis. These correspondences demonstrate that the Ottoman central administration allocated military resources, deployed troops, or requested missions to ensure the security of Gaza and its surrounding area.
Before the Ottomans: Evidence from the Mamluk Period and Before
1. Mamluk Chronicles (al-Maqrizi, etc.)
Definition and nature. Chronicles such as al-Maqrizi’s al-Khitat provide contemporary information on the administrative regulations, city status, and military elements implemented by the Egyptian-based Mamluk administration in Syria and Palestine.
Exemplary evidence. The records of al-Maqrizi and contemporary Mamluk historians provide direct accounts of Gaza’s existence under Mamluk rule. It is documented that the Mamluk center exercised tax, security, and administrative authority over the region.
2. Travelers: Ibn Battuta and Others
Definition and nature. The travelogues of Ibn Battuta (14th century) and similar travelers provide eyewitness accounts of the cities they visited. Ibn Battuta’s notes on his visit to Gaza confirm the region’s administrative subordination during the Mamluk period.
Analysis. Traveler records confirm administrative practices in the field, the existence of military garrisons, and forms of government at the local level.
3. The Ethno-Social Structure of the Mamluk Army and “Turkish/Kipchak” Elements
Definition and nature. The Mamluk system is characterized by slave soldiers (mamluks) of Turkic/Kipchak origin and the political-military hierarchy they established. In this context, the claim that “the elements that governed the region before the Ottomans were of Turkic origin” can be supported by discussions of the Mamluks’ ethnic origin.
Evidence/analysis. Modern research indicates that the Mamluks (especially the Bahri Mamluks) contained elements of Kipchak/Turkish origin; therefore, the region was subject to Turks (Mamluk administrators of Kipchak origin) before the Ottoman Empire. However, the term “Turkish rule” carries a different meaning here: While Mamluk rule was centered in Egypt, ethnic Kipchak elements had administrative and military influence.
Early Period and Uzun Var (Ancient and Pre-Medieval) Notes
Due to its geographical location, Gaza has been ruled by many different powers throughout history (Palestinian city-states, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Seljuk, Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman). The continuity of “Ottoman-Turkish” rule is documented uninterruptedly, especially after the Ottoman-Mamluk War of 1516/1517. Archaeological and chronological studies of this period require separate analysis; the purpose here is to focus on the Ottoman and Mamluk periods.
Document-Based Chronological Evidence Summaries (Selected Examples)
Below are listed chronologically the selected document types that form the evidence base of this article and the most critical outcomes they offer:
Mamluk chronicles (13th–16th centuries) — al-Maqrizi and his contemporaries: contemporary testimony of Mamluk rule over Palestinian cities.
Ibn Battuta Rihla (14th century) — Visits to Gaza and Mamluk control of the region.
Ottoman-Mamluk war records (1516–1517) — Ottoman conquest of Syria and Palestine and their incorporation into the central administration.
16th-century Ottoman tax registers (e.g., 1596 records) — Detailed population/tax records for the Gaza sanjak and Palestinian villages (Hütteroth & Abdulfattah compilation).
Sharia registers and endowment records (17th–19th centuries)—evidence that local administrative-legal life continued within the Ottoman structure.
Evliya Çelebi’s Travelogue (17th century)—field observations, descriptions of castles and garrisons.
Modern secondary literature—Systematic analysis and mapping of documents by Halil İnalcık, Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth & Kamal Abdulfattah, Walid Khalidi, and related doctoral dissertations.
Notes on the Concept of “Sovereignty”
A discussion section of the study should explain the criteria by which the concept of “sovereignty” is determined: (A) legal-bureaucratic records of the central administration (tahrir, timar, and kadi registers), (B) actual military presence in the field (garrison and campaign records), (C) legal documents (waqf, land registry, court decisions), and (D) contemporary testimonies (traveler, chronicle). According to these criteria, Gaza/Palestine was under administrative-military control during both the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The term “Turkish military domination” refers to the presence of ethnic-military actors during the Mamluk period and the direct rule of the central Turkish-Ottoman state during the Ottoman period.
Conclusion
The conclusions reached in light of primary archival documents and reliable secondary studies are as follows:
The Ottoman administration (after 1516/1517) integrated Gaza and Palestine administratively, and the census registers and judge registers clearly demonstrate the administrative and military structure in the region.
Sources from the Mamluk period (13th–16th centuries) document that the region was under Egyptian-centered Mamluk rule before the Ottoman Empire, and that the Mamluk army was largely composed of elements of Kipchak/Turkish origin.
These data clearly demonstrate that Turkish/Turkish-origin military and administrative elements were active in the Gaza and Palestine geography during both the Ottoman and pre-Ottoman periods, and that the region remained under the control of these centers for a long period.
Bibliography (Selected Primary and Secondary References — sorted)
Primary Sources / Chronicles / Travelogues
- Ibn Battuta, The Travels of Ibn Battuta (Rihla) — ed./translation (various editions). (14th-century travelogue; observations on Gaza).
- al-Maqrīzī, al-Khitat — Contemporary chronicle of the geography and administration of Mamluk-era Egypt/Syria.
- Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatnâme (17th century) — Passages on his visits and observations of Gaza and Palestine.
- Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives (BOA), tahrir registers and sharia registers (16th–19th centuries). (Sample archive series: BOA. TD., BOA. Sharia records — relevant book numbers will be indicated in the article appendix.)
- Ottoman-era timar, waqf, and kadi correspondence — BOA documents.
Secondary Literature (Selected works)
- Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth & Kamal Abdulfattah, Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan, and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century, Erlangen, 1977. — Compilation based on 16th-century Ottoman censuses.
- Halil İnalcık, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300–1600 (and related articles). — Ottoman administrative structure and regional policies.
- Walid Khalidi (ed.), Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876–1948 (and related works). — Visual and archival documents from the late 19th and 20th centuries.
- Relevant doctoral dissertations and articles: (“The Ottoman Tahrir Notebooks as a Source…”, various university theses).
- Modern articles: “Jerusalem under the Mamluks,” various journals; Mamluk administration and Palestinian studies.
- Additional Notes and Further Reading / Request for Additional Documents
