Contribution of Ruse District to Logistics and War Organization in the Ottoman-Russian War (1768-1774)
Conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1388; Ruse had developed and become an important city in the course of time. Ruse whose population structure changed in the 16th century and which became a Turkish-Islamic city had become the center of the Danube fleet as from the beginning of the 17thcentury just like in the Roman period. Ruse fell under a threat due to the wars of 1768-1774 and 1787-1792 in the second half of the 18thcentury. During this period, the city was fortified all around. Deep and dry ditches reinforced with rocks were excavated, shields and bastions were built. In 1773, the Russians were overwhelmed just outside of Ruse. This study examines the function of the District of Ruse in army kitchen, means of transportation, supply of soldiers, transportation of materials and soldiers during the wars that took place between 1768 and 1774. As Ruse was one of the main centers of grain supply, the grains were directly procured from Ruse and the grains collected from other districts nearby were also transported from here. During the wars; the crews, bouncer soldiers, masters and laborers employed in building bridges, a part of horses which were used to pull shallop-style small naval ships with open top and,oxcarts and gun carriages were procured from Ruse. In addition, the District of Ruse financially supported the wars. Cash was collected at certain intervals in exchange for imd & acirc;d-& imath; seferiyye, av & acirc;r & imath;z and n & uuml;z & uuml;l taxes. In this work, archival records in various catalogues in the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency are used as the main source. These records involve remarkable information about the contribution of the District of Ruse in army kitchen, means of transportation and supply of soldiers and the function of Ruse Pier in the transportation of materials and soldiers.
- Journal
- SELCUK UNIVERSITESI TURKIYAT ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI-SELCUK UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF STUDIES IN TURCOLOGY
- Year
- 2024
- Issue
- 61
- Pages
- 23-46
- eISSN
- 2458-9071
- DOI
- 10.21563/sutad.1474161
- WoS UID
- WOS:001245012500002