Abstract

Stockbreeding, which is an important source of income for the masses of the people and the state, is emerging as the most important branch of economic activities after the grain production. Cattle and livestock breeding are the basis of the stockbreeding activities for the economic life of the Ottoman Empire. Cattle breeding contributes to agricultural production through animals which are indispensable for double riding and transportation activities and it also plays a decisive role in the agricultural structure because of this contribution. Livestock breeding is an asset as an important source of revenue for the state due to taxes, raw materials for some manufacturing branches, and large production area which meets the consumption goods such as meat and milk. In this study, cattle livestock breeding activities, considered as an important economic activity during the Ottoman period, are examined in Tekirdağ, which is one of the main places to meet the necessity of food of Istanbul. The stockbreeding politics of the Ottoman Empire and regional reflections of these policies are tried to be understood with the Tekirdağ-specific research, which was accepted as a pilot region in terms of agriculture and breeding during the Ottoman period.