Vakıflar Dergisi

Öz

Many religious, social, economic and cultural works
such as mosque, small mosque, seminary school, soup kitchen, convent,
caravansary, public bath and tomb were constructed in the city of Tokat during
the Danismendid, Seljukid and Ottoman periods since XII^th century.
The rich social and economic potential of Tokat with its position on east-west
and south-north roads, its warm climate and fertile agricultural lands are amongst
the main reasons for constructing such works of great variety. As generally
seen throughout the Ottoman Empire, these religious, social, economic and
cultural works built in Tokat have continued their existence by means of waqfs
revenues.

In this article, of the many waqfs studies existing in
Tokat,  only the waqfs of Ali Pasha’s
Mosque will be dealt with as an example from the Ottoman period. Although there
exist a number of studies on this mosque’s waqfs, these works do not examine the
revenues of these waqfs from the beginning until the present day. This mosque
is the biggest of the 17 others built in the city-centre of Tokat between the
XIIth and XXth centuries. The mosque was built in 1570’s by the
governor-general of Sivas, Temerrüd (Obstinate) Ali Pasha. Large amount of revenues
of waqfs were allocated to the repair and maintenance of the mosque and the
salaries of its staff. In addition, some philanthropists established waqfs
dedicated only to this mosque. The study aims to examine the waqfs of Ali
Pasha’s Mosque in every aspects and contribute to the social and economic
history of Tokat.