The Narh System in 16th and 17th Century Istanbul

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to clarify the Narh system, which was an official price system in Istanbul, using historical records of the 16th and 17th century. Until now, since only research on the Narh system has consisted of a few notes attached to the transcripts of the Narh defteri (register), the actual condition of the Narh system has been seldom clarified. This paper tries to clarify the actual condition of the Narh system by using the Mühimme defteri and the Kanunname in addition to the Narh defteri.
In the Ottoman Empire, as the population increased rapidly in the 16th century, procurement of food and its smooth distribution became indispensable. Especially, since many people flowed into Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, it was a top government priority to ensure the smooth distribution of goods there.
In this situation, the Narh system, where prices were determined by the Ottoman government, was very important at the following two points. The first point was protecting people from shortage of goods, unfair dealings or speculation. At that time, when the price of grain jumped because of the chronic shortage of grain, unfair dealings and hoarding were rampant in Istanbul. The Ottoman government tried to stabilize the price using the Narh system, and also tried to bring about regular distribution by forbidding these injurious acts. The second point was preventing a rapid fall in the price of goods produced by esnafs by having decided the price of their products, in addition to supplying a sufficient quantity of materials to esnafs at the official price. By selling goods at a price set by the Narh system, esnafs were able to have their profits stabilized without suffering damage from dumping. This promoted smooth distribution of the products produced by esnafs while guaranteeing procurement of raw materials for esnafs and their production activity.