OSMANLI NÜFUS SAYIMI VERİLERİNDE MAHALLELER: LEFKOŞE AYASOFYA MAHALLESİ ÖRNEĞİ (1831-1839)-NEIGHBORHOODS IN OTTOMAN POPULATION CENSUS DATA: A CASE STUDY OF NICOSIA AGHIA SOPHIA NEIGHBORHOOD (1831-1839)

Lefkoşe Ayasofya Mahallesi sadece Müslümanların ikamet ettiği mahallelerden biri olmuştur. Hicrî 1246 (1830/31) nüfus sayımında ve sonraki yıllarda yapılan sayımlarda adı geçen mahallenin erkek nüfusu 396'dan 436'ya kadar çıkmıştır. Mahalle sakinlerinin doğumla kazandıkları göreceli nüfus artış ivmesi ölüm oranlarındaki nispi fazlalıkla kaybolmuştur. Buna mukabil Lefkoşe'nin Gayrimüslim mahallelerinde hem doğum hem de ölüm oranlarında nispi düşüklük tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışmada söz konusu mahalle sakinlerinin isimleri irdelenmiş ve erkek nüfusun yaklaşık beşte birinin Mehmed ismini taşıdığı görülmüştür. Ayasofya neighborhood was one of the neighborhoods where only Muslims resided. From the census of Hijri 1246 (the year 1830-1831) to the censuses of the following year the male population of the neighborhood rose from 396 to 436. High birth rate of the Ayasofya neighborhood was compansated by the high death rate such that the population remained mostly stable. While the populations of nonmuslim neighborhoods in Lefkoşe remained stable due to a low birth and death rate. In this study, upon analyzing the names of the Ayasofya neighborhood residents, it was found that approximately one fifth of the male population was named Mehmed. The name Mehmed was followed by the name Mustafa in popularity. Ahmed, which is another name of Prophet Muhammed, was also a popular name; however, the name Hüseyin which belonged to the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed was more popular than Ahmed due to the value given to the special grandson grandfather relationship Hüseyin had with the Prophet. It was hypothesized that the names of the residents reflected to which Islamic sect they belonged. Names from the Ehl-i Beyt such as Ali, Hasan, Hüseyin are used both by Sunni and non Sunni Muslims. A total of 53 different occupations were observed in the records of the Ayasofya neighborhood. Out of a population of 436 people 180 were part of an occupational group or were civil servants. Being spahi (cavalary soldier), which was a kind of civil service, was the most popular occupation with a total of 23 residents. It was followed by shoemaking which 17 people in the neighborhood did. Third most popular occupation was being a cloth merchant.