An Ottoman Unit of Currency in the 16th Century: Kara(ca) Akce

Abstract

The problem addressed in this research is to determine the currency, called kara(ca) akce in the documents, which the Ottoman state used in the east of Anatolia during the 16th century. Except for a brief reference by Sahillioglu, there is not much information about this akce. For this reason, whether kara(ca) akce was also an accounting coin and a currency in circulation along with the Osmani akce will be discussed. The value of the kara(ca) akce in the face of the Ottoman akce is found in various documents such as the Ottoman Laws, Seriyye Sicilleri and Mahimme Registry, together with current exchange prices against other currencies such as gold, kurus etc. When this information is evaluated chronologically within the framework of the developments in Ottoman monetary history, there is a relationship proportional to the weight of the Ottoman akce. In recent research on the Ottoman numismatics at the end of the 16th century, it was found that the official weight in some Eastern mints was' lower than that of Ottoman akce. These akces differ in stylistic terms from other mints defined as the Anatolian and Rumelia groups and are named the Fastern group. Especially in the Ottoman documents related to tax and trade, the existence of this currency, which is to lower than the exchange rate against the Osmani akce, is noteworthy. In this study, an attempt will be made to prove that this coin was not only a currency that determined the exchange rate, bur it was also in circulation.