Entrepreneurship Models and Partnership Structures in the Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

The concept of entrepreneurship is mostly discussed in business and economics studies after the industrial revolution. However, since Cantillon, who first defined entrepreneurship, lived before the industrial revolution and during the enlightenment, the history of entrepreneurship can be traced back to the Middle Ages and even before. A similar situation occurred for the concept of entrepreneurship in the Ottoman Empire, and entrepreneurial activities before the Tanzimat period were either ignored or not given enough importance. However, Muslim and Turkish entrepreneurs have dominated both domestic and foreign trade in and around Anatolia since the Seljuk period. Among the proofs of this situation, documents such as tax records of the period, mühimme notebooks, şer’iyye registers, and kadi registers can be counted. In this study, the entrepreneurship models preferred by mostly Muslim Turks in the Classical Age of the Ottoman Empire and the partnership structures they have established are discussed within the framework of the mentioned resources.