Adefter was a type of tax register and landcadastre in theOttoman Empire.[1]
The term is derived from Greekdiphtheraδιφθέρα, literally 'processed animal skin, leather, fur', meaning a book, having pages of goatparchment[2] used along with papyrus as paper in Ancient Greece, borrowed intoArabic asدفتر:daftar, meaning a register or a notebook.
The information collected could vary, buttahrir defterleri typically included details of villages, dwellings, household heads (adult males and widows), ethnicity/religion (because these could affect tax liabilities/exemptions), and land use.[3] The defter-i hakâni was a land registry, also used for tax purposes.[4] Each town had a defter and typically an officiator or someone in an administrative role to determine whether the information should be recorded. The officiator was usually some kind of learned man who had knowledge of state regulations. The defter was used to record family interactions such as marriage and inheritance.[5] These records are useful for historians because such information allows for a more in-depth understanding of land ownership among Ottomans. This is particularly helpful when attempting to study the daily affairs of Ottoman citizens.
Some Ottoman officials responsible for these tax registries were known asdefterdars.
Records of this kind are known asdaftars in NorthernIndia as well, for instance thePeshwa's daftar ofPune.[6]
