The Southern Ottoman Kurdistan Trade During The 19th Century.

Abstract

The current research sheds light on some of the activities related to trading the nineteenth century in the Kurdish cities, markets, storehouses, travel routes, merchants, crops, products, natural or locally made products. The research also discusses the local or regional partners who were parts of the trade business, especially the Iranian cities and the cities in the south of Anatol. The research examines the most important imported and exported goods. The research also shows that trading was not restricted to certain merchants, all people had the chance to trade. In addition, the obstacles faced by the tradesmen in this area, such as the instability because of the policy of the walli (governors) or because of the bad roads, or the because of tribal rules, are discussed. The research offers more details concerning the life in the Kurdish society at that time through the trade business of this region. Due to lack of literature related to the trade in the Kurdish cities during the Ottoman empire, especially the numbers and statistics about the size of the goods imported and exported in the southern Kurdistan region during that period, more focus is placed on the nineteenth century as there is clearer information about this period. The research depends on the valuable observations provided by the travelers who visited southern Kurdistan as well as some information available on the registry of the Iraqi willayat about the trade business of the Kurdish cities.