مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري

Abstract :

Provadia town located today in the Northeast Bulgaria is also known as Pravadi during the Ottoman period. In local dialect the town is called Pravadı. The name of the town probably comes from Provato used in Byzantine Greek. The Provadia castle was called Tashhisar by the Turks. The Slavic name of the city is Ovetch. Greek provato and Slavic ovetch, means sheep. Pravadi region was an area that has been inhabited since ancient times. During the Byzantium (960-1187) and the Second Bulgarian State (1187-1393) periods Provadia castle was an important administrative and religious centre. The town of Pravadi was established near Varna in the basin of the İridere having plateau characteristics and flowing into the Black Sea. Pravadi castle was conquered by Timurtaşoğlu Yahşi Bey during the campaign of Çandarlı Ali Paşa in 1388. In the Interregnum period Musa Çelebi conquered the castle after a long siege. In 1444 Hungarians captured Pravadi castle and destroyed it. Probably the castle lost its importance after this date. After this date, the town of Pravadi was founded on the plain below the castle. During the first century after the conquest, Pravadi town became a township depended on the Nicopol province. In the 16th century Pravadi became a district depended on Silistra Province. After the conquest of the region by the Ottomans, the Turks from Anatolia were settled there. After the destruction in the Pravadi region in 1444, Murat II wanted to settle there the Turks from Anatolia in order to revive deserted villages. The Yuruks from Anatolia were settled in Pravadi town and its area during the 16th century. The Yuruks groups as Naldöken, Selanik and Kocacık were inhabited in the Pravadi villages which still exist today. In course of time Pravadi became a settlement inhabited by the Armenians, Jews and Latin. Therefore Pravadi has a character of multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual city. Pravadi remained within the borders of the Ottoman Empire until the foundation of Bulgarian Principality in 1878. In 17th century some villages of Pravadi district were separated and included in the Yeni Pazar district. In this study the development of Pravadi and its demographic structure during the Ottoman period will be examined according to Ottoman census registers, akıncı and avarız registers. The villages depended on Pravadi will be also discussed.