Kutahya (after Fosse)

 

Drawing :-

Byzantine fortifications are recorded in black;
Germiyan repairs and additions are recorded in blue;
Ottoman repairs and lower city wall are recorded in red.

1-Lower Gate;
2-Main mosque;
3-citadel;
4-Main entrance path;
5-Postern Gate;
6-Walled lower town.

Kutahya was located in western Anatolia. It was established far from any frontier, and was the capital of a good sized province. Using the information from some Ottoman records dating from 1698, we know the following about the organization of this fortress:

--The citadel force was comprised of one hundred and nineteen fortress guards;
--These guards were armed with two pistols and one musket each;
--The citadel itself was designated as a "Timar" (fief);
--The "Timar" (fief) was assigned to a "Dizdar" (senior Commander);
--This assignment, considering the location of the citadel, and the number of defenders, would probably be considered as a warden's duty in the present day;
--However, we also know that the "Dizdar" (Senior Commander) received a large income from his position as a "Timar" (fief) commander.

"Dizdar" -- One who commands all others;

Fief-- Feudal estate;

"Timar" -- a fief;

Records of the Ottoman Empire show that "Timars" held by garrison commanders could consist of entire villages {qaraye) or only a portion of a village (hisse);

The biggest "Timars" were awarded to a "Dizdar" (fortress commander);

In the earliest part of Suleyman II's reign there were 9,653 "Timar" holders registered.

Reference:--

David Nicolle, "Ottoman Fortifications 1300 to 1710," Fortress - 95, Osprey Pub., Oxford, UK, 2010