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Sultan
Selim II's firman (decree) on the conquest of Cyprus,
dated 21 September 1571 |
The following
is a summarised text of the Sultan Selim IIs Firman (decree)
dated 21st September 1571, ordering the Governors of Western
Central, and Eastern Anatolia and Karaman to make immediate
arrange- ments for the transport of twenty thousand Turkish
families to Cyprus for settlement. The original document is
reproduced above.
The first
settlers who arrived in the island after the issue of this
Firman numbered about twenty thousand, but this figure did not
include the permanent garrison, whose official strength was
2,000 infantry and 2,666 cavalry, and who were already stationed
in the island after the conquest. In consequence, when in 1571,
settled Turkish community first came into existence in Cyprus,
its members were of Turkish origins. However, there were also
few converts into Islam from the locals as well as from the
Latin Catholic people.
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In a report I
received from Lala Mustafa Pasha, the Governor of Cyprus, it is
stated that during the war which lasted three years, many parts
of the island were destroyed, and a new ambitious plan is
necessary to re- activate the economy and use the natural
resources of the island to their utmost. Therefore, I have
ordered a plan to be drawn up immediately, and have given
instructions to the Governor-General (Lala Mustafa Pasha) to
utilize every possible source to develop the country, and to
cultivate the fields, vineyards, and farms. Subsidy and
encouragement should be given to the new settlers, especially in
the agricultural sector. In addition, the labour force should be
expanded to cultivate adequately the fields, farms, and
vineyards in the island. Instructions have also been given to
the authorities in charge of the settlement programme to see
that, among the interested citizens who want to settle in the
island, professionals such as craftsmen and traders,
shoe-makers, boot-makers, tailors, skull-cap makers, weavers,
sack-weavers, wool carders, silk dyers and manufacturers, cooks,
soup-makers, candle- stick-makers, saddlers, farriers, grocers,
tanners, carpenters, master builders, stone-cutters, goldsmiths,
and coppersmiths should be included, and all settlers should be
allowed to take their personal belongings and professional
equipment.
They should
also be encouraged to take their sheep, goats, and farming
equipment, and other essential material that will be required to
continue their normal life. The immovable properties and lands
owned by citizens emigrating to the island should be entrusted
to their local authorities, and their respective owners should
be compensated in kind. They should also be paid pocket-money
subsidies and other allowances, together with their personal
travelling expenses. The emigrants who are willing to go to the
island should be asked to register their names and professions
with the authorities, and after completing the formalities
required, should report to the port of Silifke for subsequent
travel to reach their destination in Cyprus before the autumn of
1572.
They should
also be given expatriate allowance and certain additional
privileges such as tax exemptions. Specific instructions have
also been given to the authorities that the officials dealing
with the emigration formalities should give every possible
assistance to the emigrants wishing to go to Cyprus, and
accelerate the operation of settlement to see that no complaints
arise whatsoever.
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From: The
North Cyprus Almanack, (1985), K.Rustem & Bro.
Publishers, London.
