This project aims to decipher 19th century Ottoman Census Registers, called defters, to create a dataset of Rum communities and parishes. Information collected includes household and family relations, profession, place of origin, tax status, and even physical descriptions of individuals. 

Due to a lack of standardization among census questions throughout the period, early iterations of this project included transliteration of the defters and later input of data into a spreadsheet.

This data has allowed us to create large scale spatial understands of Rum neighborhoods through mapping of individuals homes and place of work. Comparing different census data creates a more nuanced understanding of the Rum community’s dynamism and evolution through time.

The reading group gathers online once a month to discuss the defters. Those interested in joining are welcome to contact us.