1455 defter of the Branković lands

The Ottoman cadastral tax census (defter) of 1455 in the Branković District (covering most of present-day Kosovo) recorded:

• 480 villages,
• 13,693 adult males,
• 12,985 dwellings,
• 14,087 household heads (480 widows and 13,607 adult males).

Yugoslav and Serbian scholars have researched the defter, concluding that:^[1]

• 13,000 Serb dwellings present in all 480 villages and towns
• 75 Vlach dwellings in 34 villages
• 46 Albanian dwellings in 23 villages
• 17 Bulgarian dwellings in 10 villages
• 5 Greek dwellings in Lauša, Vučitrn
• 1 Jewish dwelling in Vučitrn
• 1 Croat dwelling

Out of all names mentioned in this census, conducted by the Ottomans in 1455, covering areas of most of present-day Kosovo, 95.88% of all names were of Serbian origin, 1.90% of Roman origin, 1.56% of uncertain origin, 0.26% of Albanian origin, 0.25% of Greek origin, etc.

See also

• 1487 defter of the Branković lands
• 1582–83 defter of the Sanjak of Scutari

References

1. In 1972 the Sarajevo Institute of Middle Eastern Studies translated the original Turkish census and published an analysis of it Kovačević Mr. Ešref, Handžić A., Hadžibegović H. Oblast Brankovića - Opširni katastarski popis iz 1455., Orijentalni institut, Sarajevo 1972. Subsequently others have covered the subject as well such as Vukanović Tatomir, Srbi na Kosovu, Vranje, 1986.

Sources

• Orijentalni institut u Sarajevu (1972). Oblast Brankovića: opširni katastarski popis iz 1455. godine. Orijentalni institut.
• "Oblast Brankovica Opsirni Katastarski Popis Iz 1455 Godine".
• "Turski Katastarksi Popisi" (PDF).