The Waqf Monuments in Gercanis (Refahiye) in the 17th and 18th Centuries According to the Hurufat Registers

Hurufat registers are available in the archives of the General Directorate of Foundations. There are records 1 to 4 in page range in 7 notebooks under the name of Gercanis. All of these records belonging to the 17th and 18th centuries were read and considerable information was obtained about the district structures. There are data about the structures mentioned in the records such as whether they were operational, or not at the time of registration, or in rare cases, repair information is included. We learn the structures which are not mentioned in other sources through these books. Thus, there is important information about art history in the books. Today, Refahiye, a district of Erzincan, became the center of the Gercanis sub-district of the Kemah Sanjak during the Ottoman Period. According to Hurufat Registers, there were 6 dervish lodges, 2 tombs and 28 mosques in Gercanis at that time. In this study, the religious and social structures in the villages, sub-districts and hamlets of the district were investigated by utilizing Hurufat registers, land registry books and salnames, and information about the waqf revenues, assignment conditions and fees of these buildings were given. As a result of our research, it has been observed that some of the settlements in the districts have kept their names up to the present and some have been changed.