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Water Buffalo Herding in the Tigris-Euphrates Marshes, 1534-1590

Sat, March 17, 10:30am to 12:00pm, Riverside Convention Center, RC F

Abstract

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) was the largest mammalian gift the Tigris-Euphrates marshes contributed to the Ottoman economy in the sixteenth century. By a conservative estimate, its population numbered some 36,000, each generating an annual tax levy eight times more than the tax levied on sheep and three times more than that on cows. Using evidence from imperial cadastral surveys (tapu tahrir defterleri) and law codes (kanunname) compiled during the period, this paper reconstructs the environmental and social context that enabled mobile pastoralists and the water buffalo to carve out a niche for themselves and thrive in the wetlands of the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial plain. Between 1534 and 1590, following Ottoman expansion into the east, provincial officials relied on age-old local strategies and adaptations in animal husbandry to extract the maximum financial rewards generated by water buffalo herding. A lasting working relationship between imperial officials and buffalo herders, governed by a set of laws, conventions, and intermediaries, developed for the protection of the interests and welfare of both parties. Political stability allowed pastoralists to grow their buffalo herds as Ottoman provincial administrators reaped the economic benefits of expansion in this sector of the economy. The successful management of the Tigris-Euphrates water buffalo in the arid Middle East highlights the critical role of wetland ecosystems in supporting life in its most fascinating and extraordinary forms.

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