“Even though We Live under the Naz?rin's Influence, the Ciftlik's Owner is Protecting us a lot“ – Balcho Neykov and Dobrudzha Ciftliks of Eyub Pasa

The article provides new information on the socio-economic development of Northern Dobrudzha in the 19th c. extracted from unpublished Ottoman documents – temettuat defters. Temettuat defters appeared in 1845 as a result of an ambitious survey of the Ottoman central authorities which registered the land, immovable property, incomes and animals of the Ottoman subjects. Those documents provide valuable information for the demographic picture, social, ethnic and religious characteristics of the settlements in the Ottoman Empire. Another important source of information for the history of the region is Balcho Neykov's memoirs. The problem of the Ottoman agrarian policy in Northern Dobrudzha and the role of the local Ottoman elite in it was studied before, but the provided new sources give new perspective and support innovative theses. The question of ciftliks is also discussed in the paper. These ciftliks are owned by representatives of the local elite – Hasan Bey and Murad Bey, who had significant role in the domestic economy.