The roadside inns (khāns) in Ottoman Dobrudja

Abstract

Dobrudja is located at the crossroad of commercial roads and was always the transit area for the trade road that linked the Mediterranean to the Baltic area, as well as a terminus point for the commercial routes in central Europe. This, together with the implementation of traditions of the Muslim world, led to the appearance in the important centers of the province of a specific element: the inns. They acquire specific features, according to the oriental tradition. Written sources of that time certify the existence of inns in Dobrudjan cities but also in other small localities. In rare cases, this information is confirmed by archaeological findings. The given paper presents the steps in the emergence of these inns, their spatial distribution, the factors that led to the development but also to the involution of their activity. The general characteristics of this kind of public establishment in the Muslim world and the degree to which they were preserved in the case of Dobrudjan inns are also described. The more appropriate term for Dobrudja is that of “inn” (<em>Khān</em>) and not caravanserai, a well-known term in the Islamic world. The connection of Dobrudja with the Balkan commercial routes is an interesting element.