歴史人口學で見たシリアの都市社會--ダマスカスの結婚性向の計量分析

Abstract

This article attempts a quantitative analysis of nuptiality trends in Damascus, using marriage license (izinname) registers as a historical source. There was a clear contrast in nuptiality trends in periods of crisis and in normal times in Damascus between the years 1902 and 1927. This is confirmed by the fact that the average age of marriage for men in normal times was in the early 20s, but in times of crisis it soared to over 30, and that the monthly average of 104 marriages in normal times plummeted to approximately one-fourth that level in periods of crisis. There was a strong tendency for both men and women to choose their spouses within Damascus, particularly within their own neighborhoods, and the range of marriage was not broad. Such a tendency was particularly notable in urban neighborhoods where inhabitants shared the same origin, ethnicity and language. This was especially true in the Salihiya and upper-Midan districts. On the other hand, the range of marriage in the Saruja district was broader, and one in three women in the district married in distant metropolises. Endogamy or other forms of marriages that can be seen as strategic familial alliances occupied 9.5% of all marriages in 1910s. Remarriages of women formed 4.2% of all marriages, and they were characterized by a wide gap in the age of husbands and wives. As for the reason for women's separation from their previous husbands, ninety percent were due to ordinary divorce or death. In conclusion, there were many negative factors in Damascus society in the first quarter of the twentieth century, such as war, low sex ratio, and women's emigration from the city, which can be said to have been reflected in the nuptiality trends. All the findings indicate that the izinname registers are a distinguished historical source to develop historical demography of Ottoman societies. As has been made clear in this study, the izinnames, which have been identified only within the Ottoman Empire among other Islamic states, are a thoroughly unique source. It is thought that the izinnames were introduced into Syria by the Ottoman Empire in 1519 at the latest. Through the institutions of the Islamic courts and the izinnames, the Ottoman Empire made it possible to implement the recording of marriages in Syrian urban areas, although such records were far from perfect. In the 19th century, when the Ottoman Empire first decided to conduct a population census in the modern sense, the existence of the Islamic courts and theizinnames took on great significance. However, due to the limitations of the izinname registers, it is preferable to use other sources, such as the basic rosters and the Islamic court records, as a supplement to produce a corrected analysis of the results. In this manner, the virtue of the izinname registers for the study of urban Syrian society can be understood as truly great.