TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary
Term · Provinces and land
Also known as: forced resettlement
The state's compulsory resettlement of population from one region to another.
The Ottomans used sürgün both as a punishment and as a settlement policy. Turkmen nomads from Anatolia were settled in Rumelia; after the conquest of Istanbul, the most effective way of repopulating the city was to send families there from other towns.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “SÜRGÜN” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.