Charity Through Bread: The Hamidiye Imâret and the Politics of Fodula Distribution in the Ottoman Empire (1781-1903)

This study examines the fodula allocations of the Hamidiye waqf imâret (soup kitchen), established by Sultan Abdülhamid I in the late 18th century. Fodula was a type of bread baked in the palace, janissary, and waqf imâret ovens, distributed to entitled recipients alongside their salaries. Waqf employees, residents of madrasas and tekkes (dervish lodges), duâgû (designated prayer reciters), and the poor were the primary beneficiaries of the fodula cooked in waqf imârets. Based on the waqf charter (vakfiye) (1781), its supplement (zeyl vakfiye) (1789), and the fodula register (1823-1903), the Hamidiye imâret alone distributed more than 1,000 loaves of fodula daily. A notable share of fodula baked in the Hamidiye imâret oven went to Khalwatiyya and Naqshbandi lodges, reflecting the state’s strategic use of waqf funds to control religious institutions and leverage their societal influence. The paper discusses the political, fiscal, and social dimensions of bread distribution in the Ottoman capital through the example of the Hamidiye waqf.