Silk Roads of Pest-Buda: Ottoman Merchants in the Heart of Empire’s Marketplace

Abstract This article focuses on the historical contacts between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire, with particular emphasis on the Pest-Buda–related mobility and commercial activities of Ottoman subjects during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Through a detailed analysis of three extensive, untapped archival registers from the Finanz- und Hofkammer Archiv in Vienna, the study reveals that Pest-Buda’s crucial role in economic and cultural exchanges between these two empires did not diminish during this period. The research explores the connections between Transylvania and Pest-Buda, highlighting the importance of the Pest-Buda-Transylvania-Ottoman relationship in understanding transimperial communications. By closely examining individual profiles and their mobility patterns, this study not only provides insights into the prevailing socioeconomic circumstances and the interconnected communities moving between the two empires during the period, but also offers a nuanced understanding of Pest-Buda’s role as a historical gateway for Habsburg-Ottoman contacts within the broader imperial context.