Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies is an Istanbul-based journal aiming at strengthening academic exchange among social scientists from Turkey, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Eastern European countries. We started the journal in 2018 and have published nine issues until now. The tenth issue includes four research articles and one research note / short article.

The first article of the issue titled “Effects of the Conversion of Timars to Mukataa in Crete on Ottoman Budget Balance and Revenues Accruing to Treasury” by Prof. Dr. Ayşe Nükhet Adıyeke discusses the process of transformation of the Ottoman timars to mukaatas on the island of Crete until 1705. She utilizes three Ottoman registers from the second half of the 17th century.

The second article of the issue titled “İşkodra’da Reji Şirketi ve Tütün Kaçakçılığı, 1885-1910” (The Régie Company and Tobacco Smuggling in Shkodra, 1885-1910) by graduate student Doğukan Oruç deals with Tobacco Régie Company in Schkoder against the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. He shows that the establishment of the Tobacco Régie Company in Schkoder met local resistance particularly by the small tobacco producers and traders. According to the author, this caused also the rise of tobacco smuggling in the region.

The third research article of the issue titled “Pinelopi Delta – Ion Dragoumis: Talihsiz bir Aşk Hikayesi” (Pinelopi Delta – Ion Dragoumis: An Unfortunate Love Affair) by Dr. Alexandra Marina Dapoudani deals with the famous Greek writer of children literature and her platonic love with the politician Ion Dragoumis. The author shows that they never had the opportunity to come together and their love remained as a spiritual love. Then Ion Dragoumis was murdered in 1920. In the end Pinelopi committed suicide during the Second World War.

The fourth research article of the issue titled “NATO’nun Genişleme Politikası, Kafkasya ve Türkiye ile İlişkiler” (NATO’s Enlargement Policy, Relations with the Caucasia, and Turkey) by Prof. Dr. Yıldız Deveci Bozkuş discusses the enlargement policy of NATO and its effects on the Caucasus and Turkey. According to the author the enlargement policy of NATO was perceived as a destabilising factor in the region and caused discussions and conflicts such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The fifth and last article of the issue is a short article (research note) titled “Girit Örneğinde Müslüman Olmanın Ön Koşulu: Sünnet” (Circumcision, Prerequisite for Being a Muslim: The Example of Crete) by Assist. Prof. Dr. Nuri Adıyeke. The article focuses on the circumcision among the Muslim population (the newly converted men) on Crete during the 17th and 18th centuries. The author utilizes different Ottoman sources to show the attitude of the Cretan Muslims towards circumcision.

I would like to thank the editorial board members of our journal, especially Cengiz Yolcu, for their hard work and contributions to this issue. I also thank the authors of the articles and all the referees for their precious efforts during the evaluation process of the articles.

Mehmet Hacısalihoğlu, Prof. Dr.
Editor in Chief