Based on the Ottoman census records (tahrir defterleri), this study sheds light on the economy and demographics of Lesbos in the 16th century. The Ottoman sources found in the archives and libraries of Turkey, mainly, constitute a rich and unexplored field to this day, and the systematic publication of the earliest and most important of these is a necessary prerequisite for historical research.

The "New detailed register of provincial administration of the island of Mytilene" (Defter-I mufassal-I cedid-I liva-I cezire-I Midilli), the result of the census conducted by the Ottomans in 1548, is the first detailed register preserved for Lesbos, 86 years after its conquest in 1462. It is an important historical document that records in detail the inhabitants and the tax burdens imposed by the Ottoman state on their productive occupations. The reliable and objective data it contains reveal the economic and demographic situation of Lesbos in the mid-16th century, as well as the fiscal policy pursued by the Sublime Porte towards the island's population.