Information Package / Course Catalogue
Ottoman Judicial System
Course Code: TRH508
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: Second Cycle (Master's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 5
Objectives of the Course

To teach students how important the concepts of justice, law making and enforcement in the Ottoman state were. To demonstrate that the Ottoman state's legal system and its economic structure are closely linked to each other.

Course Content

In this course, the primary resources used in Ottoman history researches will be discussed. The most important of these are archival sources. Besides, the researches and published books on Early Modern Period will be examined and the documents, encyclopedias, dictionaries, catalogs and maps of Ottoman paleography and diplomacy shall be used in research studies.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Devlet-i Aliyye I, Halil İnalcık, İş Bankası Yayınları, İstanbul 2009.
2.Türkiye’de Toprak Meselesi, Ömer L. Barkan, İstanbul 1980.
3.Kanunlar, Ömer L. Barkan, İstanbul 1943.
4."Adaletnameler” Halil İnalcık, Belgeler II, 3-4:49-145. Ankara 1965.
5.Osmanlı’da Toprak Mülkiyeti ve Ticari Tarım. (Ed.) Çağlar Keyder-Faruk Tabak, İstanbul 1998.
6. Şeriattan Kanuna. Ebussuud ve Osmanlı’da İslami Hukuk, Colin Imber, İstanbul 2004.
7.İslâm Muhakeme Hukuku, Abdülaziz Bayındır, İstanbul 1986.
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Seljuk Legal Heritage and the Ottomans. Ottoman Legal System in the early periods of the Ottoman Empire.
Week 2 - Theoretical
Law in the Ottoman Classical Period. Distinction between Customary and Sharia Law. The authority of the Ottoman Sultan himself to make laws. Legal practices of the early Ottoman sultans.
Week 3 - Theoretical
The Kanunnamesi of Mehmed II. Sections and Analysis. The issue of fratricide and Ottoman law.
Week 4 - Theoretical
Ottoman Kadi. Duties, administration, importance in provincial administration. The records he kept: Şer'iyye registers.
Week 5 - Theoretical
Examples of Sher'iyye Registry. Sample reading and analysis.
Week 6 - Theoretical
Examples of Sher'iyye Registry. Sample reading and analysis.
Week 7 - Theoretical
Examples of Sher'iyye Registry. Sample reading and analysis.
Week 8 - Theoretical
Kanunname samples. Sample reading and analysis.
Week 9 - Theoretical
Kanunname samples. Sample reading and analysis.
Week 10 - Theoretical
Ottoman sheikhulislams and the fatwas they issued. Ibn-i Kemal and Ebussud school
Week 11 - Theoretical
Ottoman judiciary in the Jalali conquest and the Adaletnameler.
Week 12 - Theoretical
Ottoman judiciary in the Celali. Sample reading and analysis
Week 13 - Theoretical
Ottoman judiciary in the Celali. Sample reading and analysis
Week 14 - Theoretical
Change and transformation of the Ottoman legal structure. Reforms in the legal field in Tanzimat and XIX century.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Midterm Examination1%40
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory143384
Assignment18210
Individual Work18210
Midterm Examination1224
Final Examination110212
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)120
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
PÇ-7
PÇ-8
PÇ-9
PÇ-10
OÇ-1
4
OÇ-2
4
4
OÇ-3
4
OÇ-4
4
OÇ-5
OÇ-6
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026