GRANT PRACTICES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: A LEGAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC STUDY BASED ON ISTANBUL COURT RECORDS BETWEEN 1650 AND 1700

Abstract

Grant is a legal concept referring to the transfer of property without expecting compensation. It dates back to ancient times and was generally motivated by benevolence and the desire to support loved ones left behind. Occasionally, grants were also made under certain conditions. We have tried to investigate the impact of the grant, which has an important place in the Ottoman legal system, on the social and economic relations between individuals, and the years 1650-1700 constitute the temporal boundary of the study. 17 Istanbul Kadi registers covering the second half of the 17th century were utilized. These books were prepared within the scope of the Istanbul Kadi Registers Project organized by ISAM. In addition, within the framework of the partnership between IBB Kültür A.Ş. and Medipol University Faculty of Law, the transcription of 60 notebooks from the courts of Istanbul (city walls and bilad-ı selase) between 1557-1911 was realized and published in 2019. The number and content of grant records submitted to the court, the legal nature of transactions, party relations, donation type, and economic value have been analyzed.

Qualitative content analysis of the grant data reflected in the courts and qualitative content analysis was selected as the method and it was determined that there were 203 records on grants submitted to the court. Based on these data, it was observed that most grants were made between family members or second-degree relatives. The goods donated were mostly money and real estate. The data obtained in this framework is important in terms of showing that grants were used not only as a transfer of property between individuals, but also as an intra-family balance, an indicator of social status, and a religious and political tool. In this respect, the study contributes to both Ottoman legal history and socioeconomic structure.