The Ottoman Empire, which ruled for six centuries, had a strong legal structure that maintained the state despite many ethnic, religious and cultural differences. Islamic Law was the essence of Ottoman Law. It is understood that during the period of the Ottoman Empire, it developed a specific and particular legal structure. The rules of law which Ottoman sovereigns established in accord with their rights and areas cannot be ignored. Among the basic elements of Ottoman Law, we find the Şer'iyye Courts and the Şer'iyye Records, which were the judgements registered by these courts.
These books, which have a first degree resource value in terms of Ottoman history, have provided extensive data on many issues to be considered in terms of content, but significant data is also provided in terms of the social, economic, judicial and administrative issues related to the period and the context of writing.
When we examine the history of the Şer'iyye Register in the Ottoman Empire, we see that the earliest examples are found in Bursa. Since the first half of the 19th century, the records of these registries, which date back to 1455, were narrowed down through the creation of new courts. Nevertheless, these records continued to be maintained until the 20th century.
The 99th Book of the Antalya (Finike) Şer'iyye Registers, which was examined, which was kept in the period between 1916 and 1924 and through it an attempt has been made to evaluate the socio-economic situation of Finike in the early 20th century based upon the data obtained from the registry. The provisions examined are generally attributed to Finike, which was affiliated to the Antalya Sanjak. However, the book also contains provisions concerning Elmalı.
The 99th Book of Antalya (Finike) Şer'iyye Registers, which we have reviewed, is of great importance for the period in which it was written, being written at the end of the Ottoman Empire and during the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. It shows the transition phase from the Ottoman Empire. In the book, we are able to see how Antalya and Finike were affected by this change in administration and of the rising phase of Antalya for the province. In addition, since the book was kept between 1916 and 1924, the attempt was made from the information obtained from the Book of Antalya (Finike) Şer'iyye Registry No 99 to show the effects of the National Struggle movement, which began in World War I in Anatolia, on Finike. |