Anasay

Abstract

In the Ottoman State system, the sultan was the head and responsible of the judicial mechanism. There were administrative and judicial officials who carried out this responsibility on behalf of the sultan. For this reason, the sultan had to act very carefully in preventing all kinds of injustice, cruelty and evil suffered by citizens from all walks of life living within the borders of the state. Therefore, every Ottoman citizen who was oppressed, aggrieved, or who did not find the decision of the local court sufficient, had the right to apply directly to the Sultan or to the persons or institutions authorized by him for the redress of their grievances, without any intermediary. In the Ottoman Empire, the complaints reflected in the Divanıhumayun and the solution suggestions given to these complaints were previously recorded in the mühimme books. XVII. Complaint Books were created in response to the increase in complaints in the 17th century. XVIII. In the 18th century, State Ahkam Books, classified according to provinces, were created by Ragıp Efendi, the Reisülküttab of the period.
In the 18th century, Erzurum was one of the provinces whose ahkâm books were kept. These books contain many provisions regarding the sanjaks, districts and caravans of the Erzurum province. In this study, the provisions related to the debt-credit relationship in the Erzurum province and its affiliated units, covering the years 1155/1214-1742/1800 H., were evaluated. The provisions include a broad perspective on qualified receivables, sales resulting from land disposition, unfair receivables, and the debt-credit relationship arising from trade relations. In addition, considering the religious characteristics, gender and social status of the debtors, it will be possible to obtain information about the commercial life of the region.