Vows as Contract in Ottoman Public Life (17th-18th centuries)

Abstract Starting sometime in the seventeenth century, vows (nezir, Ar. nadhr) began to be used in the central lands of the Ottoman Empire as a means to seal contracts of a public nature. Although these vows were similar to the more common and older forms of customary compacts that also pertained to...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Canbakal, Hülya (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2011
In: Islamic law and society
Year: 2011, Volume: 18, Issue: 1, Pages: 85-115
Further subjects:B LEGAL CENTRALIZATION
B CUSTOM
B CONTRACT
B Oaths
B Ottoman Empire
B Vows
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Summary:Abstract Starting sometime in the seventeenth century, vows (nezir, Ar. nadhr) began to be used in the central lands of the Ottoman Empire as a means to seal contracts of a public nature. Although these vows were similar to the more common and older forms of customary compacts that also pertained to public matters, vows had a better defined status in sharia and could entail worldly liability in addition to moral/religious obligation. Using court records and fatwa collections, I argue that vows exemplified the expansion of legality and control of the state over custom and morality, as well as the recognition of a customary device of contract and its penetration into the legal sphere. On a secondary level, I also provide new material on contemporary political culture and the question of legal pluralism in the Ottoman context.
ISSN:1568-5195
Contains:Enthalten in: Islamic law and society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/156851910X517065