The editors of this volume have gathered leading scholars on the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey to chronologically examine the sweep and variety of sociolegal projects being carried in the region. These efforts intersect issues of property, gender, legal literacy, the demarcation of village boundaries, the codification of Islamic law, economic liberalism, crime and punishment, and refugee rights across the empire and the Aegean region of the Turkish Republic.

Prof. Gábor Hamza contriƯbutes to the underƯstanƯding of the history of civil law, the diffeƯrent codiƯfiƯcaƯtion processes and its cross-border influƯence. CompaƯraƯtive legal studies, such as his, are not only invaƯluable for fathoƯming the various ways in which society can exist, but also pave the way for future legal experts to one day achieve the long desired co-exisƯtence and mutual respect between diffeƯrenƯcing cultures and reliƯgions. Cultural and reliƯgious diverƯsity is a safeƯguard against the so called 'clash of civiƯlizaƯtions', which seems to be such a problem nowaƯdays. A settled, law-abiding popuƯlaƯtion in every multi-ethnic country underƯmines the view that a place 'belongs' to just one faith or culture. The first step is to underƯstand the roots of our diverƯsity, upon which the founƯdaƯtions of society and its legal system rest. This anthoƯlogy gives us a little glance at this kind of compaƯraƯtive analysis, and enables the underƯstanƯding of how Western EuroƯpean legal deveƯlopƯment has influƯenced the legisƯlaƯtion of the Ottoman Empire and nearby terriƯtoƯries such as Cyprus and MaceƯdonia. The author also introƯduces us to the excepƯtional oeuvre of András Bertalan Schwarz, another speciaƯlist in Turkish-HungaƯrian legal relaƯtiƯonship.

The editors of this volume have gathered leading scholars on the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey to chronologically examine the sweep and variety of sociolegal projects being carried in the region. These efforts intersect issues of property, gender, legal literacy, the demarcation of village boundaries, the codification of Islamic law, economic liberalism, crime and punishment, and refugee rights across the empire and the Aegean region of the Turkish Republic.

Legislation Authority addresses issues of law, state violence, and state authority within the Ottoman and Turkish context.

This wide-ranging volume advances our understanding of law and empire in the early modern world. Distinguished contributors expose new dimensions of legal pluralism in the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ottoman empires. In-depth analyses probe such topics as the shifting legal privileges of corporations, the intertwining of religious and legal thought, and the effects of clashing legal authorities on sovereignty and subjecthood. Case studies show how a variety of individuals engage with the law and shape the contours of imperial rule. The volume reaches from Peru to New Zealand to Europe to capture the varieties and continuities of legal pluralism and to probe the analytic power of the concept of legal pluralism in the comparative study of empires. For legal scholars, social scientists, and historians, Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850 maps new approaches to the study of empires and the global history of law.

Contrary to the stereotypical images of torture, narcotics and brutal sexual abuse traditionally associated with Ottoman or 'Turkish' prisons, Kent Schull argues that, during the Second Constitutional Period (1908-1918), they played a crucial role in attempts to transform the empire.