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...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Brill
2011
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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 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
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. |
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ISSN: | 1568-5195 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Islamic law and society
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/156851910X517065 |