Bribery in islam-ottoman penal codes and examples from the bursa shari’a court records of 18th century

So as to ensure durable peace in the community, the authorities are expected not to show any discrimination against citizens, but rather equal treatment and utmost compliance with the current laws. In a community where widespread corruption prevails, not only the confidence towards the administration is undermined, but also the authority given to the state employees is abused. The harsh punishment, imposed by the state to those involved in corruption strengthens, the confidence for the administration, and enables the authority along with to provide the maintenance of the public order to a great extent. Furthermore this preserves the necessary discipline in the officials and helps the administration to function on a regular basis and for the benefit of the community. One of the main characteristics of the Ottomans, who succeeded to retain power for nearly six centuries, is their ability to ensure justice in the community. However, in the course of time, corruption in the community became so common, especially among judges, that officials in charge of preventing corruption cases were themselves involved in such. The 18th century, was a period of economic, social and political chaos and unrest for the Ottoman community. The golden era of grand conquests had been left behind, and wars which erupted one after another both in the west and east part of the empire undermined the Ottoman power in unstable way. Just as the land system whose structure dating from the classical period was disrupted inevitably contributed to the increase of the migration to the urban areas so did it led to drastic fall in agricultural production. All these negative circumstance which subsequently followed each other created a lack of confidence that was gradually getting profound between the state and the public. Consequently, it brought about a noticeable rise in corruption cases throughout the Empire. The dominance of such undesirable situation and its reflection on the city of Bursa is the basis of this study.

Islam ,

Ottoman ,

Bribery ,

Penal Code ,

18th Century Bursa ,