Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab

491 Pages·2003·3.59 MB·English

by  Leslie Peirce

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Morality Tales
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The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous
contribution to this book provided by the Institute of
Turkish Studies, Washington, D.C., and by the
General Endowment Fund of the University of
California Press Associates.
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Morality Tales
Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab
Leslie Peirce
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles London
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University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2003 by
The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peirce, Leslie
Morality tales : law and gender in the Ottoman court of Aintab /
Leslie Peirce.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-520-22890-1 (Cloth) — isbn0-520-22892-8 (Paper)
1. Women—Legal status, laws, etc. (Islamic law)—Turkey—
History. 2. Sex and law—History. I. Title.
kkx517.5.p45 2003
346.56101(cid:2)34—dc21 2002152228
Manufactured in the United States of America
11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and totally
chlorine-free (TCF). It meets the minimum requirements of
ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r1997)(cid:2)(cid:3)
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To my parents
and to my son, Kerim
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contents
list of illustrations
/ ix
acknowledgments
/ xi
note on translation and transliteration
/ xv
Introduction / 1
part i. the setting: aintab and its court
1. Locating Aintab in Space and Time / 19
2. The People of Aintab and Their World / 50
3. Introducing the Court of Aintab / 86
part ii. gender and the terrain of local justice
I˙ne’s Story: A Child Marriage in Trouble / 129
4. Gender, Class, and Social Hierarchy / 143
5. Morality and Self-Representation at Court / 176
6. Women, Property, and the Court / 209
part iii. law, community, and the state
Haciye Sabah’s Story: A Teacher on Trial / 251
7. Negotiating Legitimacy through the Law / 276
8. Punishment, Violence, and the Court / 311
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part iv. making justice at the court of aintab
Fatma’s Story: The Dilemma of a Pregnant Peasant Girl / 351
8. Conclusion / 375
notes
/ 391
index
/ 453
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illustrations
MAPS
1. The Ottoman empire in the reign of Süleyman I / xvii
2. The greater Aintab region / xviii
3. Aintab province, mid–sixteenth century / xix
4. Aintab city and its neighborhoods, 1536–1543 / xx
FIGURES
Figures follow page 248.
1. The battlefield of Marj Dabik
2. The citadel of Aintab
3. The citadel of Aleppo
4. Crossing the Euphrates at Birecik, 1955
5. First page of the Aintab court register, dated 29 Muharrem
948/May25, 1541
6. A woman seeks an appeal
7. How Turkish women go about at home
8. The city of Erzurum
9. Closing a wine bar
10. Caught in a rendezvous
ix