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Molla tabiri birçok zümre için kullanılabilmekle beraber genel itibariyle bu kavramın dinî bir görev icra etsin veya etmesin bilumum medrese mezunları için kullanılan ilmî bir unvan olduğu söylenebilir. Osmanlı Devleti’nin son dönemlerinden itibaren sosyal anlam-da değer kaybına uğrayan mollaların tarihsel geçmişine ışık tutulması, Osmanlı dönemi İslam sosyal tarihinin aydınlatılması noktasında büyük bir önemi haizdir. Bu çalışmada Kıbrıs sosyal tarihinde şimdiye kadar karanlıkta kalan ve dönemin sosyal ağı içerisindeki yerleri bilinmeyen mollalar araştırma konusu edilmiştir. Araştırmanın veri tabanı Osmanlı sosyal tarihi araştırmalarının en önemli ve birinci elden kaynağı olan şer‘iyye sicilleridir ve incelenen dönem 18. yüzyıldır. Araştırmada elde edilen veri ve bulgular, mollaların ailevi ilişkileri, meslekleri ve iktisadi ilişkileri, toplumsal rol ve statüleri, toplum içerisinde-ki ihtilafları ve suç ilişkileri gibi başlıklar altında incelenmiştir. Araştırmada belgelere dayalı olarak elde edilen tüm veri ve bulgular Osmanlı Kıbrısı’nda mollaların aktif biçimde sosyal hayatın içerisinde yer aldıklarını ortaya koymuştur. Bunun yanı sıra onların genel itibariyle topluma değer katan, sosyal hayatı ıslah eden saygın ve güvenilir kişiler olarak Kıbrıs sosyal tarihinin önemli bir parçası oldukları da ortaya çıkmıştır., Although the term “mullah” could be used for various coteries, it could be said that this concept is generally a scholarly appellation used for all madrasah graduates, whether they perform a religious mission or not. Enlightening the historical background of the mullahs, who have lost social value since the last periods of the Ottoman Empire, is of great importance in illuminating the Islamic social history of the Ottoman period. In this study, the mullahs, who have been left in the dark up to now and their places in the social network of the period were unknown, are the subject of research. The examined database of the research is the court records of the period of the 18th century, which is the most important and first-hand source of Ottoman social history studies. The data and findings obtained in the current study were examined under the headings of family relations, professions, economic relations, social roles and statuses, conflicts in the society, and criminal relations of the mullahs. All the data and findings obtained from the court records of the research have revealed that the mullahs were actively taken a role in the social life in Ottoman Cyprus. In addition, it has been revealed that they were respected and reliable people who add value to society, improve social life, and were an important part of the social history of Cyprus.

Although many studies related to male and female slaves in various parts of the Ottoman geography were carried out, it is a significant shortcoming that the slaves and concubines in Diyarbakir, where an important province center of the Ottoman Empire was located, have not been subject to any research until now. In this study, based on the urgent research needed mentioned above, very valuable data and findings about slaves and concubines in the Ottoman Diyarbakir were obtained. The number of slaves and concubines identified in the 18th and 19th centuries Diyarbakir (Amid) kadi registers is 159. It was revealed that there were not many slaves and concubines in this relevant period of Diyarbakir. It was found that approximately one-third of all slaves and concubines identified became free, and they were successfully integrated into the economic and social life of the society as free individuals., Osmanlı coğrafyasının muhtelif yerlerindeki kölelik ve cariyelik uygulamalarını konu edinen birçok araştırma gerçekleştirilmesine rağmen Osmanlı’nın önemli bir eyalet merkezi olan Diyarbekir’deki köle ve cariyelerin şimdiye kadar herhangi bir araştırmaya konu edilmemesi mühim bir noksanlıktır. Bu ihtiyaçtan hareketle meydana gelen bu çalışmada, Osmanlı Diyarbekiri’ndeki köle ve cariyelere dair oldukça kıymetli veri ve bulgulara ulaşılmıştır. 18. ve 19. yüzyıl Diyarbekir (Amid) şer‘iyye sicillerinde tespit edilen köle ve cariyelerin sayısı 159’dur. İlgili dönem Diyarbekir’inde köle ve cariyelerin pek fazla bulunmadığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Buna paralel olarak köle ve cariye sahibi kişilerin genelde ağa, bey, efendi gibi unvanları haiz ve genel itibariyle zengin ve mevki sahibi oldukları gözlenmiştir. Araştırma, ilgili dönemde cariyelerin kölelere nazaran çok daha fazla talep gördüğünü ve insanların kölelerden ziyade cariye edindiklerini ortaya koymuştur. Nitekim bu dönemde cariye sayısı kölelerin yaklaşık olarak iki katıdır. Bununla birlikte cariyeler kölelere nazaran çok daha az azat edilmişlerdir. Tespit edilen tüm köle ve cariyelerin yaklaşık üçte birinin azatlı olduğu ve bunların hür bireyler olarak toplumun ekonomik ve sosyal hayatına başarıyla entegre oldukları tespit edilmiştir. İmparatorluğun geneline nazaran Diyarbekir’deki köle ve cariyelerin durumlarının genel itibariyle daha iyi olduğu, belgelere yansıyan umumi bir mağduriyetlerinin bulunmadığı ortaya çıkmıştır.

OsmanlıDevleti’nde imamlar, Müslüman topluma hizmet veren kadrolar içerisinde en genişyeri tutmakla birlikte üstlendikleri dinî, toplumsal ve resmi görevlerleoldukça önemli bir konumdaydılar. Bu sebeple imamlık, Osmanlı İslam toplumununönde gelen kurumlarındandır ve geçirdiği değişim ve dönüşümlerle birliktegünümüzde de büyük bir ehemmiyeti haizdir. Mezkûr öneme istinaden bu çalışmada,şimdiye kadar herhangi bir araştırmaya konu edilmemiş olan Osmanlı toplumundaimamların mesleki hayatlarındakarşılaştıkları sorunlar ele alınmıştır. Araştırmanın amacı, 18. yüzyılDiyarbekir ahkâm defterleri ve yine Diyarbekir (Âmid) şer’iyye sicilleriçerçevesinde ilgili dönemde imamların mesleki hayatlarında karşılaştıklarısorunları ortaya koymaktır. Araştırma neticesinde ilgili dönemde imamlarınmesleki hayatlarında karşılaştıkları sorunların toplam 60 farklı belgeyeyansıdığı tespit edilmiştir. Yapılan tasnife göre bu sorunların en sıkrastlanılanı vakıflarla ilgilidir. Bunu sırasıyla usulsüz vergi tahsili meselesi,görevlerine yönelik usulsüz müdahaleler, nikâh kıyma ve gasil meseleleri vesosyal hayatta karşılaşılan az sayıdaki diğer bazı sorunlar takip etmektedir. Busorunlar içerisinde özellikle vakıflar, usulsüz imamlık beratları ve vergileredair meselelerin dikkate değer bir ciddiyette olduğu ve ilgili kurumlarınişleyişinde birtakım bozulmaların meydana geldiği gözlenmiştir., Imams in Ottoman State were in quite an important position due to theirreligious, social and official duties since they occupied the largest placeamong the institutions serving the Muslim community. For this reason, theprofession of imam is the most prominent institution of Ottoman Islamcommunity; and it displays a great importance with the transformations andchanges it has experienced. Based on the abovementioned importance, theproblems that imams of Ottoman community faced in their professional life havebeen handled in this study, which has not been the subject of any studies sofar. The aim of the study is to reveal the problems that the imams faced intheir professional life in the related period within the context of XVIIIcentury Diyarbekir Ahkam Books and also Diyarbekir (Amid) Sharia RegistryBooks. As a result of the investigation, it was established that the problemsthat imams faced in their professional life were recorded in a total of 60different records. According to classification, one of the most frequentlyfaced problems was about foundations. Problems related to illegal taxcollection, improper interferences in imams due to their duties, performingmarriage contract and dead washing and few problems that are faced in sociallife are the subsequent problems.SummaryImams in Ottoman State were in quite an important position due to their religious,social and official duties since they occupied the largest place among theinstitutions serving the Muslim community. For this reason, the profession ofimam is the most prominent institution of Ottoman Islam community; and itdisplays a great importance with the transformations and changes it hasexperienced. Based on the abovementioned importance, the problems that imams ofOttoman community faced in their professional life have been handled in thisstudy, which has not been the subject of any studies so far. The aim of thestudy is to reveal the problems that the imams faced in their professional lifein the related period within the context of XVIII century Diyarbekir AhkamBooks and also Diyarbekir (Amid) Sharia Registry Books. As a result of theinvestigation, it was established that the problems that imams faced in theirprofessional life were recorded in a total of 60 different records. Accordingto classification, one of the most frequently faced problems was aboutfoundations. Problems related to illegal tax collection, improper interferencesin imams due to their duties, performing marriage contract and dead washing andfew problems that are faced in social life are the subsequent problems.The problems faced by the imams in their professional lives during therelevant period were reflected in 60 different documents. According to theclassification, the foundation related issues were found to be the most commonamong these problem with a rate of 33,3%. These have mainly arisen from the foundationmanagers or sometimes from the tenant of the foundations. Problems arising fromthe managers of the foundations were related to the facts that the imams didnot get their salaries or their salaries were cut without a legitimatejustification. Sometimes the mismanagement of the foundation causeddifficulties for the imams who received their salaries from the foundation. Theproblems related to the tenants were often caused by the desire of the tenantsto seize the property or by their attempts not to pay the rent. The problems ofthe imams in such cases arise due to the fact that the relevant foundationproperty itself or its income is allocated to the imam. The unlawful tax collection is the second biggest problem faced by theimams with a rate of 30 %. Generally, the village officers and some customarypeople, imposed pressure on the imams and demanded illegal taxes from them.Although it was clearly stated in the documents of that period that the imamsare “the leaders and guides of the society” and they were exempted from thetaxes, these people willingfully subjected the imams to oppression andharassment in this regard, probably due to their personal interests. With a remarkable rate of 21.6 %, the illegal interventions were thethird most common problem faced by the imams. These problems generally arosedue to the attempt to seizure the duties of the imams illegally while they wereprofessing. The persons who took place in such interventions were typically thecolleagues of the imams such as khadi and mufti and only sometimes civilians. Even illegally issued imamate certificates were found in the relevantperiod. These certificates issued by some state officials in an illegitimatemanner posed a problem to the imams who performed their duties legally. In this period, it was revealed that some people who did not have theauthority to intervene the duties of the imams caused difficult situations forthe imams when they intervened through the remedy of imamate. These peopleinvolving in the work of imams were generally the residents of the place wherethe imams performed their duties. With a rate of 11,6 % the fourth most common problems faced by the imams were the issuesof performing the marriage ceremony and the bathing of the deceased. It was revealedthat these problems generally occurred among the imams themselves and accordingto the document some tyrant imams put unlawfully pressure on the othercolleagues.Apart from some relatively simple violations such as intervening in thework of the imams, it can be said that the imams were rarely confronted. Inthis respect, the problems they faced with the society were simple issuesencountered in daily life generally and these happened very rarely. As a result of the research, the problems that were understood to haveoccurred in the relevant period and to have come to the forefront are thementioned issues. During this period, imams were confronted mostly with thevillage officers and civil servants or with the management and tenants of thefoundations or with the other imams. As it can be seen, the imams did not havemany problems. Especially the problems faced with the rayah were quite limitedand simple. No matter what, they were always able to communicate their problemseasily and directly to imperial council. The imperial council did not remainindifferent to the problems of the imams and tried to solve their problems withsome instructions. However, especially the foundations, illegal imamatecertifications and the problems related to taxes pointed out that the problemswere deep and the functioning of the related institutions were deteriorated.The problems that occurred within this scope and the commands sent continuouslyshowed that the mentioned problems could not be eliminated permanently.

The island ofCyprus, which has hosted many civilizations throughout history, has existedwith the different ethnic and religious elements it hosts. During the Ottomansovereignty between 1571 and 1878, Muslims and non-Muslims, who formed themajority in the island, lived together for nearly 300 years. They contactedwith each other in many different areas, especially in trade, in the naturalcourse of daily life. In the Ottoman period, although the non-Muslims havecertain legal autonomy, the shar'i courts became the only place of applicationfor the settlement of legal issues between Muslims and Non-Muslims. The qadirecords of these courts were kept with care during the Ottoman period, andtoday they constitute the richest and most reliable sources of Muslim and non-Muslimrelations that have taken place in the history. From this point of view, in thestudy, the Muslim-non-Muslim relations, which were reflected in the 17thand 18th-century Cyprus qadi records, were examined under the legalframework regarding the individuals, families, heritage, goods, and debts. Yet,the vast majority of the relationships that have occurred between the twosocieties had been in these areas. In the research, it has been revealed thatthe Muslim and non-Muslim relations in Ottoman Cyprus are generally moreintense than the relations in Anatolia for the same period. In addition, it wasalso observed that the relations between the two societies were considerablystrong and positive.SummaryCyprus whichlost its social peace and serenity since having left the administration ofOttoman is still a region in ceasefire, where a permanent peace could not beestablished between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Therefore, puttingforward the relations of Muslims and non-Muslims from Cyprus during OttomanPeriod will provide an insight on what are necessary to live in peace throughtheir historical experience, also it will contribute to eliminate theaccusation and slander against Ottoman and Muslim or non-Muslim people of theisland.The island ofCyprus, which has hosted many civilizations throughout history, has existedwith the different ethnic and religious elements it hosts. During the Ottomansovereignty between 1571 and 1878, Muslims and non-Muslims, who formed themajority in the island, lived together for nearly 300 years. They contactedwith each other in many different areas, especially in trade, in the naturalcourse of daily life. In the Ottoman period, although the non-Muslims havecertain legal autonomy, the sharia courts became the only place of applicationfor the settlement of legal issues between Muslims and non-Muslims. The qadirecords of these courts were kept with care during the Ottoman period, andtoday they constitute the richest and most reliable sources of Muslim andnon-Muslim relations that have taken place in the history. From this point ofview, in the study, the Muslim-non-Muslim relations, which were reflected inthe 17th and 18th century Cyprus qadi records, wereexamined under the legal framework regarding the individuals, families,heritage, goods, and debts. Yet, the vast majority of the relationships that haveoccurred between the two societies had been in these areas. In the research, ithas been revealed that the Muslim and non-Muslim relations in Ottoman Cyprusare generally more intense than the relations in Anatolia for the same period.In addition, it was also observed that the relations between the two societieswere considerably strong and positive.Primary sourcesof this study focusing on the relation between the Muslim and non-Muslim inOttoman during 17th and 18th century are the records of sharia judge of Cyprusin that period. The mentioned records of sharia judge are 22 volumes and theyare composed of all of the current records of sharia judge of Cyprus.Historical experience of the locals and the political, social andadministrative structure of the island in the said period were addressedbriefly for a better understanding of relations between Muslim and non-Muslimin Cyprus during Ottoman period. One of the keyfindings of this study is that relations between the Muslim and the non-Muslimin Cyprus of Ottoman have a rather strong and positive character. We believethat island's having hosted to various cultures and civilizations throughouthistory along with its cosmopolitan social structure have affected theemergence of this aspect in the relations between both communities. Therefore,firstly the essentials of the general history of Cyprus, then its political,social and administrative situation during 17th and 18th were addressed afterthe introduction, finally information on the population structure of Muslim andnon-Muslims were given. Firstly, the relations regarding the laws of persons,family and inheritance, then the relations of laws of property and obligationswere focused on while examining the relations between Muslim and non-Muslim.Legal classification of the relations was considered to be more appropriate asthe database of the study is composed of records of sharia judges which are thecourt records of that period.Among all thedocuments regarding the legal relationships, the number of court records whoseparties are Muslims and non-Muslims is 979 and its rate corresponds to 12%.This rate shows that relation between Muslim and non-Muslim in the Cyprus ismore intense in proportion to the general situation in Anatolia. Therefore,examined documents reveal the existence of several relations in the social andcommercial matters. It was seen thatthe non-Muslims know their rights in the disputes occurred between the Muslimsand the non-Muslims, that they can claim their rights by easily applying to thecourt when needed. Plaintiff or defendant's being non-Muslim did not affect thestance of the sharia judge and also no arbitrary decisions in any case wasdetected. Judge decides on which party is right according to the evidence whetherthey are Muslim or non-Muslim. Besides, the non-Muslim's being able to makepeople who are claimed to be unfair to them summoned before the court andseveral cases which are won by non-Muslims against Muslims confirm thissituation clearly. The fact that plaintiff or defendant is a Muslim civilservant did not cause any difference in implementation and no documentindicating that local governments interfere with the spiritual court wasobserved.Another matteremerged from the study is that not only issues among Muslims or between Muslimsand non-Muslims but also issues whose parties are non-Muslims were applied tothe spiritual court frequently. Therefore, it can be stated that spiritualcourt or sharia judges play a central role in the lives of Muslims andnon-Muslims in the Ottoman Cyprus. The fact that spiritual courts were carefulto secure the justice without discriminating between Muslims or non-Muslimsprobably played an important role in providing confidence for non-Muslims intime. Non-Muslim's rate of recourse to the court in the said period was ratherhigh with the effect of non-Muslim rayah's confidence occurred in time. Theprominent issue in here is the general rise in the non-Muslim's rate ofrecourse to the court in time after the conquest of the island. Therefore, itis possible to say that the trust to the court was established in terms of thenon-Muslims in Cyprus of Ottoman period., Tarih boyunca birçok medeniyete ev sahipliği yapmışolan Kıbrıs adası, içinde barındırdığı farklı etnik ve dinî unsurlarla varolagelmiştir. 1571 ve 1878 yılları arasında Osmanlı hâkimiyetindeki Müslümanlarve adada çoğunluğu oluşturan gayrimüslimler, 300 yılı aşkın bir süre beraberyaşamış; ticaret başta olmak üzere hayatın tabii seyri içerisinde birçok farklısahada birbirleriyle temas halinde olmuşlardır. Osmanlı döneminde her ne kadar gayrimüslimlerbelli oranda hukukî özerkliğe sahip olsa da, Müslümanlar ve gayrimüslimlerarasında meydana gelen hukukî meseleleri çözüme bağlamada şerʻî mahkemeleryegâne müracaat mercii olmuştur. Bu mahkemelerde tutulan kadı sicilleri,Osmanlı döneminde itinayla muhafaza edilmiş olup bugün tarih içerisinde meydanagelen Müslim-gayrimüslim ilişkilerinin gözlemlenebileceği en zengin vegüvenilir kaynakları oluşturmaktadır. Konunun zikredilen bu öneminden hareketle17. ve 18. yüzyıl Kıbrıs kadı sicillerine yansıyan Müslim-gayrimüslimilişkileri şahıs, aile, miras, eşya ve borçlar hukuku çerçevesinde incelemeyetabi tutulmuştur. Zira her iki ahali arasında meydana gelen ilişkilerin kahirekseriyeti bu alanlarda meydana gelmiştir. Araştırmada Osmanlı Kıbrısı’ndaki Müslim-gayrimüslimilişkilerinin aynı dönemde Anadolu’daki ilişkilerden genel olarak daha yoğunolduğu ortaya çıkmakla beraber her iki ahali arasındaki münasebetlerin oldukçakuvvetli ve pozitif nitelikte olduğu da gözlenmiştir.

In this study,cases, in which slavery or freedom was in dispute in the 17th and 18thcentury Cyprus ecclesiastical court records, were analyzed. In the research,these cases were revealed to be separated into two categories basically. Thefirst category includes emancipation cases; while the second category includesfreedom cases. Emancipation cases usually occurred because the emancipations offreed slaves were denied. Hereby, claimants could have been sometimes Masters(slave owners) and sometimes freedmen or slaves. In this study, of the 32emancipation suits, it was revealed that in 28 cases (88%) the emancipation wasproved, but unproved in 4 cases. Nearly all cases that the freedmen won weremade by “free” individuals who appeared at the court and became witness andgave their statements for freedmen.Freedom cases,on the other hand, emerged due to the fact that freemen were sold as slaves byindividuals who can be called as fraudulent. Nonetheless, sometimes intentionaland sometimes unintentional slavery claims against free people took place amongthe causes of these cases. All cases opened with the claiming for freedomresulted in favor of claimants who were in search of liberty. In this context,it was observed that the individuals either exposed to the imputation ofslavery or sold as slaves were not from Cyprus; however, they proved theirfreedom and attained their liberty., Bu çalışmada 17. ve 18. yüzyıl Kıbrıs şer‘î mahkemekayıtlarında yer alan köleliğin veya hürlüğün dava konusu edildiği vakalarincelenmiştir. Araştırmada bu davaların temel olarak iki kategoriye ayrıldığıortaya çıkmıştır. Bunların birincisini âzatlık, ikincisini ise hürlük davalarıoluşturmaktadır. Âzatlık davaları genellikle âzat edilen kölelerinâzatlıklarının inkârı sebebiyle meydana gelmiştir. Burada davacılar kimi zamanmevlalar (köle sahipleri) kimi zaman da âzatlılar ya da köleler olabilmiştir. Çalışmada32 adet âzatlık davasının 28’inde (%88) âzatlığın ispatlandığı 4’ünde iseispatlanamadığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Âzatlıların kazandığı davaların neredeysetamamı âzatlık işlemine şahitlik eden “hür” kişilerin mahkeme huzuruna çıkarakbu durumu beyan etmeleriyle sağlanmıştır.Hürlük davaları ise dolandırıcı olarakadlandırılabilecek kişilerce hür kişilerin köle olarak satılmaları neticesindeortaya çıkmıştır. Bununla beraber kimi zaman kasıtlı ya da kasıtsız olarak hürkişilere yönelik kölelik iddiasında bulunulması da bu davaların sebepleriarasında yer almıştır. Hürlük iddiasıyla açılan tüm davalar, hürriyetarayışında olan davacılar lehine sonuçlanmıştır. Bu bağlamda kölelik isnadınamaruz kalan ya da köle olarak satılan kişilerin Kıbrıs halkından olmadıkları, bunarağmen hürlüklerini ispatlama ve elde etme imkânına kavuştukları dagözlenmiştir.