Kanun (Ottoman Empire)
Kanun means law in the Turkish language . The term was used in the Ottoman Empire and is also valid in today's Turkey . A collection of laws in the Ottoman Empire was called Kânûn-nâme . The word Kanun, like the concept of canon law, comes from Greek and was borrowed into the Ottoman language via Arabic after the conquest of Egypt and Syria . The first Kânûn-nâme emerged under Sultan Mehmed II.
In the Ottoman Empire, Kanun was the name given to those laws that were passed by the Sultan as sultan's law ( örf-i sultâni - custom of the Sultan), in addition to the provisions of the Sharia . These Kanun concerned the organization of the state, the maintenance of public order and the regulation of trade and agriculture. Punishments for crimes or offenses that were not clearly regulated by Sharia law were also part of the Sultan's law. De jure, the ulama or the Sheikhul Islam had the right to invalidate Kanun that did not conform to Islamic law. In practice, however, in the Ottoman Empire they were part of the hierarchy and bound by instructions.
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- ↑ Gottfried Plagemann: From Allah's Law to Modernization by Law: Law and Legislation in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. Münster 2009, page 70.