Family Life in Sivas According to the Sivas Sharia Register No. 18 (1885-1886 Years)

Abstract

The family is the smallest social unit formed by individuals in society and has shown continuous change and development in historical processes. The family institution has organized social life by ensuring the transfer of values, traditions and customs from generation to generation. Based on Islamic law, the Ottoman Empire attached great importance to the institution of the family. Marriage is the most important step taken to establish a family. In the Ottoman Empire, care was taken to record marriages in the presence of kadis. The recording of the decisions made by the kadis is valuable in terms of covering local information about the history of the city. In this study, we have tried to examine the family structure of the late Ottoman Empire. The main source of our study is the documents in the Sivas Shar'iyye Registry No. 18 (pages 1-44) covering the years 1885/1886. The aim of the study is to understand the family structure of Ottoman society by classifying the offences in the documents. The center of our study is the city of Sivas, one of the settlements of many civilizations and states in the historical process. A general evaluation was made by examining many issues such as the basic elements of the family, neighborhood, house, living spaces, marriage, divorce, number of children, mahr, alimony, and guardianship appointments. As a result, the Ottoman family structure could be revealed from the example of Sivas family in the period examined.