Divan-ı hümayun, maliye, darphane, vb. kurumlardan padişah adına yazılan emirler ve tembihâtlar kısaca “hüküm” olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Hüküm kelimesinin çoğulu ise “ahkâm” olarak belirtilmekte olup kesin emir/karar, padişah buyruğu⁹¹ anlamına gelmektedir. Divan-ı Hümayun’dan çıkan hüküm, kanunname ve nizam mahiyetinde olan kararların kaydedildiği defterlere de “Ahkâm Defterleri” denilmektedir.⁹² Müellif bu defterlerden şehzade veya valilerin, beylerbeylerinin, sancakbeylerinin yönetimde bulundukları veya tayin edildikleri yılları tam olarak tespit edebilmek, Amasya ile ilgili gönderilmiş fermanları, isyanlar sırasında meydana gelen olaylar ve alınan kararları belirlemek, ayrıca Amasya dışında Osmanlı Devleti’nin merkez veya taşrasında görev yapan Amasyalıların kayıtlarına ulaşabilmek amacıyla yararlanmıştır.
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · ESER VE YAZAR HAKKINDA · 2. AMASYA TARİHİ HAKKINDA · 2.4. Eserin Kaynakları · 2.4.2. Arşiv Kaynakları
2.4.2.1. Ahkâm Registers
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Introduction: The Work and Its Author, p. 60 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Songül KEÇECİ KURT
Footnotes
- 91 Halil Sahillioğlu, “Ahkâm Defteri”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, c.1, TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, İstanbul, 1988, s. 551.
- 92 Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi Rehberi, Başbakanlık Basımevi, 3. Baskı, İstanbul, 2010, s. 22.
In Modern English
The orders and warnings written in the name of the sultan by institutions such as the Imperial Council (Divan-ı Hümayun), the treasury and the mint are briefly called "hüküm." "Ahkâm," the plural of the word hüküm, means a categorical order or decision, a sultan's command. The registers in which the decisions of the nature of hüküm, law code (kanunname) and regulation (nizam) issued by the Divan-ı Hümayun are recorded are also called "Ahkâm Registers." The author drew on these registers in order to determine exactly the years in which princes, governors, beylerbeyis and sanjak beys were in the administration or were appointed, to establish the edicts sent concerning Amasya, the events that occurred during rebellions and the decisions taken, and also to reach the records of persons of Amasya who served in the centre or provinces of the Ottoman state outside Amasya.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- hüküm (plural ahkâm): an order, a command written in the name of the sultan
- tembihât: writings of warning and reminder
- ferman: the sultan's written order
- kanunname: a text in which laws are written
- beylerbeyi, sancakbeyi: the governing officers of a province and of a sanjak
What the Ahkâm Registers Are
In the Ottoman Empire, hükümler were not written by the sultan personally; the offices to which the sultan delegated authority issued hükümler in his name. The hükümler issued by the grand vizierate were generally called ferman; the registers in which a copy of each was kept were called mühimme registers. Those concerning finance were issued by the defterdarlık (treasury) and recorded in separate registers, the finance ahkâm registers. One of the oldest of the finance ahkâm registers preserved in the Ottoman Archive of the Prime Ministry is dated 927 (1521). The complaint registers kept between 1058-1229 (1648-1814) are also mentioned in this group under the name ahkâm-ı şikâyet; after 1155 (1742) separate registers were arranged by province.
Hüsameddin's aim in scanning these registers is to fix the years of appointments of princes and governors. When it is considered that Amasya was a city that hosted princely governors, this care is understandable.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, Introduction, p. 60–60. amasya.bel.tr
- Halil Sahillioğlu, "Ahkâm Defteri", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1988, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ahkam-defteri