Belgrade Women in Ottoman Society: Muslim women from Belgrade at Sharia Court (17th Century)

Amedoski, Dragana (2018) Belgrade Women in Ottoman Society: Muslim women from Belgrade at Sharia Court (17th Century). In: Belgrade 1521–1867. Institute of History, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü Turkish Cultural Centre, Beograd, pp. 53-64. ISBN 978-86-7743-132-7

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Abstract

This paper explores women’s role in the Ottoman society in the 17th Century by focusing on presence of Muslim females from Belgrade in the Belgrade Sharia court, as well as in the other towns where they were active participants. We rely on a newly compiled data from the Book of complaints (Şikâyet defterleri) and court records (Sicil) with a support of contextual reading of other archival documents. Mentioned historical sources of Ottoman provenance, in spite of various restrictions, are the only source for exploring life of ordinary women, from average and lower socioeconomic status, and show that these women were willing to turn a private matter into public one. With the help of the most typical examples we will try to present how Belgrade women as mothers, daughters, wives, widows were fighting for their rights in the Ottoman society and what are the familial and personal issues for which they have found themselves in court

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