Laws of Uzun Hasan and its Reflection on the Ottoman Period

A remarkable example of custom ( urf) law in the Islamic states is the Laws of Uzun (Tall) Hasan, which were in force in the regions that we now call Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, prior to the Ottoman conquest. The Laws of Uzun Hasan have left their mark on a number of states including the Ottoman State in the process of codifying the provincial kanunnames. On the other hand, it must be noted that a certain degree of carelessness and certain inconsistencies are to be found in the preparation of the kanunnames. While referring to the taxes, one passage employs the term Byzantine tradition and another uses Ekrad tradition. Furthermore, in some instances one comes across certain old taxes that were still being levied although they were forbidden in the kanunnames. Among these, a tax called şahnelik was the legacy of a period earlier than that of Uzun Hasan, which survived until the 19^th century albeit under a different context.