Seriyye Registers of the Post-Tanzimat Period: Content and Diplomacy

“Kadı”, a city official in the Ottoman Empire with judicial and administrative duties resembling a judge, mayor, police chief. The “Seriye sicil” (registers) kept by the ‘Kadı’s were an important source of information on the political, economic, military, legal and social life in the Ottoman Empire. The content and diplomacy of the registers changed in time according to the developments in the institutional structure of the Ottoman Empire, especially after the “Tanzimat”. The structure of many institutions or establishments were established or revised, and the authority of “Kadı”s were shared by institutions and officers. The assimilation of Western law besides Ottoman law, and the existence of “Nizamiye Courts” in addition to the Seriyye Courts in particular contributed to the changes in the content of and the kinds of documents included in the classical seriyye sicils (registers). The aim of this study is to reflect the change and transformation of the ser’iyye registers in respect to content and diplomacy, and provide a source for later studies on the Post-Tanzimat period.