Reassessing Women’s Economic Agency Through the Lens of the Shariʿa Court Records: The Case of Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Tripoli

Year 2026, Issue: 55, 183 - 214, 24.02.2026

Reda Zafer Rafei

https://doi.org/10.26570/isad.1880820

https://izlik.org/JA95GR95EB

Abstract

In recent years, historians of the Middle East have begun reassessing earlier scholarship on the social and economic dimensions of women’s lives in the early modern period. As this body of research developed, historians have increasingly recognized that the portrayals of oppressed and secluded females were largely an Orientalist construct. Nevertheless, the intricate ways in which women’s experiences were shaped remain underexplored, a gap this paper seeks to address. Drawing on court records from Tripoli (in modern-day Lebanon) from the late 18th century, this paper argues that women’s extensive use of the shariʿa court was not only to settle disputes and pursue legal matters but also for notarial purposes, including registering ownership of properties, lease agreements, and marital business contracts. Women mobilized assets acquired through purchase, inheritance, or dowry to generate steady sources of income through rent, and capital flows, which supplemented their cash or in-kind dowries (which were mainly gold). These sources enabled women to invest in the agricultural sector, urban real estate, highly desired silk weaving, and money lending services. Moreover, women often resorted to takhāruj, a mechanism for trading shares, to secure more independence and greater autonomy over their financial investments.

Keywords

Women , Tarāblus al-Shām , Ottoman Arab Land , Shariʿa court registers , Tarika , Early modern , takhāruj

Şer‘iyye Sicilleri Merceğinden Kadınların Ekonomik Fâilliğini Yeniden Değerlendirmek: XVIII. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Trablusu Örneği

https://izlik.org/JA95GR95EB

Abstract

Son yıllarda Ortadoğu tarihçileri, erken modern dönemde kadınların sosyal ve ekonomik yaşamlarına ilişkin önceki literatürü yeniden değerlendirmeye başlamışlardır. Bu araştırma alanı geliştikçe, kadınların baskı altında ve kamusal alandan tecrit edilmiş olduğu yönündeki tasvirlerin büyük ölçüde oryantalist bir kurgunun ürünü olduğu giderek daha fazla kabul görmektedir. Bununla birlikte, kadınların deneyimlerinin hangi karmaşık dinamikler tarafından şekillendirildiği halen yeterince incelenmemiştir. Bu çalışma söz konusu boşluğu doldurmayı amaçlamaktadır. 

Bu makale XVIII. yüzyılın sonlarına tarihlenen ve günümüz Lübnan’ında yer alan Trablusşam’a ait şer‘iyye sicillerine dayanarak, kadınların şer‘iyye mahkemelerini yalnızca hukukî ihtilafları çözmek ve dava açmak amacıyla değil, aynı zamanda mülkiyet tescili, kira sözleşmeleri ve evlilik bağlamlı ticarî anlaşmaların kaydı gibi noterlik işlevleri için de yoğun biçimde kullandıklarını ileri sürmektedir. Kadınlar, satın alma, miras veya mehir yoluyla edindikleri varlıkları kira gelirleri ve sermaye dolaşımı aracılığı ile düzenli gelir kaynaklarına dönüştürmüş; bu gelirler çoğunlukla altın şeklinde olan nakdî veya aynî mehirlerini tamamlamıştır. Bu ekonomik kaynaklar, kadınların tarımsal üretim, kentsel gayrimenkul, yüksek talep gören ipek dokumacılığı ve para ödünç verme faaliyetlerine yatırım yapmalarını mümkün kılmıştır. Ayrıca kadınlar, malî yatırımları üzerinde daha fazla bağımsızlık ve özerklik sağlamak amacıyla, hisselerin değiş tokuşuna imkân tanıyan tehârüç mekanizmasına sıklıkla başvurmuşlardır.

Keywords

Kadın , Trablusşam , Osmanlı Arap toprakları , Erken modern dönem , Şer‘iyye sicilleri , Tereke , Tehârüç

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