The Journal of Turkish Legal History aims to contribute to the advancement of Turkish legal history scholarship, enrich the accumulated body of knowledge in the field, and provide a reliable academic platform for research on legal history.
As a discipline, legal history seeks to identify and explain the historical development and transformation of legal rules and institutions, thereby demonstrating that law is a dynamic social institution. This historical perspective contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of law and enables legal scholars and practitioners to develop legal systems better suited to the needs of both the present and the future. In this respect, legal history enhances the capacity of law to respond to social challenges and contributes to the realization of justice.
The journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication dedicated to publishing original and high-quality research in Turkish legal history. It welcomes studies examining the historical development of Turkish law, legal institutions, legal thought, and legal practice across different historical periods. The scope of the journal includes research on pre-Islamic Turkish law, the legal systems of the Seljuks, the Mughals, and other historical Turkic states, as well as Ottoman law and the legal history of the Republic of Türkiye. The journal also considers studies in related fields -such as Islamic legal history, Roman legal history, and European legal history- where they contribute to a better understanding of Turkish legal history. While embracing the legal heritage of Turkic states throughout history from a broad historical perspective, the journal places particular emphasis on the legal transformation from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Türkiye and on the legal history of Türkiye.
The journal encourages research based on archival documents, manuscripts, and other historical sources that constitute primary materials for legal history scholarship. It publishes original research articles, critical editions of historical documents, research notes, translations, book reviews, and other scholarly contributions relevant to the field.
Our aspiration is for the Journal of Turkish Legal History to become one of the leading academic journals in its field. Authors, reviewers, editors, and all those who contribute their intellectual or material support to the journal will share in the realization of this scholarly mission.