ABSTRACT
The late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were a time of great distress and unrest in the Ottoman countryside. The spread of Ottoman administrative institutions made it possible for people in remote corners of the empire to complain directly to the sultan Selim's about the difficulties they were experiencing. Ottoman officials and scribes attended to each complaint individually, but when complaints became general, the sultan issued justice decrees (adaletnameler) to rectify the problems highlighted by them. This chapter moves between ancient and contemporary literature, exploring Sultan interest in dream interpretation, translating newly uncovered poetry and exploring the works of Orhan Pamuk. It also covers a broad range of topics, focusing on various aspects of Turkish language, literature, and history. Linguistic complexities of the Turkish language and dialects are analyzed, while new translations of sixteenth-century decrees offer insight into Ottoman justice and power.
