ABSTRACT
The Ottoman ulema – the learned establishment – were the upholders of a complex network of institutions. The administrative system was one part of the tripartite governing structure of the Ottoman state, the others being the palace and the Janissary corps. This system encompassed a vast field of functions, such as the Şeyhülislam (chief authority in religious affairs), the kazasker (military legal authority), the kadı (judge), the medrese (theological school), the nakibü’l-eşraf (representative of the descendants of the Prophet), the müneccimbaşı (chief seer), the hâce-i sultani (religious authority in the palace) and the müftü (official expounder of the Islamic law). In addition, there were other local authorities such as the mosque employees, the mystic brotherhoods with their sheikhs, the vakıfs (pious foundations) and other urban service institutions (precursors of today’s urban administrations). In great part it was the religious authorities who shaped judicial philosophy, interpreted canonical jurisprudence and regulations and directed the judicial system. They also defined, obtained, safeguarded and transferred knowledge (and eventually culture) via the medreses, the mosques and their guidance services, and thus influenced the mentality, conscience and values of society as a whole.
