Sharia Court Records - A New Historiographical Method for the Arabs in the Ottoman Period

Abstract

Records of the Sharia Courts in the Ottoman Period - Methodology and Terminology is the latest book by Khaled Ziadeh, Director of the Beirut Office of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. The book offers a historiographical approach to the full remit of court records available which cover all aspects of social and economic life and preserve the Firmans (or "Sultanic orders") and correspondence of the Ottoman state. These documents constitute a key source for the socio-economic history of the Ottoman period in the Arab region. This review also includes a report on two separate panels, discussions covering its contents.