Best of 2023-2024 in Review: Roundtable on Ottoman Land Law

In August and September, we look back at some of our most read essays and roundtable contributions published in the past year that attracted a lot of interest.  Each week, we focus on essays and posts that touch on a similar topic relating to Islamic law.  This week, we take a look at our most recently convened roundtable, “Transformation and Adaptation of Ottoman Land Law in 19th-Century Successor States.”

Convened by Fatma Gül Karagöz, featuring contributions by Fatma Gül Karagöz, Jelena Radovanović, Milena B. Methodieva, and Philippe Gelez, the roundtable delves into the origins and development of Ottoman land law, as well as its reception by new states and semi-autonomous regions that emerged out of former Ottoman provinces.

Following an introduction by Karagöz, and an opening essay by her that focuses on how Greek law adopted and transformed Ottoman land law, the roundtable proceeds with an essay by Radovanović that explores how Serbian lawmakers both implemented and departed from the Ottoman Land Code.  The roundtable then features an essay by Methodieva that examines the Ottoman Land Code’s reception in Bulgaria, documenting how the Code was selectively applied.  The roundtable concludes with an essay by Gelez that explores the Code’s reception in Bosnia and how Austro-Hungarian jurists went to great lengths to understand and creatively interpret the Code throughout the region.

Here are the essays published as part of the roundtable:

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