How to Manage the Unmanageable: Inconsistent Ottoman Strategies to Prevent Prostitution

Abstract Based on narratives, including 'urban legends', and Ottoman archival sources, this article deals with prostitution in the Ottoman Empire in view of its legal and judicial treatment according to both Sharia and sultanic law. Ottoman policies towards prostitution included measures a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Turkish historical review 2021-06, Vol.12 (1), p.19-46
Main Author: Sabev, Orlin
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Abstract Based on narratives, including 'urban legends', and Ottoman archival sources, this article deals with prostitution in the Ottoman Empire in view of its legal and judicial treatment according to both Sharia and sultanic law. Ottoman policies towards prostitution included measures and punishments ranging from milder (imprisonment, expulsion, taxation, legalization of brothels) to harsher (death sentence and corporal punishment). Since the Ottoman Empire included territories of a great variety of peoples and local customs the measures applied changed over time and varied across places. The author puts forward the hypothesis that the harshness of punishment depended perhaps also on the impact of conservative religious circles such as the Kadizâdelis and Mujaddidiyah.
ISSN:1877-5454
1877-5462
DOI:10.1163/18775462-bja10003