Being a woman in Ottoman Tekirdağ (1717-1731)

After Tekirdağ came under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, it experienced a noticeable period of development. Over time, commercial life expanded, the population increased, and the number of neighborhoods and real estate properties grew. Within the possibilities and limitations of the era, women took part in social, economic, and legal spheres, contributing to urban life. Women who appeared in court, either personally or through their representatives, were an equally important part of social life as men. They appeared before the court for matters such as the purchase and sale of property, donations, divorce, the appointment of guardians, mehr, duties vakıf and the manumission of slaves and concubines, and they had these transactions recorded in the court registers. Women who bought and sold property without the protection of a male guardian also established economic and legal relationships with individuals outside their families when necessary.