19th century termination of marriage according to Diyarbekir qadi registers and its analysis in terms of Islamic law

This thesis examines the cases of marriage termination in the qadi registers of 19th century Ottoman Diyarbekir and analyzes them in terms of Islamic law. The research seeks answers to questions such as what the relevant cases were that were referred to the qadi registers in Ottoman Diyarbekir, how the courts resolved these cases, and the nature of the application of Islamic law during this process. The main data source for the study consists of 19th century Diyarbekir qadi registers. These primary sources, containing historical and legal documents, offer significant insights into the legal practices of Ottoman society in general and of Ottoman Diyarbekir in particular. The study focuses on the 19th century as the research period, reflecting a transitional era of Ottoman law, and selects Diyarbekir as the subject due to its unique structure encompassing various ethnic and religious identities and its representation of a microcosm of the Ottoman Empire. The thesis is composed of an introduction and two main chapters. The introduction provides a general historical overview of Diyarbekir and briefly touches upon its administrative, judicial and social structure in the 19th century. The first chapter discusses “the termination of marriage,” while the second chapter focuses on “the legal consequences of the termination of marriage” based on qadi registers and analyzes them from the perspective of Islamic law. The main sources of the thesis are 19th century Diyarbekir qadi registers, contributing to both classical and contemporary Islamic legal studies.