Transcription and evaluation of Kastamonu Court Record Number 4563

Supervisor: Lecturer Dr. Ercan ÇELEBİ It is not a possible to reveal the whole history of a town without taking advantage of court records which have of great importanc for the researches carried out regarding the history of towns. For this reason, court records are the primary sources in terms of local history researches. In this study, some findings based on Kastamonu Court Record number 4563 regarding administratve, judiciary, financial, demographiç features and sociocultural life in Kastamonu were presented. Kastamonu Court Record Number 4563 dates back to Hijri 1302, A.D. 1884-1885. The records include firmans, beraats, buyruldus, letters sent from the town centre together with court decrees registered by the qadi (kadı) and huccets about various topics. The copy of the court record, also the primary source of this study, was obtained from Republic of Turkey General Directorate of State Archives. As a result of the evaluation of the record, the names of districts, neighbourhoods, sub-districts and villages of these sub-districts and divans; and from the inheritance and estate records, the names of the household goods, clothing and ornaments, weapons and some other tools were obtained. Acts of law in Kastamonu were explained in detail with examples. From the narh (official fixed prices) stated in the records, the prices of food and properties; from the inheritance and estate records the names and prices of the animals purchased and sold were found. The cultural life in VII Kastamonu during the mid-18th century was presented based on such sociocultural constructions as mosques, masjids, foundations, inns, baths, tekkes and zaviyes and again presented based on the inheritance and estate records. Furthermore, within the scope of public security, banditry actions were mentioned in the study. Key words: Kastamonu, Court Records, Transcription