The concept of justice and its functionality in the Great Seljuq State

In the Great Seljuqs, as the possessor of the greatest authority and power, the sultan was the head of three institutions: The palace, the government and the army, which constituted the state organization, as well as the highest judge as the head of the judicial organization, which was one of the four basic foundations of the state. As the greatest judge, the sultans of the Great Seljuqs transferred the jurisdiction authority which was under their responsibility to those who would fulfill their judicial powers and duties on their behalf, since it was not possible for the sultans to perform all judicial functions in a large country. The justice mechanism functioned with a wide range of justice practices, starting from the head of state who had the greatest judicial power, to the judicial law enforcement. This thesis study consists of six chapters. The first chapter covers the judicial organization of the Great Seljuq State. In the second chapter, the term and the concept of justice of the Seljuq cultural environments were discussed. As of the third chapter, starting from the ruler, individuals and institutions that played a role in the functioning of justice were separately discussed. First of all, in this third chapter, the judicial-penal powers and duties of the Great Seljuq sultans were mentioned. In the fourth chapter, the broad judicial-penal powers and duties of the vizier, who was the absolute deputy of the sultan, were discussed. In the fifth chapter, the institution of the qadi, which was the basic institution of the judicial organization, and the qadi al-qudats and the qadis, who are the main officials of the judicial organization was discussed in detail. In the sixth and last chapter, judicial-penal powers and duties of the governor, shihna, amid, ra'is, muhtasib, mukta, who fulfilled various political, administrative, military, financial and social duties and activities in the Seljuq provincial administration, and their deputies and their assistant officers, and low-ranking day and night watchman such as asas, naqib, pasban, haras, rukaba, and top government officials such as hadjib, amir dad, amir haras, sahib al-shurta and naqib al-ashraf were discussed. Thus, it is endeavoured to examine and explain all aspects of the concept of justice, the judicial organization, the practices for implementing justice and the individuals and institutions that played a role in the functioning of justice in the Great Seljuq State. The data obtained analyzing primary sources and examining the secondary sources which are in the bibliography, were tried to subject to a deep analysis and criticism rather than just transferring them. By trying to avoid making a compilation or repeating the other studies done so far, it is aimed to create an original study.