Ottoman way of governing the common lands (1839-1914)

This dissertation focused on the governing of the Ottoman common lands and two motives brought forth it. Firstly it arose from the scarcity of the researches in the field. Secondly the researcher grivitated her antecessors who throw ligtht on the historical roots, management and use of the common lands around the world. The study focused on the rural versions of common lands such as meadows, summer and winter pastures, forests, threshing floors and public roads, and discussed the issue under three main headings. The study was primarily concerned with the theoretical and conceptual framework developed for common lands. Secondly, the administrative and usage practices before the nineteenth century are discussed. Finally, the focus is on the period after the second half of the nineteenth century, which witnessed legal and institutional transformations related to common lands. The first period has been tried to be clarified mostly by starting from the lines of the land law legislation. Administrative practices related to the second period, on the other hand, are mainly derived from the legal legislation of the period, and it has also been tried to be followed through how the said legislation is applied in a selected region.