The Giresun ulema (1879-1909) in the Late Ottoman Period

One of the reforms made in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, which is considered as the longest century of the Ottoman Empire, was the Sicil-i Ahval Commission established during the reign of Abdülhamit II. This commission carried out the registration of the books in which the official documents were recorded in order to monitor the developmental stages of the civil servants taking part in the Ottoman State organization during their special situations or civil cervant duties which are subject to their curriculum vitae. It was regulated in the period of 1879-1909 as a result of the activities of Sicil-i Ahvâl Commission that was established as an affiliate of the Ministry of the Interior in the year 1879 and Me'mûrîn-i Mülkiyye Commission which was attained in place of it after it was dissolved in 1896 and it includes the registry records of the officers that are on duty of civil service. In this study, by looking into the records of 48 ulemas living in Giresun in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, their birth dates and family information, education status, civil status, crimes committed and penalties they received, service awards they received, works they have written and their bureaucratic careers were examined. In our study, both the Archive of Istanbul Muftiate Office of the Meşihat Office and the files of the Giresun ulemâs in the Presidency of the Ottoman Archives were scrutinized. It is anticipated that this study will make an important contribution to Giresun's social, cultural history and regional studies.