Ottoman 1882 Inheritance Settlement and Release Deed Cherkes Muhajir Sapanca Slavery Circassian

Ottoman Inheritance Settlement and Release Deed – Sapanca, Çerkes Muhajir History (1882)

Description:

This Ottoman Turkish document is an official sulh ve ibra senedi (settlement and release deed), dated 30 Ağustos 1298 (11 September 1882), concerning the inheritance of İsmail Bey, a Circassian muhajir who died in Sapanca. According to the document, the inheritance share of the deceased passed to Havva Hanım under the legal institution referred to as ı'tak verâseti (inheritance through manumission).

Havva Hanım's husband, Hacı Mehmed Bey, a Circassian notable from Eşen Village in Manyas, Bandırma, acted as her fully authorized representative. He declared that he had received in cash and in full the amount of 20 Ottoman liras, representing his wife's inheritance share from the estate of the deceased İsmail Bey. Following receipt of the money, Hacı Mehmed Bey formally released all claims arising from his wife's inheritance share and declared that neither he nor his wife would make any further claim in the future. He further accepted responsibility for any future dispute and issued the deed as formal assurance to the other party.

The reference to ı'tak verâseti (inheritance of a manumitted person) makes this document particularly unusual. In the Islamic and Ottoman legal tradition, manumission (ı'tak) could create a legally recognized relationship known as velâ between the person who freed the slave and the formerly enslaved person. Under circumstances recognized by the law, this relationship could have inheritance consequences, allowing a formerly enslaved person to inherit from the person who had manumitted them. The document therefore preserves an exceptionally interesting example of an old legal institution that continued to appear in Ottoman legal practice in the nineteenth century.

Beyond its legal significance, the document is an important piece of Circassian history. Both İsmail Bey and Hacı Mehmed Bey are identified in connection with the Circassian muhajir community, while the reference to Eşen Village in Manyas provides a direct connection to the settlement of Circassian communities in Ottoman Anatolia. Bearing its original official seal and cold stamp (soğuk damga), this document combines Ottoman inheritance law, manumission, migration history, and Circassian social history in a single remarkable legal record.

Key Features:

• Type: Ottoman inheritance settlement and release deed (Sulh ve İbra Senedi)

• Date: 30 Ağustos 1298 (11 September 1882)

• Location: Sapanca

• Deceased: İsmail Bey, Circassian muhajir

• Heir: Havva Hanım

• Legal Basis: ı'tak verâseti (inheritance through manumission)

• Representative: Hacı Mehmed Bey, husband and authorized representative of Havva Hanım

• Residence of Representative: Eşen Village, Manyas, Bandırma

• Community: Circassian muhajir

• Inheritance Amount: 20 Ottoman liras

• Transaction: Full payment and formal release of all inheritance-related claims

• Historical Context: Documents an unusual example of ı'tak verâseti within late Ottoman legal practice and provides valuable evidence relating to Circassian muhajir communities in Anatolia

• Physical Features: Original official seal and cold stamp (soğuk damga)

• Collectible Significance: Highly desirable for collectors of Ottoman legal documents, inheritance records, Circassian history, muhajir history, and rare Ottoman administrative ephemera.