Ottoman 1925 Legal Settlement and Release Deed Istanbul Armenian Citizen Armenia

Ottoman Legal Settlement and Release Deed – Istanbul (1925)

Description:

This Ottoman Turkish document is a legal sulh ve ibra (settlement and release) deed dated 17 September 1341 (17 September 1925). According to the document, Bedros Efendi, the creditor, declares that he has received a total claim of 227 lira from Remzi Bey, an employee of the Istanbul Paket Post Office residing on Kanlıca Hisar Caddesi. The amount was collected partly through payments made in installments and the remaining 140 liras in cash.

Following receipt of the outstanding amount, Bedros Efendi formally declares that he has completely withdrawn and renounced his lawsuit before the Sultanahmet Sulh Mahkemesi (Sultanahmet Peace Court). The document therefore records the settlement of a private financial dispute and the formal abandonment of further legal claims between the parties.

The document is particularly interesting because it contains an original photograph of Bedros Efendi. His surname may be Yorluyan, as this appears to be how it is written in the signature section, although the Ottoman handwritten text makes the reading uncertain. He is also identified as a timber merchant (keresteci). The combination of a legal document, personal photograph, signature, and occupational information makes this an unusually personal example of an early twentieth-century legal record.

The document is also valuable for Armenian and Istanbul social history. The transaction between Bedros Efendi, an Ottoman Armenian, and Remzi Bey, an employee of the Ottoman/early Republican postal administration, illustrates the financial and legal interactions between Muslim and non-Muslim members of Istanbul society. Bearing its original stamp and signature, together with Bedros Efendi's photograph, the document offers a rare and highly collectible glimpse into the multicultural social and commercial life of Istanbul.

Key Features:

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

• Date: 17 September 1341 (17 September 1925)

• Creditor: Bedros Efendi, possibly Yorluyan

• Occupation: Timber merchant (Keresteci)

• Debtor: Remzi Bey, employee of the Istanbul Paket Post Office

• Residence of Debtor: Kanlıca Hisar Caddesi, Istanbul

• Total Claim: 227 lira

• Payment: Partly paid in installments, with the remaining 140 liras paid in cash

• Court: Sultanahmet Sulh Mahkemesi

• Legal Outcome: Creditor formally renounced and withdrew his lawsuit following settlement

• Special Feature: Original photograph of Bedros Efendi attached to or incorporated into the legal document

• Historical Context: Documents a financial and legal relationship between an Ottoman Armenian merchant and a Muslim employee of the postal administration in Istanbul

• Physical Features: Original stamp, signature, and photographic portrait

• Collectible Significance: Highly desirable for collectors of Ottoman and early Republican legal documents, Armenian history, Istanbul social history, postal history, and rare personalized ephemera.