The Ottoman Ilmiyye Lawcodes of XVI. Century and Madrasa Education

Abstract

With establishment of the first Ottoman madrasa in Iznik, the Ottoman Education system had entered a period of development and the eras of Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Kanuni Sultan Süleyman had been significant turning points where the fundamental principles of the classical Ottoman education system had been introduced. During the 16th century five important regulations were enacted involving the institutionalization process and the problems that arose afterwards; these consisted of three kanunname's, a hukum (decree) and a hatt-i humayun (decree of the sultan). With these enactments the books that were taught in the madrasas were determined, efforts were made to improve the quality of education, the education program was tried to be standardized all the while had aimed to create settings to obtain the ideal mudarris and student type. Furthermore, the decrees/articles of these regulations have also been sources to references of Ottoman literature reviews that have been effective in the formation of the paradigm of the Ottoman decline.