From the very beginning, the Ottoman Empire attached great importance to the judicial and educational organizations and the scholars who performed these duties. Many regulations were made to ensure that both institutions functioned systematically and properly. In the beginning, the judge of Bursa was in charge of the judiciary and the education organization as the chief judge. As the Ottoman geography grew with new conquests and the number of problems increased, an independent authority was needed to deal with these issues. Thus, the kazasker office was established at the beginning of Murâd I’s reign in 1362. Later, at the end of Sultan Mehmed II’s reign in 1481, the number of kazaskers was increased to two, namely Anatolia and Rumelia.

Initially, the kazaskers were in charge of all the procedures related to the profession of ilmiye, but from the end of the sixteenth century onwards, the administration of high duties was entrusted to the sheikhulislams. The duties and responsibilities of the kazaskers, should be analyzed in two parts: legal and administrative. Their administrative duties need to be evaluated under three headings: those related to internship (mülazemet), those related to müderris, and finally those related to kadıs. This article aims to examine the problems encountered in the performance of these three duties through a comprehensive trial of Sinan Efendi, the Kazasker of Anatolia.

The judiciary and the education system constituted a vast organization scattered throughout the Ottoman Empire, and in both areas there were constant movement and occasional problems. This situation greatly increased the duties, powers and responsibilities of kazaskers. Although many auxiliary personnel were employed in the kazasker office to fulfill all these duties, the ultimate responsibility rested with the kazaskers themselves.

To what extent did the kazaskers fulfill their heavy and responsible duties in a fair and orderly manner, and to what extent were they able to act in accordance with the principles, given that they were sometimes subjected to interventions? The kadıs and müderrises were in contact with a large number of people and were therefore subject to complaints and unrest. Complaints, especially about the judiciary, reached the center from all over the Empire and from a wide variety of people. The Imperial Council, and often the sultan himself, was involved in the investigation and inspection of these complaints. Special commissions were sometimes organized for this purpose, and the results of the inspections were submitted as a report to the Imperial Council.

Candidates and members of the educational and judicial professions would complain about kazaskers concerning their personal rights. Kazaskers, who were at the top of the ilmiye class, were always complained about for abusing their vast powers. The historians of the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular Mustafa Âlî of Gelibolu, Selanikî Mustafa Efendi, and Koçi Bey, addressed the problems and complaints that arose in the field of the ilmiye, especially in the issues of mülâzemet and employment, and criticized them severely.

Kazaskers were frequently dismissed for neglecting or abusing their duties. It is also known that investigations and inspections were carried out against them upon their dismissal and the cases, involving large numbers of complainants were heard in public. An example worth mentioning in this regard is the dismissal of Sinan Efendi, the Kazasker of Anatolia, from the office in 1551 and the subsequent inspection of his administrative practices during his four years of service.

During this incident, which is referred to in the sources as the Famous Mill Case (Da’vâ-i Meşhûre-i Âsiyâb), Bostan Efendi, the Kazasker of Rumelia; Sinan Efendi, the Kazasker of Anatolia; and Saçlı Emir Efendi, the kadı of Istanbul, were dismissed from their posts. Upon their dismissal, a decree was issued that they should be inspected. Bostan Efendi’s inspection was handed over to the retired kadı of Damascus, Ahmed Efendi. The inspection of Sinan Efendi was placed in the hands of Martolos Mehmed Efendi, the müderris of Sahn-ı Seman, and the inspection of the kadı of Istanbul, Saçlı Emir Efendi was given to Alâeddin Ali Efendi. After days of inspection at the Fatih Mosque, all three scholars were cleared and restored to their former reputations. 

Nev’î-zâde Atâ’î writes that all three scholars were dismissed because of Rüstem Pasha’s grudge, and not content with that, he even caused their inspections. The information provided by the historian Matrakçı Nasuh as a witness of the events is important. He implies that this case was initiated by Rüstem Pasha.

As a result, this investigation file contains about two hundred complaints and the responses given to these complaints. When these are examined in detail, an extremely negative view emerges regarding the ilmiye institution. It is noteworthy that these complaints took place in the middle of Kanuni’s reign and ten years after Ebussuud Efendi radically reorganized the employment system in the ilmiye class in 1547. Based on these examples, one could criticize the ilmiye organization and the authorities of the period. However, it would be a serious methodological mistake to draw general conclusions from these negative examples and to express pessimistic views about the ilmiye career. It should not be forgotten that among the tens of thousands of normal appointments, dismissals, promotions and transfers, the complaints of a group of people who suffered injustice were filed collectively.

The complaints and the Kazasker’s responses to them are extremely important in terms of introducing the functioning of the ilmiye institution and reflecting the background of the events. These cannot be found in normal ilmiye documents or files. Additional benefit is that the complaints were compiled by searching dozens of ruznamçe registers, and the responses given to them were presented collectively. The language and style of the text is extremely simple and understandable.