Osmanlı Devleti’nin Son Döneminde Antalya Hapishanesi’nde Tamir ve İnşa Faaliyetleri
Repair and Construction Works in Antalya Prison in the Last Period of the Ottoman Empire

Summary/Abstract: The modernisation movement in the Ottoman Empire was accelerated with the proclamation of the Tanzimat Edict and deeply affected the legal system with new laws and regulations. Along with personal rights, land and inheritance law, criminal law was among the many issues addressed within the regulations in various domains. The transition from corporal punishment to the practice of punishment restricting liberty had been gaining currency in the world, and the Ottoman Empire could not be indifferent to this change. Therefore, the 19th-century Ottoman Empire underwent a transition from mahbes to prisons. To this end, regulations were made in criminal law, and a reform movement was initiated throughout the country to construct appropriate buildings where imprisonment would be applied. This process began with transforming existing structures into prisons through renovations and repair, yet it did not result in the expected way, and thus the state accelerated the construction of new prisons. The Ottoman Empire took administrative and legal steps to improve prisons based on European examples, and in doing this, it prioritised the construction of modern buildings that could meet the needs within the means. However, due to economic difficulties, lack of personnel, and the difficulty of officials accustomed to the old order to understand the requirements of reforms, the reform of prisons remained an issue that the Ottoman Empire struggled with until its collapse. In light of archive documents, this study aims to reveal how the prison reform in the Ottoman Empire was carried out in Antalya Prison, focusing on the renovation and repair of the prison building, the construction process of the new prison building, the difficulties experienced in this process, and the conditions of the prison.

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