Two judicial records of the Bakhchisaray law-court: A study of fornication
Two judicial records of the Bakhchisaray law-court: A study of fornication

Summary/Abstract: This article tries to shed light on zinā crimes in 17th-century Crimea. First it examines zinā ‘fornication, adultery’ in theory and in practice, then it gives the legal basis of zinā as it appears in Sunni legal tradition, finally investigates two zinā cases as reflected in the records of the Bakchisaray/Crimea law court. A special zinā case from 17th-century Istanbul is also studied. The main aim of the article is to compare the legal content of the court documents with the Hanafi legal principles, to see how far they conform to these principles, to find out whether or not the court followed the due process of law in zinā crimes and whether or not the criminals were sentenced to zinā punishments.

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