The cultivation of wasteland in Hanafī and Ottoman law
The cultivation of wasteland in Hanafī and Ottoman law

Summary/Abstract: In Hanafī law, a person who cultivates wasteland, provided he meets certain conditions, becomes the owner of the land. In Ottoman law, this rule could not apply, since land, outside a few mülk properties, was at the disposal of the sultan and not subject to ownership. Instead, cultivators gained title to the land by virtue of the payment of an entry fee to the prebend-holder. It is nonetheless clear that people who cleared wasteland believed that they had an unconditional right, if not of outright ownership, then at least of unconditional occupancy. By contrast, Ottoman law-books of the 16th century give cultivators of wasteland very few rights beyond those enjoyed by ordinary peasant cultivators. Furthermore, these rights were restricted further during the 17th century. In practice, therefore, Hanafī law had no influence over Ottoman law in this area. That Ottoman legislators were, however, aware of the Hanafī rules is clear from a decree granting fiscal privileges to Janissaries who clear wasteland, which mimics the sharī’a .

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