Public Safety and Administration of Justice in Ottoman-ruled Mezőtúr

Absztrakt

This study examines the administration of justice and public security in the market town of Mezőtúr during Ottoman rule in Hungary. That period not only brought about the disappearance of the unified Kingdom of Hungary, but also significantly hindered the formation of a national market and obstructed Hungary’s political, legal, administrative, and social development. The occupied region, which at times functioned almost as an autonomous territory, faced a complex legal situation, in addition to the burden of double taxation. A market town could even obtain the right of the sword (jus gladii) from the Ottomans, which at once served the self-defense of the locals and the financial enrichment of the Ottomans. This period raises many questions that remain to be explored, since few have thoroughly examined how the villages and market towns under Ottoman rule lived their everyday lives, and how they were affected by the weakening of Turkish military and administrative power in the 17th century. This short study illustrates this phenomenon through the case of Mezőtúr during the Ottoman occupation.