Ahmed Cevdet Pasha

Not to be confused with Ahmet Cevdet Oran.

In this Ottoman Turkish style name, the given name is Ahmed Cevdet, the title is Pasha, and there is no family name.
Ahmed Cevdet
Pasha
Personal
Born(1822-03-22)22 March 1822
Lofça, Ottoman Empire
Died25 May 1895(1895-05-25) (aged 73)
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
ReligionIslam
NationalityOttoman Empire
ChildrenAli Sedat
Fatma Aliye
Emine Semiye
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanafi[1]
Notable work(s)Mecelle, Tarih-i Cevdet [tr]
("History by Cevdet Pasha")
OccupationHistorian, statesman, sociologist, legist

Ahmed Cevdet Pasha or Jevdet Pasha in English (22 March 1822 – 25 May 1895)[2] was an Ottoman scholar, intellectual, bureaucrat, administrator, and historian who was a prominent figure in the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire. He was the head of the Mecelle commission that codified Islamic law for the first time in response to the Westernization of law.[3] He is often regarded as a pioneer in the codification of a civil law based on the European legal system. The Mecelle remained intact in several modern Arab states in the early and mid-20th-century.[4] In addition to Turkish, he was proficient in Arabic, Persian, French and Bulgarian.[5] He wrote numerous books on history, law, grammar, linguistics, logic and astronomy.[5]

  1. ^ Kızılkaya, Necmettin. "An Outline of the Historical Evolution of Qawā ‘id Literature in Islamic Law." American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 28, no. 1 (2011): 76-105.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Tanzimat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Donohue, John J., and John L. Esposito. Foreword. Islam in Transition: Muslim Perspectives. New York: Oxford UP, 2007. N. pag. <http://www.isam.org.tr/documents/_dosyalar/_pdfler/islam_arastirmalari_dergisi/sayi19/154_156.pdf>.
  4. ^ Van Eijk, Esther (2016). Family Law in Syria, Patriarchy, Pluralism and Personal Status Law. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78453-334-2.
  5. ^ a b Özgüdenli 2008, pp. 639–640.