“He Wreaks Havoc on Earth”

Abstract

Abstract This article draws attention to a criminal case recorded at the High Court of Ottoman Aleppo in 1655. Although extremely concise, the document is a good example not only of daily legal practice in an Ottoman court but also of the interaction between the judicial system and the urban elite in cases involving matters of public order that were perceived as particularly sensitive. The list of persons called before the court for an official statement of accusation is a sort of who’s who of Aleppine society. It includes some major Ottoman officeholders of the mid-17th century who were resident in Aleppo and other local notables.