The Ferman - A Survey in Diplomatics

Abstract

An important part of the cultural heritage of Yugoslav peoples are a large mass of various documents which have been preserved from the period of the rule of the Ottoman Turks over parts of their territories. These documents represent precious study material for they reflect historical, social, political, and economic events, not only in those parts of the territories of Yugoslav peoples under the Turkish Ottoman rule, but also inside the whole state, and even outside it.

In Yugoslav historiography and its auxiliary disciplines there has not so far appeared a complete diplomats’ survey of any group of documents from tha1t large mass whose copies have been preserved in the original.

This article is a survey of the common form of the ferman done as an exhaustive diplomatic analysis, in accordance with the elements of general diplomatic, which uses Latin terminology. The analysis starts with the original, common form of the document, biti, and leads to the form that evolved from it, the ferman. The results of the analysis show that the ferman bears a tugra as a sultanic document, beginning with inscription and continuing in the following sequence: narratio, dispositio, and clausulae finales. It ends with corroboratio and datatio. At the back there is conscriptio.

The results of the analysis have also separated the ferman from the mass of sultanic documents and clearly designated it as a special document, thus annulling the dilemma of its identification or confusion with other kinds.

For the purpose of analysis, an attempt at formal classification of fermans according to intention of issue has been made, however, a final classification would require longer, more extensive and more precise research.