A Comparison with English Law
In England, lands held from the Crown are protected by fixed and settled laws. A person cannot lose his land except in cases of treason or open rebellion. Ownership is secure, and inheritance passes from father to son without fear of sudden loss. This legal certainty gives stability to families and allows them to enjoy the fruits of their labor with confidence Sofia Walking Tour.
In the Turkish system, however, land is held under very different conditions. Although land also passes from father to son, it is enjoyed only as a temporary right. The holder is not a true owner but a user of the land, depending entirely on the pleasure of the Emperor. The true ownership always remains with him.
Land Held at the Emperor’s Pleasure
Because the Emperor holds full authority over land, he may remove it from one family and give it to another whenever he chooses. Often, long-established families who have held land for many generations can be dispossessed suddenly, simply because the Emperor wishes to reward a stranger or satisfy a passing desire.
Such actions may cause sorrow among some and anger among others, yet no one dares to openly complain. The Emperor’s will is law, and his decisions cannot be questioned.
A Story of Imperial Favor
It is often told, sometimes with sighs and sometimes with resentment, how the Grand Signior, while hunting and overheated from the chase, once accepted a cup of cool, clear water from a poor peasant. Pleased by this simple kindness, the Emperor rewarded the man beyond all expectation.
By a single word, he freed the peasant from paying rent to his landlord and granted him full possession of the cottage in which he lived, along with the woods, gardens, and fields he worked. This gift was made as secure by imperial command as any property in England is made by long deeds and legal documents.
The former landlord dared not call this act unjust. The Emperor’s will had made the peasant the rightful holder, and that same will had once given the land to the landlord before him.
Imperial Authority over Inheritance
In this system, rights such as tenant claims, customs, or long usage carry no force against the Emperor’s decision. Even if land has been passed down from father to son for many generations, it remains a gift of imperial favor.
Indeed, the longer a family has held such land, the more they are expected to acknowledge the Emperor’s generosity. For it was always within his power to take it away and give it to another.