Afirman (Persian:فرمان,romanized: farmān;Turkish:ferman),[1] at theconstitutional level, was a royal mandate ordecree issued by a sovereign in anIslamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English wordfirman comes from the Persianfarmān meaning "decree" or "order".
Farmān is themodern Persian form of the word and descends fromMiddle Persian (Pahlavi)framān, ultimately fromOld Persianframānā (fra = "fore").[2][3] The difference between the modern Persian and Old Persian forms stems from "dropping the endingā and insertion of a vowel owing to the initial double consonant".[3] This feature (i.e.fra-) was still used in the Middle Persian form.[3] TheTurkish form of the wordfarmān isfermān, whereas the Arabized plural form of the word isfarāmīn.[2][3]
In the Ottoman Empire, the Sultan derived his authority from his role as upholder of the Shar'ia, but the Shar'ia did not cover all aspects of Ottoman social and political life. Therefore, in order to regulate relations and status, duties, and the dress of aristocracy and subjects, the Sultan created firmans.[4]
Firmans were gathered in codes called "kanun". Thekanun were "a form of secular and administrative law considered to be a valid extension of religious law as a result of the ruler's right to exercise legal judgement on behalf of the community."[4]
When issued by the sultan in the Ottoman Empire, firmans' importance was often displayed by the layout of the document; the more blank space at the top of the document, the more important the firman was.
In this firman, Sultan Murad I recognises a decree created by his father Sultan Orhan (c. 1324–1360). He gives the monks (Christian) all they owned during his father's reign, ordering that no one can oppress them or claim their land.[5]
Following the defeat ofUzun Hasan,Mehmed the Conqueror took overŞebinkarahisar and consolidated his rule over the area. FromŞebinkarahisar he sent a series of letters announcing his victory, including an unusual missive in theUyghur language addressed to theTurkomans ofAnatolia.[6]
The decree (yarlık) had 201 lines and was written byŞeyhzade Abdurrezak Bahşı on 30 August 1473:[7]
Completed when Karahisar was reached on the date of eight hundred and seventy eight, 5th day of the month Rebiülahir, the year of the Snake.
In this firman, the monks ofMount Athos report that the administrative officials charged with the collection of taxes come at a later date than they are supposed to and demand more money than the value assessed. They also make illegal demands for additional food supplies.[8]
One of the most important firmans governing relations between Muslims and Christians is a document kept at theSaint Catherine's Monastery on theSinai Peninsula in Egypt. This monastery isGreek Orthodox and constitutes the autonomous Sinai Orthodox Church. The firman bears the hand print ofMuhammad, and requests the Muslims do not destroy the monastery for God-fearing men live there. To this day there is a protected zone around the monastery administered by the Egyptian government, and there are very good relations between the 20 or so monks, mainly from Greece, and the local community there.
Firmans were issued in some Islamic empires and kingdoms inIndia such as theMughal Empire and theNizam ofHyderabad. Notable were EmperorAurangzeb's various firmans.
The term "firman" was used by thearcheologist/novelistElizabeth Peters for official permission from the Egyptian Department of Antiquities to carry on an excavation. A similar authority was cited byAusten Henry Layard for excavations atNimrud which he mistakenly believed wasNineveh.[9]
In theOld Yishuv Court Museum is held a firman for the 1890 opening of the printing business of Eliezer Menahem Goldberg, Jerusalem resident. The firman was translated into Hebrew from Turkish by Advocate Yosef Hai Fenizil, and shows that the business was located in Rehov Hayehudim and had permission to undertake printing in Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, English, German, French and Italian.[10]
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