Types of Political Administration and the Rule of Sultan Abdülhamid II According to Cemil Molla, One of the Last Ottoman Period Scholars

Abstract

Cemil Molla, one of the last representatives of the Üryanizade family whose members were employees at various upper degree scholarships in the Ottoman Empire since the 17th century, was assigned to several missions in the Ottoman bureaucracy. After studying Islamic sciences in accordance with the traditional education approach of the ulema family, he had the opportunity to receive education in positive sciences, especially in the field of law. The unpublished memoir of Cemil Molla titled Dağarcığım is the main source of this article. This study aims to reflect the ideas of Cemil Molla who was one of the late Ottoman scholars and known for his close relationship with the sultan and the palace, about the types of political administration regimes and the rule of Sultan Abdülhamid II. The opinions of the intellectuals and bureaucrats who witnessed the above-mentioned period and their basic arguments were also mentioned in the article. It has been tried to shed light on the mentality of Cemil Molla within the framework of the discussions on the autocratic and constitutional regimes of the period. In addition to research works and articles relating to the subject, biographical sources, chronicler histories, family’s private archive, Turkish Presidency’s State Archives, and Sharia Court Registry Archives of Istanbul Muftiate were analyzed for this study.