Marginal Actors? The Role of Bedouin in the Ottoman Administration of Animals as Property in the District of Salt, 1870-1912

Abstract

This article examines the roles of Bedouin in the implementation of late Ottoman regulations that aimed to create an intrusive system for managing animals as property. Using material of the central archives, the article outlines relevant regulations and amendments, showing how communications between central officials and provincial bureaucrats in regions with nomadic populations contributed to the process of lawmaking. It then presents an analysis ofsharīʿacourt records from the district of Salt, in southeastern Syria, arguing that Bedouin both participated in implementing this system at the district level and challenged its parameters, especially with regard to taxation of their livestock property.