Name/Title
Ottoman Armenian Document #40Scope and Content
This Ottoman document, dating from 29 August 1332 Rumi (11 September 1916), is an official record of conversion to Islam issued by the local administration and confirmed by the Sharia Court. It records that a person named Marko Papaz oğlu (Papazyan) embraced Islam, expressed in Ottoman as “İslamiyetle müşerref,” meaning “honored with Islam.” Following his conversion, his new Muslim name, Fahri, was written and registered, indicated by the phrase “isede yazılmış,” and a new identity certificate (“müceddeden nüfus tezkiresi”) was issued to him. This was done in accordance with the order and decree of the governing authority (“ferman hazreti,” “emr-u halde”), and the report was presented to the Mutasarrıf, the provincial governor, respectfully referred to as “huzur-ı aliye-i hazret-i mutasarrıf-ı ekremiye.” The stamps at the bottom confirm that the appropriate administrative fees or taxes were paid for the registration.
It is further noted that the late son of Karabet, himself the son of a priest, had been registered under the Armenian community records in the sixth household of the Salköprü neighborhood in Malatya. Therefore, the execution of the necessary procedures to correct and update the registration in accordance with his conversion is required. Documents like this were part of the late Ottoman administrative practice, where conversions to Islam were formally recorded through local Sharia courts to update population records and ensure that the individual received a new identity within the state system. The ceremonial and highly reverent Ottoman language emphasizes both the religious transformation and the bureaucratic procedures surrounding it.Created By
garenkazanc@hotmail.comCreate Date
October 9, 2025Updated By
garenkazanc@hotmail.comUpdate Date
October 9, 2025
