Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab

In this skillful analysis, Leslie Peirce delves into the life of a sixteenth—century Middle Eastern community, bringing to light the ways that women and men used their local law court to solve personal, family, and community problems. Examining one year's proceedings of the court of Aintab, an Anatolian city that had recently been conquered by the Ottoman sultanate, Peirce argues that local residents responded to new opportunities and new constraints by negotiating flexible legal practices....