Fath Ali Shah Qajar Firman in Shikasta Nastaliq script January 1831

A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' comes from the Persian meaning "decree" or "order".

Etymology

''Farmān'' is the modern Persian form of the word and descends from Middle Persian (Pahlavi) , ultimately from Old Persian ( = "fore"). The difference between the modern Persian and Old Persian forms stems from "dropping the ending ''ā'' and insertion of a vowel owing to the initial double consonant". This feature (i.e. ''fra-'') was still used in the Middle Persian form. The Turkish form of the word ''farmān'' is ''fermān'', whereas the Arabized plural form of the word is .

Origins of firmans in the Ottoman Empire

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.Ira M. Lapidus, ''A History of Islamic Societies'', 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002, pp. 260-261

Organization

Firmans were gathered in codes called "'' kanun''". The ''kanun'' 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." 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.

Examples of Ottoman firmans

Firman of Murad (26 October – 23 November 1386)

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.

Firman of Mehmed the Conqueror (30 August 1473)

Following the defeat of Uzun Hasan, Mehmed the Conqueror took over and consolidated his rule over the area. From he sent a series of letters announcing his victory, including an unusual missive in the Uyghur language addressed to the Turkomans of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The decree ('' yarlık'') had 201 lines and was written by on 30 August 1473:

Firman of Mehmed IV (1648–1687)

In this firman, the monks of Mount 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.

Other firmans

One of the most important firmans governing relations between Muslims and Christians is a document kept at the Saint Catherine's Monastery on the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

in Egypt. This monastery is Greek Orthodox and constitutes the autonomous Sinai Orthodox Church. The firman bears the hand print of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, 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 in

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such as the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

and the Nizam of

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Notable were Emperor Aurangzeb's various firmans.

Other uses

The term "firman" was used by the archeologist/ novelist Elizabeth Peters for official permission from the Egyptian Department of Antiquities to carry on an excavation. A similar authority was cited by Austen Henry Layard for excavations at Nimrud which he mistakenly believed was Nineveh. In the Old 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.

Gallery

File:Gaykhatu Farman.jpg, Firman of Sadr al-Din Zanjani, vizier of ilkhan Gaykhatu, dated Jumada II 692/June 1292. Art and History Collection on loan to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery File:Firman of Sultan Muhammad b. Tughlaq Shah (cropped).jpg, Firman of Muhammad bin Tughluq dated Shawwal 725 AH/September–October 1325. Keir Collection File:Farman Of Feroz Shah Bahmani - 14 -05 -1406 A.D.jpg, Firman of Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah of the Bahmani Sultanate dated 1405–06.

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

State Archives File:Firman of the Emperor Aurangzeb, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.jpg, Firman of Aurangzeb dated 25th Jumadi II of 1072 AH/15 February 1662. Arthur M. Sackler Gallery File:An imperial order, farman, from the time of Shah 'Alam II, dated 1776.jpg, A firman issued by the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II File:Farman by Ahmad Shah Durrani.jpg, A firman issued by Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the Durrani Empire