Ahmed Cevdet Pasha (1822 – May 26, 1895) was a famous Ottoman statesman, historian, sociologist, and legist. He played an important role in the preparation of Mecelle, the civil code of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which was the first codification of Islamic law with Western standards. Cevdet Pasha oversaw the formulation of the Mecelle. He is also well known for a book on Ottoman history, now known as Cevdet Paşa Tarihi ("History of Cevdet Pasha").

Mathematics and astronomy intrigued Ahmed Cevdet Pasha. During the holidays he read many works on arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and astronomy. He made arrangements with a teacher in the Imperial Military Engineering School (Mühendishane-i Berri-i Humayun) to instruct him in modern mathematics and read with him the engineering journals and Ishak Efendi's works on the mathematics.^[1]

Ahmed Cevdet Pasha's grave is located in the graveyard of the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul.

His daughter Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862-1936) is credited as the first female writer of the literature of Turkey and the Islamic geography. His other daughter Emine Semiye (1864-1944) was one of the first Turkish feminists.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• (In Turkish) Ekrem Buğra Ekinci and Ahmet Şimşirgil. Ahmed Cevdet Paşa ve Mecelle (Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and Mejelle),Istanbul, 2008.

[edit] External links

• The Sunni Path- By Ahmet Cevdet Pasha
• AL-MAJALLA AL AHKAM AL ADALIYYAH- The Ottoman Courts Manual
• Tarih-i Cevdet and Belagat-i Osmaniyye, Original Text

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