Ottoman Land Code of 1858

The Ottoman Land Code of 1858 was enacted in 1858 CE (1274 AH) during the Tanzimat reform period of the Ottoman Empire. Described as an original Ottoman creation, neither purely European nor entirely Islamic, it was founded on traditional land practices while incorporating categories of land drawn from Islamic law. The law required landowners to register their property claims, for two stated reasons: to increase tax revenue and to exercise greater state control over the land. It established five main land classifications, waqf (pious endowments), mulk (private or allodial land), miri (state land), matruka (communal or public-use land) and mawat (uncultivated dead land), with a sixth category, mahlul, later added for escheated state property.