374 chapter 8
remember another example of this administrative idea in Canikli Ali Pasha’s
work). Similarly, Ömer Faik suggests that statesmen should have farms around
Istanbul: thus, they will be used as camps for military exercises and at the same
time they will contribute to the prosperity of the surroundings of the capital.
As for the financial bureaucracy, Behic (Ç26–39) laments the ignorance and
greed of the clerks and proposes the strict selection of the most competent,
their regular inspection, their organization into four distinct groups and their
constant training. In special schools they should be regularly taught not only
mathematics and book-keeping, but also geography, Arabic and Persian, lit-
erature, geography, politics, and the history of Europe and of Turkey (tevarih-i
Türkiyye—this could also mean “histories in the Turkish language”; Ç37).
Behic Efendi’s ideas on reorganizing the judicial system also point to the
same, centralizing tendencies. As demonstrated, he proposes a recodifica-
tion of the laws in simple language, as well as the establishment of a special
court (hakimler mahalli) in the centre of Istanbul where criminal cases would
be heard (Ç49–50). Behic also proposes, for the administration of Istanbul
(Ç51–56), that the city must be cleansed of unemployed vagabonds and all
inhabitants must be provided with a “permit to pass” (mürur tezkiresi), as in
European cities. An “inspector of the city” (şehir nazırı) should be appointed,
preferably a high-standing member of the ulema; he will be granted indepen-
dent clerks and a special building. This official should then record all foreign-
ers (artisans and merchants from the provinces, workers, the unemployed) and
give them a special pass with their description. A similar verification of the
population should be done at the neighborhood level by local imams, while
control of the population would be supplemented by inn-keepers and a special
system of spies (casus). It should be noted here that, in this view of population
registration and control, Behic Efendi was quite attuned to the administration
of his era.84
At the same time, both authors show their concern for civil officialdom as
a means of social mobility. Ömer Faik laments the moral and financial situ-
ation of the scribes and seeks security of sorts for public servants: he speaks
out against the confiscation (müsadere) of the properties of dead officials and
argues that a substantial part of their property should always be left to the
deceased’s family. In the same vein, Behic argues that descendants of noble
families (kibar-zadeler), who are well-educated, smart, and competent, do not
dare enter public service because they fear arbitrary decisions on the part of
the government (from dismissal to execution and confiscation of property). As
84 See Kırlı 2010; Başaran 2014; Başaran – Kırlı 2015.