The Educational and Professional Profile of The Ulema in Late Ottoman Kosovo: An Evaluation based on Sicill-i Ahval Registers

This study examines the members of the ilmiye class, including muftis, mudarris and kadıs, who were educated and served in the Kosovo Province during the late Ottoman period. The primary source of the analysis is the ulema records found in the Sicill-i Ahval Registers, which were initiated during the reign of Abdulhamid II. The research explores the career-building process of provincial ulema through various aspects, such as their family backgrounds, early and madrasa education, institutions’ curriculums, icazetnames, connections with the center (Istanbul), educational experiences in Istanbul madrasas, and their ties to modern schools established during the late Ottoman era. The professional lives of these scholars are evaluated in terms of the fields in which they were employed, the regions where they served, and their linguistic proficiency. Focusing on central districts such as Skopje, Prizren, and Pristina, as well as other districts and sub-districts in the Kosovo Province, the study provides a detailed analysis of educational conditions, the socio-economic structure of the provincial ilmiye class, and their contributions to the Ottoman scholarly tradition. The inquiry aims to provide a biographical and prosopographical analysis of the late Ottoman period to understand the position of provincial ulema within the Ottoman ilmiye class.