Ahmet Cevdet Pasha

Ahmed Cevdet Pasha (22 March 1822 – 25 May 1895) He is often regarded as a pioneer in the codification of a civil law based on the European legal system. The Mecelle remained intact in several modern Arab states in the early and mid-20th-century. In addition to Turkish, he was proficient in Arabic, Persian, French and Bulgarian. He wrote numerous books on history, law, grammar, linguistics, logic and astronomy.

Early life Ahmed Cevdet Pasha was born in 1822 in Lofça, Ottoman Bulgaria, to a Turkish family. He came from the notable family of Yularkiranoglu that had served the state and the faith as military, administrative, and religious officials. It was his grandfather's, Hacı Ali Efendi, wish that Ahmed pursued a career in the religious, ilmiye, ranks. Ahmed also studied Persian under Mehmed Murad Efendi (died 1848) and Süleyman Fehim Efendi, studying the divans of Orfi Shirazi and Showkat (died 1695/6). In 1844, Ahmed was granted the permission to teach the Masnavi of Rumi. Following the death of his tutor Süleyman Fehim Efendi in 1845, Ahmed completed a Turkish commentary for the Persian divan of Saib Tabrizi.

Ahmed also studied the mathematical sciences at the Imperial Military Engineering School (Hendesehâne). It was the code that prevailed against Ali Pasha's push for the application of French Civil Law. The Mecelle combined Civil law with Islamic Law of Obligations in a final product consisting of 1,851 articles. This arduous task occupied Ahmed Cevdet until the last volume was published in 1876, for a total of about 16 years. It was the first systematic compilation incorporating both Islamic Law and Civil Law. Codification and enactment of Islamic law were essential for the proper functioning of a modern bureaucracy. His other daughter Emine Semiye Önasya (1864–1944) was one of the first Turkish feminists and a political activist for women in the late Empire and early Republic.