Muslim orphans in colonial tashkent in the late xix – early xx centuries based on court records

According to Islamic law, an orphan is an under-aged child (saghīr) before the age of puberty whose father or both his/her parents have died. In late-nineteenth century Tashkent after Russians’ penetrating into the region, qaḍīs (Muslim judges) continued to register cases but in different forms. The main argument of this paper is that traditional madrasas and maktabs (schools) maintained practices in Tashkent, despite Russian colonialism affecting Muslims qāḍīs’ court practices. It is this issue that I attempt to answer through analysis of the nineteenth-century archival sources. These materials illuminate the social and economic circumstances of saghīrs in Muslim society in Tashkent. Despite their importance, these sources have been neglected by scholars almost entirely.