Turkish Studies - Historical Analysis eISSN: 2667-5552 INTERNATIONAL BALKAN UNIVERSITY www.turkishstudies.net/history Research Article / Araştırma Makalesi Sponsored by IBU Cite as/ Atıf: Türkkan, H. (2020). XX. yüzyıl başlarında Osmanlı hapishaneleri (Ereğli hapishanesi örneği), Turkish Studies - History, 15(1), 261-272. https://dx.doi.org/10.29228/TurkishStudies.41427 Received/Geliş: 20 January/Ocak 2020 Checked by plagiarism software Accepted/Kabul: 17 March/Mart 2020 Published/Yayın: 24 March/Mart 2020 Copyright © INTAC LTD, Turkey CC BY-NC 4.0 XX. Yüzyıl Başlarında Osmanlı Hapishaneleri (Ereğli Hapishanesi Örneği) Ottoman Prisons in the Beginning of 20th Century (Example of Ereğli Prison) Hakan Türkkan * Abstract: Prisons have existed since the earliest known times. However, the method of incarceration was not often the punishment itself. Therefore, the prisons were used as the place where the suspect was held until the actual penalty was determined. In the 18th century it became increasingly common that the restriction of freedom in Europe began to be used as a punishment method. Thus, the concept of punishment, which was previously based on the suffering of the human body, was replaced by the restriction of one's freedom. This transformation in the understanding of prison in Europe also affected the Ottoman Empire. In addition to the perceptions of human rights and freedoms that began to develop and become widespread, diplomatic pressures of European states influenced the understanding of prison in the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, after the second half of the 19th century, necessary legal infrastructure was tried to be established. At the end of the century, it was tried to open prisons in the province, county and districts of the Ottoman Empire. During this period, the prison understanding in the Ottoman Empire made a distinction between male and female prisons. In addition, the fact that the distinction between prisoners and convicts has been made indicates that modern prison understanding has developed. At the beginning of the 20th century, the financial difficulties of the state made it difficult to meet the needs of the prisons. In this study, a sample of Eregli district prison which is an Ottoman district was examined. The study was conducted with document review method. The main source of the study is the records of the Presidential Ottoman Archive on Eregli prison. In addition, the current literature on the concept of prison and Ottoman prisons has been utilized in the study. Structured Abstract: The method of imprisonment, which means the forcible detention of the suspect or criminal, has been practiced since the earliest known periods. In Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations, the prison was used as a place of detention until the time the sentence became clear or the execution took place. In the Islamic State, Hz. during the Omar period, the offenders were kept in a house for incarceration. In the reign of Ali, the killer was killed and those who helped him were imprisoned. However, * Dr. Öğr. Üyesi, Karabük Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi, Tarih Bölümü, Yakınçağ Tarihi Assist. Prof. Dr., Karabuk University, Faculty of Letters, Department of History, Contemporary Age History 0000-0002-2681-6230 hakanturkkan@karabuk.edu.tr