Stamps

Uzun Hasan 600 years

Date of issue: 01.11.2023

Catalog No:1914

Denomination: 1.50 M

Souvenir/small sheet size: 155x85 mm

Stamp size: 52x37 mm

Circulation: 4000 souvenir sheets

Perforation: Round hole perforation

Designer: Zohra Babayeva

Printed by Bobruisk Integrated Printing House, Bobruisk, Belarus

Price: 1.50 M

One of the most important stages in the activities of the ruler of the Ak-Koyunlu, Uzun Hasan, in building a centralized state, is his legal code "Ganun-name." In the 15th century, life in the state (and in the Muslim East in general) was regulated by the laws of Sharia, custom (Adat), and Tore (Turkish traditional law), as well as the "Yasa" of Genghis Khan. Such a mixture allowed regional rulers and feudal lords to interpret various aspects in their own ways, effectively opening the door to lawlessness. Uzun Hasan understood very well that the empire he had built through military successes consisted of regions with different religions, customs, and traditions. To unite them into a single entity, a universal legal code was needed.

Uzun Hasan is the first ruler in the history of Azerbaijan to create a unified legal code. The 15th-century historian Giyasi wrote, "Uzun Hasan compiled the 'Ganun-name' to resolve all disputes and complaints of the population. The Sultan dispatched the 'Ganun-name' to all regions for implementation." The legal code he created proved to be so effective that it was later used by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I (1520 - 1566) when formulating his laws. In the Safavid state, under Shah Ismail I (1501-1524), only minor changes and additions were made, and Uzun Hasan's laws remained in effect until 1557 when Shah Tahmasib I's legal code came into force.

In Azerbaijani textbooks, the role of Uzun Hasan's "Ganun-name" in regulating taxes is acknowledged, but the significance of this legal code in the organization of a centralized state is sometimes overlooked. Even the 16th-century historian Hasan bey Rumlu wrote, "His goal was to put in order all matters that had been concealed under the black curtains of Genghis Khan's laws."