dervish
A member of one of the religious fraternities of Islam that were characterized by spirituality, a mystical relationship with the divine, and a modest way of life. The most known among the dervish orders in the Ottoman Empire are the Mevlevi and the Bektashi.

imam
A spiritual and religious leader in Islamic communities. He' s the head of a mosque and a preacher. In shiite tradition this term refers to the leader of the faithful, without seperating the spiritual/religious jurisdictions from the socio-political ones.

imâret
A complex of public buildings and foumdations which were funded by the walkf (vakif)

kadi
Office that combinbed judicial, notarial and administrative duties. The kadi, who held court at the kaza's seat, registered all legal acts and documents in the court's codices (sicil). The kadi passed judgement based on the saria (the holy law of Islam), taking also into consideration the kanun (sultanic law) and the customary law (örf). Resort to his court had all the subjects of the Empire. The kadi had also administrative duties, which he performed in collaboration with the officials of the kaza., and he had to supervise tax collection.

kaymakam
An Ottoman official, governor of the administrative unit that succeeded the kaza in the late Ottoman period.

ulema
A graduate of an Islamic religious-school (medrese) who has the prospect of becoming a kadi (religious judge) or a moufti (interpreter of the religious law), an imam or to occupy some other religious office.

wakf (vakif)
A foundation, a grant of land or other source of income, including tax revenues, which was considered to be dedicated according to the sacred law (şeriat) and was used for religious and charitable purposes.