This dissertation offers a new reading of the history of late-Ottoman Beirut by focusing on the relationship between gender, property, and kinship. As Beirut changed beyond recognition due to the nineteenth-century transformations, the integration into the world economy, and demographic and urban growth, women’s experiences of these changes largely depended on their socioeconomic backgrounds. The systematic study of the court records of the shari‘a court of Beirut paints a vivid picture of the ways in which women fought other family members, and at times settled peacefully, over property. This in turn leads to novel insights into the history of the city itself, the ways in which its inhabitants experienced economic dislocations and urban expansion, the role of gender when it comes to access to property, and women’s strategies in court. In addition, this dissertation explores the evolution of the role of the shari‘a court and its jurisdiction as a new court system was introduced and the entire legal system overhauled. Thus, it also provides a historicization of family legal practice prior to the creation of contemporary Lebanon.