An interpretation of relations between the central Ottoman Empire and provincial Iraqi society in the early modern period.

This book studies the functions and responsibilities of Islamic courts and explores the processes of adjudication and dispute resolution in the context of the late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Ottoman Anatolia.

"The Empire in the city deals with the many aspects of change of urban societies in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire during the period of reforms in the 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period of normative and centralizing state reforms and increasing international exchange, local and global dynamics led to profound social changes. This book therefore focuses on the converging trends of social and architectural interaction: Cities are heterogeneous structures of social organization. Thousands of men and women act daily in this complex system and leave their mark on the many layers the city's appearance. In this sense cities provide a rich source for studies on social transformation. The contributions deal with various aspects of provincial capitals and show how at different levels - society, architecture, urban structures, administration, institutions etc. - late Ottoman times were far from being a period of irreversible decline in Arab provincial capitals. They turn out to be times of vibrant intellectual activity, intense innovation and conscious city planning. Direct European influence played only a very limited part. Much of the impetus for change and transformation came from Istanbul or from the evolving local bourgeoisie. This book tries to bring back the role of local societies into the historiography of the Arab Provinces of the Ottoman Empire."--Cover.

This book has three main themes: the socio-economic history of Turkish society in the 17th-18th centuries; the outcome of the Tanzimat (Reforms) in the province of Jerusalem, as an example of the whole phenomenon; and the historical origins of Turkish and Arab identities leading to the modern phenomenon of nationalism. Many of the studies are based on archival research, and the documents give a new picture of the issues involved. Thus, women were much more involved in the public arena and in economic life of the city that formerly thought; the urban family at this time was much smaller and nuclear-like, on the whole much more modern looking than anticipated. In the same way, Turkish society was far from being despotically oppressed by the Ottoman centre, with several institutions existing in it that gave substance to the term civil society. In the context of the 19th century it was found that, judging by the case of the province of Jerusalem, the final phase of the Tanzimat really tipped the balance in favour of the success of this whole movement of Reform: Ottoman society and Ottoman state became much more orderly and at ease with themselves than before, or at least than the stormy decades of the early 19th century. The final studies show that the Ottoman period and the structure of the Ottoman state, more properly, exerted much influence on the forms of nationalism that developed in the Middle East after the Ottoman downfall.

Charts the Ottoman Empire's unique path to creating a realm of social life in which public opinion could be formed.