Provincializing the history of the Ottoman Empire, this book provides a critical approach to the projects of ‘modernity’ that took place in the Eastern Mediterranean over the past two centuries. Leaving their mark on this period are; the turmoil of insurgency in Greece and Egypt, a growing intervention of European Powers in Eastern Mediterranean politics, and the unfolding of large reform projects within the administration of the Ottoman Empire. Whilst these developments have prompted enduring debates over Middle Eastern paths of transformation, the case of Cyprus has remained isolated from these discussions, something this book seeks to address. One of the first research monographs to appear in English on Cyprus during the eventful times of the Ottoman ‘long’ 19th century, this book consistently seeks to provide a dialogue between source analyses and theoretical frameworks. Exploring the myriad relationships between this singular locality and the regional – not to say global – dynamics of empire, trade and social change at that time, A Provincial History of the Ottoman Empire will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in the Middle East and Modern History.

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

The Ottoman Empire in the Tanzimat Era generates a new history of the Ottoman Empire’s Tanzimat reforms in the provinces of Edirne and Ankara. It studies variation across the two provinces and the crucial role of local intermediaries such as notables, tribal leaders, and merchants. The book provides insights into how states and societies transform each other in the most difficult of times using qualitative and quantitative social network analysis and deep research in the Ottoman and British archives to understand the Tanzimat as a process of negotiation and transformation between the state and local actors. The author argues that the same reform policies produced different results in Edirne and Ankara. The book explains how factors such as socioeconomic conditions and historical developments played a role in shaping local networks. The Ottoman Empire in the Tanzimat Era invites readers to rethink taken-for-granted concepts such as centralization, decentralization, state control, and imperial decay. It will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Middle Eastern and Balkan studies, and historical and political sociology.

"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 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.

A major contribution to Ottoman history, now published in paperback in two volumes.