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Why study Ottoman history? What are the available sources? And how can researchers begin locating, reading, and interpreting these? The Cambridge Companion to Ottoman History provides a broad introduction to the field, offering readers accessible outlines of its varied methods and approaches. Bringing together contributions from leading researchers, the volume considers the theoretical, methodological, and practical challenges faced by Ottoman historians. Including chapters from specialists in areas ranging from intellectual history to labor history and gender history, the Companion critically examines prior developments in the field, and indicates potential paths for future research. Beginning with a thorough grounding in the primary sources available, the Companion then turns to the perspectives and critical frames of the discipline. This volume is an essential teaching guide, and an invaluable entry point to the breadth and the possibilities of Ottoman history.
List of contents
List of Figures; List of Tables; List of Contributors; Preface; Introduction: A Life in Ottoman History Suraiya Faroqhi; Part I. Sources and Structures: 1. Setting Off for the Archives Marc Aymes and Christopher Markiewicz; 2. Literary and Biographical Sources Hatice Aynur; 3. Chronicles and the Court: History Writing Ethan Menchinger; 4. Letter Collections and the Central Bureaucracy Christine Woodhead; 5. Whose Archives?: Legal Courts and the Question of the Written Document Yavuz Aykan; 6. Visual Sources for the Study of Ottoman History Emine Fetvac¿; 7. Quantitative Data and the Economy P¿nar Ceylan and Metin M. Co¿gel; 8. An Anthropologist among Ottomanists Nada Moumtaz; Part II. Perspectives and Methods: 9. Rural History Stefan Winter; 10. Labor History Can Nacar and Hatice Y¿ld¿z; 11. Environmental History Chris Gratien; 12. Social Networks Yonca Köksal; 13. Digital History, GIS, and Spatial Humanities: Mapping the Historical Population Geography of Two Regions in Bulgaria, 1840-1934 M. Erdem Kabaday¿, Grigor Boykov and Piet Gerrits; 14. Ottoman Diplomacy Güne¿ I¿¿ksel; 15. Intellectual History Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano and Kerem Tinaz; 16. Approaching Ottoman Cultural History: Affect, Performance, and Aurality Asl¿han Gürbüzel and Jacob Olley; 17. Ottoman Science: Institutions, Genres, Materials A. Tunç ¿en and Daniel A. Stolz; Part III. Frames and Actors: 18. Imperial Edges and Those Who Live There: A Reconsideration of the Frontier in Ottoman History Isa Blumi and Güne¿ I¿¿ksel; 19. Capital and Province Marc Aymes; 20. On the Shores of Empire Antonis Hadjikyriacou and Alexis Wick; 21. Religion, Millet, and Nation Antonis Hadjikyriacou; 22. Gender and Sexuality N. ¿pek Hüner and Bäak Tu¿; 23. Itinerant Ottomans: Refugees and Migrants as the Engine of an Empire's History Isa Blumi; 24. Humans, Animals, Plants Yonca Köksal and Can Nacar; 25. After the Ottomans? Alexis Rappas and Alexis Wick; References; Index.
About the author
Alexis Wick is an Associate Professor of History at Koç University in Istanbul. His research focuses on Ottoman and Arab history and historiography, the history of concepts, and spatial history. Wick is the author of The Red Sea: In Search of Lost Space (2016).
