EFRAIM KARSH AND INARI KARSH, Empires of the Sand: The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789–1923 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999). Pp. 419. $29.95 cloth.

2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-565
Author(s):  
Charles D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Harvard University ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Promotional Campaign ◽  
The 19Th Century

The subject of a promotional campaign by Harvard University Press, Empires of the Sand purports to challenge established scholarship with respect to the drawn-out demise of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1923. The Karshes argue that European imperialism was more benevolent than threatening and coexisted with Middle Eastern imperialisms—Ottoman, Egyptian, or Arab. In their view, European imperial powers “shored up” the Ottoman Empire rather than sought to deprive it of territories under its domain during the 19th century. To be sure, there was some European “nibbling at the edges of empire” (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya), but these incursions had little impact on the Ottomans; Cyprus (1878) is ignored. The only true “infringement on Ottoman territorial stability,” the British takeover of Egypt, happened by “chance not design,” with the blame attributed to Sultan Abdul Hamid's mismanagement of the crisis. The same story of Ottoman incompetence and attempts to manipulate European powers explains Ottoman loss of territory in the Balkans.

Сирия (аш-Шам) в системе османских владений (XVI – начало XX в.)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Zhantiev
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The Face ◽  
High Level ◽  
The 19Th Century

Аннотация В статье рассматривается роль и место Сирии (включая Ливан и Палестину) в системе османских владений на протяжении нескольких веков от османского завоевания до периода правления султана Абдул-Хамида II. В течение четырех столетий османского владычества территория исторической Сирии (Билад аш-Шам) была одним из важнейших компонентов османской системы и играла роль связующего звена между Анатолией, Египтом, Ираком и Хиджазом. Необходимость ежегодной организации хаджа с символами султанской власти и покровительства над святынями Мекки и Медины определяла особую стратегическую важность сирийских провинций Османской империи. Несмотря на ряд серьезных угроз во время общего кризиса османской государственности (конец XVI начало XIX вв.), имперскому центру удалось сохранить контроль над Сирией путем создания сдержек и противовесов между местными элитами. В XIX в. и особенно в период правления Абдул- Хамида II (18761909 гг.), сохранение Сирии под османским контролем стало вопросом существования Османской империи, которая перед лицом растущего европейского давления и интервенции потеряла большую часть своих владений на Балканах и в Северной Африке. Задача укрепления связей между имперским центром и периферией в сирийских вилайетах в последней четверти XIX в. была в целом успешно решена. К началу XX в. Сирия была одним из наиболее политически спокойных и прочно связанных со Стамбулом регионов Османской империи. Этому в значительной степени способствовали довольно высокий уровень общественной безопасности, развитие внешней торговли, рост образования и постепенная интеграция местных элит (как мусульман, так и христиан) в османские государственные и социальные механизмы. Положение Сирии в системе османских владений показало, что процесс ослабления и территориальной дезинтеграции Османской империи в эпоху реформ не был линейным и наряду с потерей владений и влияния на Балканах, в азиатской части империи в течение XIX и начала XX вв. происходил параллельный процесс имперской консолидации.Abstract The article examines the role and place of Greater Syria (including Lebanon and Palestine) in the system of Ottoman possessions over several centuries from the Ottoman conquest to the period of the reign of Abdul Hamid II. For four centuries of Ottoman domination, the territory of historical Syria (Bilad al-Sham) was one of the most important components in the Ottoman system and played the role of a link between Anatolia, Egypt, Iraq and Hijaz. The need to ensure the Hajj with symbols of Sultan power and patronage over the shrines of Mecca and Medina each year determined the special strategic importance of the Syrian provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Despite a number of serious threats during the general crisis of the Ottoman state system (late 16th early 19th centuries), the imperial center managed to maintain control over Syria by creating checks and balances between local elites. In the 19th century. And especially during the reign of Abdul Hamid II (18761909), keeping Syria under Ottoman control became a matter of existence for the Ottoman Empire, which, in the face of increasing European pressure and intervention, lost most of its possessions in the Balkans and North Africa. The task of strengthening ties between the imperial center and the periphery in Syrian vilayets in the last quarter of the 19th century was generally successfully resolved. By the beginning of the 20th century, Syria was one of the most politically calm and firmly connected with Istanbul regions of the Ottoman Empire. This was greatly facilitated by a fairly high level of public safety, the development of foreign trade, the growth of education and the gradual integration of local elites (both Muslims and Christians) into Ottoman state and social mechanisms. Syrias position in the system of Ottoman possessions clearly showed that the process of weakening and territorial disintegration of the Ottoman Empire during the era of reform was not linear, and along with the loss of possessions and influence in the Balkans, in the Asian part of the empire during the 19th and early 20th centuries there was a parallel process of imperial consolidation.

The Ottoman Empire: Institutions and Economic Change, 1500–1914

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Şevket Pamuk
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Institutions ◽  
The 19Th Century

The Ottoman Empire stood at the crossroads of intercontinental trade for six centuries until World War I. For most of its existence, the economic institutions and policies of this agrarian empire were shaped according to the distribution of political power, cooperation, conflicts, and struggles between the state elites and the various other elites, including those in the provinces. The central bureaucracy managed to contain the many challenges it faced with its pragmatism and habit of negotiation to co-opt and incorporate into the state the social groups that rebelled against it. As long as the activities of the economic elites, landowners, merchants, the leading artisans, and the moneylenders contributed to the perpetuation of this social order, the state encouraged and supported them but did not welcome their rapid enrichment. The influence of these elites over economic matters, and more generally over the policies of the central government, remained limited. Cooperation and coordination among the provincial elites was also made more difficult by the fact that the empire covered a large geographical area, and the different ethnic groups and their elites did not always act together. Differences in government policies and the institutional environment between Western Europe and the Middle East remained limited until the early modern era. With the rise of the Atlantic trade, however, the merchants in northwestern European countries increased their economic and political power substantially. They were then able to induce their governments to defend and develop their commercial interests in the Middle East more forcefully. As they began to lag behind the European merchants even in their own region, it became even more difficult for the Ottoman merchants to provide input into their government’s trade policies or change the commercial or economic institutions in the direction they preferred. Key economic institutions of the traditional Ottoman order, such as state ownership of land, urban guilds, and selective interventionism, remained mostly intact until 1820. In the early part of the 19th century, the center, supported by the new technologies, embarked on an ambitious reform program and was able to reassert its power over the provinces. Centralization and reforms were accompanied by the opening of the economy to international trade and investment. Economic policies and institutional changes in the Ottoman Empire began to reflect the growing power of European states and companies during the 19th century.

The Sultan's Entrepreneurs: The Avrupa Tüccaris and the Hayriye Tüccaris in Syria

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Masters
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Western European ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Military ◽  
Arab Middle East

By the first quarter of the 19th century, foreigners and Ottomans alike were keenly aware that the sovereignty of the house of Osman was rapidly eroding. Austrian and Russian armies threatened the empire from without; ethnic revolts and secession beset it from within. Its occasional allies Britain and France ate away at its autonomy through growing economic and political influence. The military threats were apparent, but the Porte was less alert to the dangers its relationships with the Western European powers held for Ottoman hegemony over the peoples of the Balkans and the Arab Middle East.1

Iranian Constitutional Exiles and British Foreign-Policy Dissenters, 1908–9

1995 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansour Bonakdarian
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
British Foreign Policy ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Political Exile ◽  
The 19Th Century

In recent Middle Eastern history, the experience of political exile has become a prevalent theme, as large numbers of Palestinians, Kurds, Iranians, and Afghans, among others, have sought refuge in various countries. Although the earlier numbers would pale in comparison with the present size of the Middle Eastern diaspora scattered around the globe, it was in the 19th century that the first noticeable groups of exiles from the Middle East began taking sanctuary in European countries, among other locations. Perhaps the best known of these exile communities were the Young Ottomans in France in the late 19th century.

scholarly journals Polish Middle Eastern Travels Until the End of the 19th Century: Current Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-134
Author(s):  
Hieronim Kaczmarek
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Holy Land ◽  
Academic Interest ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Source Materials

The objective of the article is to summarize the efforts made so far by Polish researchers of pilgrimages to the Holy Land, traveling around Egypt and the Levant. The academic interest in visits of Poles in this part of the Ottoman Empire is relatively fresh, because the first publications on this issue appeared sporadically at the beginning of the 19th century. For several decades, a book by Jan Stanisław Bystroń was the main source of knowledge about the pres­ence of Poles in Egypt and the Levant. Scholarly interest in this topic grew in the second half of the 20th century. Despite an abundance of publications, our knowledge of the Polish presence in the Arab part of the Ottoman state is still incomplete. This is mainly due to the limited source materials and the lack of a broad search for archival and museum resources. The rising number of researchers on this subject may change this situation in the long run.

scholarly journals Traditional music of Prizren Gora in the shadow of the Ottoman empire

Muzikologija ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 101-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Rankovic
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Traditional Music ◽  
Musical Performance ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The Past ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
New Religion ◽  
Traditional Manner

Located at the southernmost part of Kosovo and Metohija, on the slopes of the Sharr Mountains, Gora represents a place once inhabited by the Serbian Orthodox population, who converted to Islam under the Turkish occupation of the Balkans. The faith conversion began in the 16th and ended in the 19th century, at which point there had still been some remains of Orthodox churches left on the territory of Gora. The acceptance of the new religion and other values passed on by the Ottoman Empire brought about changes in terms of identity, so, nowadays, inhabitants identify themselves as the Goranci/Gorani people. To this very day, their cultural matrix reflects a combination of musical creations which probably preceded the change of religion as well as those variations established by the Turkish domination. These phenomena can be tracked on the level of both their context and the musical text. The Gorani celebrate Christian holidays (Christmas and St George?s Day), and keep those holidays that are part of Islamic practice (Sunnah and Bayram). As an example of an older, traditional manner of musical expression, the two-part ?aloud? (na glas) singing has a dominant second interval in a narrow tonal ambitus and a free metro-rhythmical organization. This form of singing is usually shaped into octosyllable and it is characterized by text improvisation which happens simultaneously with a certain action. Its interpretation is associated with St George?s Day, wedding, Sunnah, and other holidays. Songs that accompany the dance are sung in a heterophonic manner or in unison, accompanied by the tambourine (emic term: daire or def). Unlike the two-part ?aloud? singing, performing the songs in unison with the tambourine and dance has wider tonal systems with a periodical case of an excessive second. However, the very emergence of numerous instruments such as the tambourine, kaval, tambura and zurla, shows a considerable Turkish-Eastern influence. This influence is especially noticeable in the Romani ?musicking? using zurla, which typically involves a combination of traditional music of different nations, predominantly Turkish and Albanian. Turkish influence tied to instrumental music was conveyed to the vocal singing, particularly to singing songs together with using the tambourine while dancing, as well as to singing to the accompaniment of the tambura. Within these modes of musical performance, asymmetrical rhythms are used, along with the augmented second, which ethnomusicological literature often cites as an element of Oriental culture. By overviewing the Gorani musical practice and the ?otherness? in diachrony, it is evident that what was known as otherness in the past now represents an integral part of the identity. The practices established before Islam, as well as those brought by this religion, are manifested in terms of context and text. It is obvious that the Gorani people have created their own musical uniqueness throughout the centuries of cultural turmoil.

scholarly journals KEY CONCEPTS OF SERBIAN RULERS ON THE ISSUE OF THE ALLIANCE OF THE BALKAN STATES AND PEOPLES FROM 1860 TO 1912

2021 ◽  
pp. 159-171
Author(s):  
DRAGAN ĐUKANOVIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Balkan States ◽  
The 19Th Century

Since the middle of the 19th century, ideas related to the mutual rapprochement of the Balkan states and the creation of their broader associations have appeared within the ruling circles in Serbia. In that sense, the author analyzes the concepts of the Balkan unions of the rulers from the Serbian dynasty Obrenović (Prince Mihailo, King Milan and King Aleksandar), as well as King Petar I Karađorđević starting from 1860 to 1912. These concepts of the Balkan alliance, whether they were autochthonous or otherwise the result of the influence of the leading political factors of the then European order, did not have a significant foothold in the then public of Serbia. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, the concept of a transient inclusive Balkan alliance aiming to liberate certain parts of the Balkans from the Ottoman Empire prevailed, and after its success in 1912, it was modified by the abandonment of Bulgaria. Also, despite the undoubtedly unfavorable international influences and the aspiration of the Balkan states to round up their ethnic territories, there was no genuine possibility to realize the concept of Balkan interstate solidarity during the second half of the 19th century.

Architecture without Images

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Urban History ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Line Drawings ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century

The Venetian nobleman Ambrosio Bembo (1652–1705) included this panorama of Aleppo by the French artist G.J. Grélot (see Figure 1), as one of the fifty-one carefully observed line drawings of cities, buildings, and people integral to his travelogue, proudly entitled Travels and Journal through Part of Asia during about Four Years Undertaken by Me, Ambrosio Bembo, Venetian Noble. During his visits to Aleppo between 1672 and 1675, Bembo may have crossed paths with the great Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi (1611–82?), who included his own description of that commercial capital of the eastern Mediterranean in his monumental Seyahatname (Book of Travels). Evliya's book does not include a single illustration. This divergence is emblematic of the distinct ways in which early modern societies (in this case, Middle Eastern and European) visualized cities and architecture, and highlights a major challenge to writing the architectural and urban history of the Middle East before the 19th century: the almost complete absence of images that represent architecture.

Immigrant Arab Women in Chile during the Renaissance (Nahda), 1910s-1920s

1970 ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Sarah Limorté
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
New World ◽  
Arab Women ◽  
Arab Woman ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 19Th Century

Levantine immigration to Chile started during the last quarter of the 19th century. This immigration, almost exclusively male at the outset, changed at the beginning of the 20th century when women started following their fathers, brothers, and husbands to the New World. Defining the role and status of the Arab woman within her community in Chile has never before been tackled in a detailed study. This article attempts to broach the subject by looking at Arabic newspapers published in Chile between 1912 and the end of the 1920s. A thematic analysis of articles dealing with the question of women or written by women, appearing in publications such as Al-Murshid, Asch-Schabibat, Al-Watan, and Oriente, will be discussed.

Museum Preserves in the Sphere of “Cultural Tourism”: Through the Example of the Cultural Preserves of Tatarstan

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-198
Author(s):  
Lyudmila S. Timofeeva ◽  
Albina R. Akhmetova ◽  
Liliya R. Galimzyanova ◽  
Roman R. Nizaev ◽  
Svetlana E. Nikitina
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Art Museum ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Business Elite ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Tourist Center ◽  
Regional Authorities ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The City

Abstract The article studies the existence experience of historical cities as centers of tourism development as in the case of Elabuga. The city of Elabuga is among the historical cities of Russia. The major role in the development of the city as a tourist center is played by the Elabuga State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve. The object of the research in the article is Elabuga as a medium-size historical city. The subject of the research is the activity of the museum-reserve which contributes to the preservation and development of the historical look of Elabuga and increases its attractiveness to tourists. The tourism attractiveness of Elabuga is obtained primarily through the presence of the perfectly preserved historical center of the city with the blocks of integral buildings of the 19th century. The Elabuga State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve, which emerged in 1989, is currently an object of historical and cultural heritage of federal importance. Museum-reserves with their significant territories and rich historical, cultural and natural heritage have unique resources for the implementation of large partnership projects. Such projects are not only aimed at attracting a wide range of tourists, but also stimulate interest in the reserve from the business elite, municipal and regional authorities. The most famous example is the Spasskaya Fair which revived in 2008 in Elabuga. It was held in the city since the second half of the 19th century, and was widely known throughout Russia. The process of the revival and successful development of the fair can be viewed as the creation of a special tourist event contributing to the formation of new and currently important tourism products.

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