From the Household to the Wider World. Local Perspectives on Urban Institutions in late Ottoman Bilad al-Sham

Abstract

From the Household to the Wider World provides new insights into urban governance in different cities in Ottoman Palestine and Syria (Bilad al-Sham) during the late Ottoman period, c. 1800–1920. It enriches Ottoman urban studies by viewing cities (not only the major ones that are often discussed in the literature but also peripheral localities) as crucial spaces in which socio-political processes on various scales interact with localized material structures. This outlook addresses the challenges of bridging the divide between text-based studies and the study of material culture, and in so doing maps local cases onto larger historical processes, at the level of the region, the Empire, and global connections. This collection of essays delves into specific case studies based on original research that take different perspectives to explore structure and agency, theory and practice, as well as textual and material evidence to reflect multiple ways to address these challenges. This book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of the Middle East in the fields of Urban Studies, History, as well as Ottoman and Islamic Studies. The inclusion of boxed texts listing key sources, instructive illustrations, as well as extensive glossary are all designed to provide students and non-specialists with robust tools to access this field.