Society and Politics in an Ottoman Town

This monograph provides a fresh insight into society, urban government and elite power in a little-studied region of the Ottoman Empire bridging Anatolia and Syria.

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This book deals with a provincial town attending to its day-to-day business against the backdrop of an exacting war fought far afield against the Habsburgs (1683-99). The dynamics of long-term economic growth were temporarily disturbed by the wartime economy while realignment in center-periphery relations affected the local power structure and practices of status management. Meanwhile, the local elite continued to dominate public life, hence the lives of commoners. This study opens a window onto this world through a close examination of the court records of the town.