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This sweeping look at the city and the District of Jerusalem in the 17th century paints a vivid picture of life in an Ottoman province.
Based on micro-level research of the District of Jerusalem, this book addresses some of the most crucial questions concerning the Ottoman empire in a time of crisis and disorientation: decline and decentralization, the rise of the notable elite, the urban-rural-pastoral nexus, agrarian relations and the encroachment of European economy. At the same time it paints a vivid picture of life in an Ottoman province. By integrating court record, petitions, chronicles and even local poetry, the book recreates a historical world that, though long vanished, has left an indelible imprint on the city of Jerusalem and its surroundings.
"This is a truly outstanding book; it is very interesting, in fact, fascinating. The author effectively weaves theory with evidence from the District of Jerusalem into a smooth, convincing, and very readable narrative. The debate over the nature of the 'Islamic city' is innovative and brings the data from Jerusalem to bear on the general picture, favoring a middle-of-the-road interpretation between the 'localist' and the 'universal Islamic' views. Ze'evi's discussion of the emergence of an Ottoman-Palestinian power elite (he prefers military-governing elite) is enlightening with regard to processes that took place during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The examination of the desert-sown ecology which emerged in seventeenth-century Palestine, and the discussion of the transformation of the timar system are highly insightful and original. Another of the book's contributions is the author's review of the economic position which is very useful for debate over the peripheralization of the Ottoman Empire in the period preceding the nineteenth century." — Ehud R. Toledano, Tel-Aviv University
"Ze'evi's book is a very readable, important contribution not only to the history of Ottoman Palestine, but [also] to the understanding of the Ottoman Empire as a whole." — Mediterranean Historical Review
Note on Transliteration
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1
Zooming In
The City and Its Surroundings
Chapter 2
The Rise and Fall of Local Dynasties
Chapter 3
The Sufi Connection
Jerusalem Notables in the Seventeenth Century
Chapter 4
Desert, Village and Town
A Unified Social Structure
Chapter 5
Layers of Ownership
Land and Agrarian Relations
Chapter 6
An Economy in Transition
Commerce, Crafts and Taxation
Chapter 7
Worlds Apart
Women in a Men's World
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index