Description
Book SynopsisThe Ottoman Empire was the only great European Muslim power and was at one time the most serious threat to European Christendom. Yet, by the turn of the nineteenth century, it was a crumbling power that, paradoxically, retained a strong military force. The Well-Protected Domains examines this anomaly, showing how the late Ottoman state grappled with the challenges of the modernity then changing the world. Selim Deringil traces the Ottoman state's pursuit of egitimation in many spheres of public life: state ceremonial, the iconography of buildings, the honours system, the language of the chancery, the proto- nationalist reformulation of Islamic legal practices, the efforts to inculcate the idea of 'Ottoman citizenry' through an expanded education system and the efforts of the Ottoman elite to present a 'civilized' image abroad. Based on unexplored sources in the Ottoman archives, The Well-Protected Domains brings to life the Hamidian period and provides readers with a unique view of the workings of the late Ottoman Empire.
Trade Review'Selim Deringil's study of the Ottoman Empire's view of itself during its final half century gave me unalloyed pleasure. Elegantly written and impeccably researched ... {it} stands head and shoulders above anything I have seen in recent years on contemporary Turkey.' - David Barchard, Cornucopia
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Map Introduction ‘Long Live the Sultan!’: Symbolism and Power in the Hamidian Regime The Ottomanization of the Seriat ‘To Enjoin the Good and to Forbid Evil’: Conversion and Ideological Reinforcement Education: the Answer to all Evil? ‘They Confuse and Excite Minds’: The Missionary Problem. Ottoman Image Management and Damage Control The Ottoman ‘Self Portrait’ Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index
