Remapping the Ottoman Middle East : modernity, imperial bureaucracy, and the Islamic state / Cem Emrence.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [155]-183)and index.

As a result of the formation of the modern Turkish state, nationalist narratives of the Ottoman Empire{u2019}s collapse are commonplace.Remapping the Ottoman Middle East, on the other hand, examines alternative and disparate routes to modernity during the nineteenth century. Pursuing a comparison of different regions of the empire, this book demonstrates that the Ottoman imperial universe was shaped by three distinct and simultaneous narratives: market relations in its coastal areas; imperial bureaucracy in the cities of central Anatolia, Syria, and Palestine; and Islamic trust networks in the frontier regions of the Arabian peninsula. In weaving together these localized developments, Cem Emrence departs from narratives of state centralism and suggests that a comprehensive way of understanding the late Ottoman world and its legacy should start from exploring regionally-constituted and network-based historical trajectories. Introducing a persuasive new model for understanding the late Ottoman world, this book will be essential reading for historians of the Ottoman Empire.