Modernization in the Late Ottoman Era "Periphery" in the Heartlands SOAS/Routledge Studies on the Middle East Series

This volume is a local history, focusing on the experiences of people and

communities as they navigated and enacted institutions and transformations

associated with modernization in the late Ottoman era. Focusing on

the local political arena of a relatively small, predominantly rural and ordinary

setting, this book examines two neighboring Western Anatolian towns:

Yeni?ehir and ?znik.

Utilizing rigorous historiographical inquiry and in-depth use of archival

materials, this book sketches a dynamic picture of late Ottoman imperial

political belonging with the agendas and priorities of the countryside, where

the majority of Ottomans lived. The monograph contributes to understanding

of modernization from different local perspectives by excavating the

provincial hinterland of the imperial capital. It uses a narrative technique of

analyzing certain local events to address larger structures and transformations

pertaining to the long 19th century in general and Ottoman history in

particular. As a ?micro? study, it argues for the significance of individuals?

and social groups? agencies, strategies and conceptions of their world in the

unfolding of Ottoman modernization.

Offering a vivid picture of local communities and their engagements with

modern political, social and judicial structures in the late Ottoman era, this

book will appeal to scholars and advanced graduate students interested in

comparative imperial history, Ottoman history and Middle Eastern studies.

Introduction 1. Yenişehir and İznik around the Middle of the 19th Century 2. Dilemmas of Power between the Center and Provincial Societies: The 1863 Inspection Tour in Yenişehir and İznik 3. The Settlement of Immigrants and Land Disputes in Yenişehir and İznik: Legitimacy vs. the Law 4. Ideology and Economy: Hamidian Hegemony and Scramble for Rural Resources 5. Empire as Enterprise in the Province: The Reign of Edhem Paşa in Yenişehir Concluding Remarks Bibliography

Fatma Melek Arıkan obtained her Ph.D. in History from Sabancı University

in 2018. Her research interests are local history, political and historical anthropology,

state formation and the 19th_century Ottoman Empire.