The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire Studies in Environment and History Series

The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire explores the serious and far-reaching impacts of Little Ice Age climate fluctuations in Ottoman lands. This study demonstrates how imperial systems of provisioning and settlement that defined Ottoman power in the 1500s came unraveled in the face of ecological pressures and extreme cold and drought, leading to the outbreak of the destructive Celali Rebellion (1595?1610). This rebellion marked a turning point in Ottoman fortunes, as a combination of ongoing Little Ice Age climate events, nomad incursions and rural disorder postponed Ottoman recovery over the following century, with enduring impacts on the region's population, land use and economy.

Introduction; Part I. An Imperial Ecology: 1. Regions, resources, and settlement; 2. Growth and its limits; 3. Disasters of the later sixteenth century; 4. Land at the margins: Karaman and Larende; Part II. The Little Ice Age Crisis: 5. The Little Ice Age in the Near East; 6. The great drought; 7. The Celali Rebellion; 8. In the wake of the Celalis: climate and crisis in the seventeenth century; Part III. Ecological Transformation: 9. Desert and sown; 10. City and country; 11. Provisioning and commerce; Conclusion.

Sam White is an Associate Professor of History at Ohio State University (OSU) and was Assistant Professor of Environmental History at Oberlin College until 2013, when he joined the OSU faculty. He has received grants and fellowships from Columbia University, the American Research Institute in Turkey and the Delmas Foundation. His articles have appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies and Environmental History, among other publications. This is his first book.