Artisans of Empire: Crafts and Craftspeople Under the Ottomans (Library of Ottoman Studies)

The manufacture and trade in crafted goods and the men and women who were involved in this industry--including metalworkers, ceramicists, silk weavers, fez-makers, blacksmiths and even barbers--lay at the social as well as the economic heart of the Ottoman empire. This comprehensive history by leading Ottoman historian Suraiya Faroqhi presents the definitive view of the subject, from the production and distribution of different craft objects to their use and enjoyment within the community. Succinct yet comprehensive, Artisans of Empire analyzes the production and trade of crafts from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the early twentieth century, focusing on its history, politics and culture. Production methods, the organization of trade guilds, religious differences, the contribution of women and the structure of the Ottoman economy all come under scrutiny in this wide-ranging history that combines keen analysis with descriptions of the beautiful and sometimes unknown works of Ottoman artisans. Faroqhi sheds new light on all aspects of artisan life, setting the concerns of individual craftsmen within the context of the broader cultural themes that connect them to the wider world. Combining social, cultural, economic, religious and historiographical insights, this will be the authoritative work on Ottoman artisans and guilds for many years to come. "Few doctrines in Islam have engendered as much contention and disagreement as those surrounding the imamate, the office of supreme leader of the Muslim community after the death of the Prophet. In the medieval period while the caliphate still existed, rivalry among the claimants to that most lofty position was particularly intense. The early 5th/11th-century Ismaili da'i Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani worked for most of his life in the eastern lands of the Islamic world, principally within the hostile domain of the Abbasid caliphs and the Buyid amirs.At a critical point he was summoned by the da'wa to Egypt where he taught and wrote for several years before returning once again to Iran and Iraq. About 405/1015, just prior to his move from Iraq to Cairo, he composed a treatise he called Lights to Illuminate the Proof of the Imamate (al-Masabih fi ithbat al-imama) in the bold hope of convincing Fakhr al-Mulk, the Shi'i wazir of the Buyids in Baghdad, to abandon the Abbasids and support the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim. For that purpose he produced a long, interconnected series of philosophically sophisticated proofs, all leading logically to the absolute necessity of the imamate. This work is thus unique both in the precision of its doctrine and in the historical circumstance surrounding its composition. The text appears here in a modern critical edition of the Arabic original with a complete translation, introduction and notes."--Bloomsbury publishing. The manufacture and trade in crafted goods and the men and women who were involved in this industry - including metalworkers, ceramicists, silk weavers, fez-makers, blacksmiths and even barbers - lay at the social as well as the economic heart of the Ottoman empire. This comprehensive history, by leading Ottoman historian Suraiya Faroqhi, presents the definitive view of the subject, from the production and distribution of different craft objects to their use and enjoyment within the community. Faroqhi sheds new light on all aspects of artisan life, setting the concerns of individual craftsmen within the context of the broader cultural themes that connect them to the wider world. Combining social, cultural, economic, religious and historical insights, this will be the authoritative work on Ottoman artisans and guilds for many years to come.'A display of unrivalled knowledge of the sources by one of the leading historians of the Ottoman Empire.'- Erik J. Zürcher, Professor of Turkish Studies at the University of Leiden Artisans of Empire Crafts and Craftspeople Under the Ottomans......Page 3 Contents......Page 6 Illustrations......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Note on Transliteration......Page 12 Introduction: Artisans of Empire......Page 14 Writing about Artisans......Page 29 Before and After 1500: How Artisan Organization May Have Emerged in the Ottoman Lands......Page 51 Services to the State......Page 73 Guildsmen of Istanbul and Cairo......Page 93 Provincial Craftspeople and Merchant Networks......Page 115 Changes in Istanbul Guilds......Page 136 Cairo: From Military Penetration of Artisan Guilds to the State Monopolies of Mehmed Ali Pasa......Page 156 Political Roles of Craftsmen......Page 170 Provincial Craftsmen: How Guilds Adapted to New Circumstances......Page 188 1850 to 1914: A Di.erent State, a Di.erent Economy and the Disappearance of the Guilds......Page 214 Characterizing Guilds Through Comparison......Page 236 Notes......Page 249 Bibliography......Page 272 Index......Page 299