Children and Childhood in the Ottoman Empire: From the 15th to the 20th Century (Edinburgh Studies on the Ottoman Empire)

This volume characterizes the changing attitudes in the Ottoman Empire (on the part of adults, religious institutions and the state) toward children from the 15th to the early 20^th^ centuries in a broad geographic area including Ottoman Romania, Bulgaria, Crimea, Greece, Bosnia, Syria, Palestine and Istanbul. It sheds light on Ottoman childhood in five main sections: concepts of childhood, family interrelationships, children living outside family circles (slaves, child labourers and orphans), children’s bodies, and education. These sections acquaint the reader with the social and political structure of the Ottoman Empire through the innovative prism of children (Muslims, Christians and Jews) as social agents who are shaped by but also shape society rather than being the passive recipients of their social environment. Each section dealing with the early modern and modern periods to encourage comparison of features of childhood and experiences of children over time. The volume also paves the way for new directions in research on the history of children and constitutes the first of its kind on Ottoman children that covers both pre-modern and modern times. How did adults, religious institutions and the state view children during the Ottoman Empire? This volume gathers specialists in the social history of the Ottoman Empire as a whole – in regions ranging from Anatolia through the Arab provinces to the Balkans, and from the 15th to the early 20th century – to respond to recent theoretical calls to recognise children as active agents in history. Divided into five thematic sections (concepts of childhood, family interrelationships, children outside family circles, children’s bodies, and education), the volume covers the social and political structure of the Ottoman Empire. It uses the innovative prism of children as social agents who are not only shaped by but also shape society, rather than being the passive recipients of their social environment. How did adults, religious institutions and the state view children during the Ottoman Empire? This volume gathers specialists in the social history of the Ottoman Empire as a whole ? in regions ranging from Anatolia through the Arab provinces to the Balkans, and from the 15th to the early 20th century ? to respond to recent theoretical calls to recognise children as active agents in history.0Divided into 5 thematic sections ? concepts of childhood, family interrelationships, children outside family circles, children?s bodies and education ? the volume covers the social and political structure of the Ottoman Empire. It uses the innovative prism of children as social agents who are not only shaped by but also shape society, rather than being the passive recipients of their social environment Explores 5 centuries of changing attitudes toward children and childhood in the Ottoman Empire