Disliking others : loathing, hostility, and distrust in pre-modern Ottoman lands

Recent historical studies on the Ottoman Empire have taken for granted that subjects of the Ottoman polity flourished under a so-called "Pax Ottomanica." This edited volume probes the rosy narrative of Ottoman tolerance that has long dominated the discussions. The articles carefully strive to contextualize the many issues that sound like ethnic slurs, racial stereotyping, religious discrimination, misogyny and elitism to modern ears. The goal of the volume is not to prove that Ottoman society was a persecuting one, or that dislike or distrust was its defining characteristic, but to investigate the axes of tension, blemishes, and fractures in the everyday practice of coexistence in a dynamic, multi-religious, multi-confessional and multi-ethnic empire in which difference was the norm rather than the exception. Provided by the publisher Acknowledgments vii Author Bios viii Introduction xi Changing Perceptions about Christian-Born Ottomans: Anti-kul Sentiments in Ottoman Historiography 1 H. Erdem Çıpa Circassian Mamluks in Ottoman Egypt and Istanbul, ca. 1500–1730: The Eastern Alternative 22 Jane Hathaway Dispelling the Darkness of the Halberdier’s Treatise: A Comparative Look at Black Africans in Ottoman Letters in the Early Modern Period 43 Baki Tezcan The Jew, the Orthodox Christian, and the European in Ottoman Eyes, ca. 1550–1700 75 Bilha Moor An Ottoman Anti-Judaism 107 Hakan T. Karateke Evliyā Çelebī’s Perception of Jews 128 Hakan T. Karateke Ambiguous Subjects and Uneasy Neighbors: Bosnian Franciscans’ Attitudes toward the Ottoman State, “Turks,” and Vlachs 148 Vjeran Kursar “Those Violating the Good, Old Customs of our Land”: Forms and Functions of Graecophobia in the Danubian Principalities, 16th–18th Centuries 187 Konrad Petrovszky The Many Faces of the “Gypsy” in Early Modern Ottoman Discourse 215 Faika Çelik Gendered Infidels in Fiction: A Case Study on Sābit’s Ḥikāye-i Ḫvāce Fesād 244 İpek Hüner-Cora “The Greatest of Tribulations”: Constructions of Femininity in Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Physiognomy 264 Emin Lelić Defining and Defaming the Other in Early Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Invective 296 Michael D. Sheridan “Are You From Çorum?”: Derogatory Attitudes Toward the “Unruly Mob” of the Provinces as Reflected in a Proverbial Saying 321 Helga Anetshofer Index 334 Changing perceptions about Christian-born ottomans: anti-ḳul sentiments in Ottoman historiography / H. Erdem ÇIpa -- Circassian Mamluks in Ottoman Egypt and Istanbul, ca. 1500-1730: the eastern alternative / Jane Hathaway -- Dispelling the darkness of the halberdier's treatise: a comparative look at black Africans in Ottoman letters in the early modern period / Baki Tezcan -- The Jew, the Orthodox Christian, and the European in Ottoman eyes, ca. 1550-1700 / Bilha Moor -- An Ottoman anti-Judaism / Hakan T. Karateke -- Evliyā ÇElebī's perception of Jews / Hakan T. Karateke -- Ambiguous subjects and uneasy neighbors: Bosnian Franciscans' attitudes toward the Ottoman state, 'Turks,' and Vlachs / Vjeran Kursar -- 'Those violating the good, old customs of our land': forms and functions of Graecophobia in the Danubian principalities, 16th-18th centuries / Konrad Petrovszky -- Representing the margins: the many faces of the 'Gypsy' in early modern Ottoman discourse / Faika ÇElik -- Gendered infidels in fiction: a case study on Sābit's Hikāye-i ḫvāce fesād / Ipek Hüner-Cora -- 'The greatest of tribulations': constructions of femininity in sixteenth-century Ottoman physiognomy / Emin Lelić -- Defining and defaming the other in early seventeenth-century Ottoman invective / Michael Sheridan -- 'Are you from Çorum?': derogatory attitudes toward the "unruly mob" of the provinces as reflected in a proverbial saying / Helga Anetshofer