Project Details
Projekt
"Gurbet Istanbul": Being an Immigrant in the Ottoman Capital, 1500-1800
Applicant
Denise Klein, Ph.D.
Subject Area
Early Modern History
Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies
Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies
Term
from 2017 to 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 355518240
The aim of this project is to produce a monograph dealing with the experience of immigration to Istanbul between the sixteenth and the eighteenth century. During that period, the capital of the Ottoman Empire was one of the most vibrant and diverse cities of the world attracting newcomers not only from the provinces but also from beyond the borders of the empire. Unlike existing scholarship that tends to discuss how the Ottoman state and the society of Istanbul dealt with the large influxes of people in this period, this study adopts, for the first time, the perspective of the immigrants to investigate how those who came to the city seeking work or a better life experienced their moving and settlement in a new place. While profiting from the scholarship on Ottoman immigration and the history of Istanbul, this book also makes extensive use of the results achieved in historical research on migration in other regions and eras. The book develops in six chapters tracing the journey of the immigrant from 1) the time he or she left home to 2) the first encounter with in the city and 3) the reception by the locals. It then examines 4) the process of homemaking and 5) the ties immigrants kept with their place of origin, finally investigating 6) the emotional impact of immigration on the individuals.The work is based on a large array of literary and archival sources many of which are little known or studied. Most significant are sources with a pronounced personal character such as diaries, letters and poems, as well as biographical dictionaries. Histories, political and medical treatises provide additional information as do court decisions and imperial decrees. Through the study of immigrants, this study makes significant contributions to a number of core topics of Ottoman history. It adds a new perspective to the history of the city of Istanbul, a topic with a long tradition. It also participates in the discussion regarding Ottoman space, adding to it a new dimension, that of immigration, which was characterized by fluidity. In doing this, it also stresses the importance of the contacts of the empire with its eastern and northern neighbors which are usually overlooked in favor of those with Western Europe. The hotly debated issue of identity and belonging in the pre-modern Ottoman Empire is at the core of the book. By examining all immigrants, independent of their religious or ethnic affiliation and social background, this work transcends the rigid and often misleading classifications traditionally imposed upon the Ottoman subjects. At the same time, it suggests the existence of a new type of identity, that of being an immigrant, created by the commonality of experience. Lastly, this book provides an extensive treatment of Ottoman emotions, a topic practically absent from existing scholarship.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
