Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State

One million North Caucasian Muslims sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire between the 1850s and World War I, changing the state and creating hundreds of refugee villages. This resettlement revitalized regional economies but also intensified competition over land and precipitated sectarian tensions, leading to fundamental shifts in the borderlands of the Russian and Ottoman empires. Empire of Refugees challenges the boundaries between forced and voluntary migration and refugees and immigrants, rewriting the history of Muslim migration in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 360 pages
Publication date: 06 February 2024
Publisher: Stanford University Press

Between the 1850s and World War I, a staggering one million North Caucasian Muslims sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire, marking a significant shift in the empire's demographics and political landscape. This resettlement of Muslim refugees from Russia, including Circassians, Chechens, Dagestanis, and others, had a profound impact on the Ottoman state. These refugees established hundreds of refugee villages across the Ottoman Balkans, Anatolia, and the Levant, many of which still stand today, including the city of Amman. While the resettlement of Muslim refugees revitalized regional economies, it also sparked intense competition over land and, at times, escalated sectarian tensions, leading to fundamental shifts in the borderlands of the Russian and Ottoman empires.

Empire of Refugees, by Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky, offers a fresh perspective on late Ottoman history by focusing on mass displacement and the origins of refugee resettlement in the modern Middle East. Hamed-Troyansky challenges the conventional boundaries between forced and voluntary migration, as well as between refugees and immigrants, by conducting extensive archival research in over twenty public and private archives across ten countries. Through his meticulous analysis, he rewrites the history of Muslim migration in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, highlighting the complex and multifaceted nature of this phenomenon.

The book explores the various factors that drove Muslim refugees to seek refuge in the Ottoman Empire, including political persecution, economic hardship, and religious persecution. It sheds light on the experiences of these refugees, including their struggles to adapt to new environments, their interactions with local communities, and their contributions to the Ottoman state. Hamed-Troyansky also examines the long-term consequences of the refugee resettlement on the Ottoman Empire, including its impact on the empire's political, social, and economic structures.

One of the book's key findings is that the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire created a refugee regime that predated similar systems set up by the League of Nations and the United Nations. The empire's policies and practices towards refugees, including its willingness to accept and accommodate diverse populations, set a precedent for refugee management in the modern world. However, the resettlement of Muslim refugees also brought challenges and complexities, including tensions with local communities, competition for resources, and the potential for religious and sectarian conflicts.

Empire of Refugees is a valuable contribution to the study of late Ottoman history, Middle Eastern history, and refugee studies. It provides a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between forced migration, refugee resettlement, and the formation of modern states. Hamed-Troyansky's meticulous research and thoughtful analysis offer a fresh perspective on a critical period in world history, challenging the dominant narratives and highlighting the importance of studying the experiences of marginalized and displaced populations.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503637740