Island and Empire: How Civil War in Crete Mobilized the Ottoman World

The 1890s conflict on Crete between Greece and the Ottoman Empire led to international intervention and a humanitarian catastrophe, driving the largest organized modern protest in the empire's history. Uğur Zekeriya Peçe's book explores the emergence and legacies of violence, making it a story about the end of an empire.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 25 June 2024
Publisher: Stanford University Press

The Ottoman island of Crete experienced a conflict in the 1890s, known as the Crete Question, due to competing claims of sovereignty between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. The island's strategic importance, with one of the deepest natural harbors in the Mediterranean, led to international involvement, with six European powers intervening collectively. The conflict resulted in a civil war, causing the displacement of over seventy thousand Muslims from Crete, leading to a significant humanitarian catastrophe. The book explores the origins and consequences of this violence, highlighting how Cretan refugees became the driving force behind widespread protests across the Ottoman Empire, from Salonica to Libya. This history ultimately becomes a story about the end of an empire, as the events in Crete had far-reaching consequences beyond its borders.

Weight: 418g
Dimension: 229 x 153 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781503639232