Women in the Ottoman Empire: A Social and Political History

The Ottoman Empire had a hierarchical system where adult Muslim males were first-class subjects and all others, including Muslim boys and women, were of the second class. Women from a diverse range of class, religious, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds were essential to understanding Ottoman society, and Suraiya Faroqhi's book charts their history from the early-modern period to its dissolution in 1918. It includes thematic chapters on urban women, family life, work, slavery, education, and survival in times of war, and provides essential sources and further reading for scholars and students of Ottoman history and the history of women in the Middle East.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 23 February 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Ottoman world, like many empires, was characterized by a hierarchical system of subjects, with first-class and second-class subjects. Among the townspeople, peasants, and nomads subject to the sultans, adult Muslim males were considered first-class subjects, while all others, including Muslim boys and women, were of the second class. Even among the elite, female members had their own set of challenges and opportunities. While less privileged than the males, they shared the risks of pregnancy, childbirth, and epidemic diseases with townswomen of the subject class and to a certain extent, with village women as well. The study of Ottoman women is essential for understanding Ottoman society in general. In this book, Suraiya Faroqhi explores the agency of women from diverse class, religious, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds in the social and political history of the Ottoman Empire from the early-modern period to its dissolution in 1918. She charts the history of elite and non-elite women in thematic chapters, focusing on urban women, family life, work, slavery, education, and survival in times of war. The book introduces readers to the key sources necessary to reconstruct and understand the ways that females navigated social, legal, and economic constraints through the central prisms of family relations, work, and charity. It is the first introductory social history of women in the Ottoman Empire and includes a timeline and extended further reading section. This book will be essential reading for scholars and students of Ottoman history and the history of women in the Middle East.

Weight: 582g
Dimension: 168 x 244 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780755638260