An economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1914 /

For years to come, this volume will be the standard reference work on the economic and social history of the Ottoman Empire, from its rise in 1300 to its fall during WW I. The volume is divided into four parts, each part a monograph in itself. Inalcik, the doyen of Ottoman historians, who wrote part 1 covering the years 1300 to 1600, argues for the notion of an Ottoman "economic mind" and demonstrates that the Ottomans were not merely conquerors but people with an economic and social vision. In part 2, Suraiya Faroqhi focuses more on social history and aptly describes the years 1590 to 1699 as a period of "crisis and change" rather than one of "decline," thus challenging conventional wisdom. Bruce McGowan in part 3 (1699-1812) also avoids the blind alley of decline and prefers to talk of the long years as the "age of the ayan," i.e., the provincial notables who dominated the periphery. Quataert discusses the final phase from 1812 to 1914, which he describes as the "age of reform." There is an appendix by ,Sevket Pamuk on money during this long period, as well as a list of weights and measures used in various parts of the empire, and a glossary necessary to follow the text. Each part has its own rich bibliography. This work will require both stamina and determination from the reader, but its rewards are not to be found elsewhere. Upper-division undergraduates and above. F. Ahmad; University of Massachusetts at Boston