Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt
An Environmental History

This book charts how changes in the control of natural resources fundamentally altered the nature of Ottoman imperial sovereignty.

Alan Mikhail (Author)

9781107008762, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 April 2011

382 pages, 7 b/w illus. 9 maps 7 tables
23.1 x 15.7 x 3 cm, 0.73 kg

Review of the hardback: 'Through admirable and painstaking research, Mikhail has explored a new and fascinating aspect of Ottoman Egypt, using a timeframe that spans a transitional period, which allowed him to draw comparisons and provide original comments and provocative opinions that will stimulate future debate. This book is highly recommended.' Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient

In one of the first ever environmental histories of the Ottoman Empire, Alan Mikhail examines relations between the empire and its most lucrative province of Egypt. Based on both the local records of various towns and villages in rural Egypt and the imperial orders of the Ottoman state, this book charts how changes in the control of natural resources fundamentally altered the nature of Ottoman imperial sovereignty in Egypt and throughout the empire. In revealing how Egyptian peasants were able to use their knowledge and experience of local environments to force the hand of the imperial state, Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt tells a story of the connections of empire stretching from canals in the Egyptian countryside to the palace in Istanbul, from the forests of Anatolia to the shores of the Red Sea, and from a plague flea's bite to the fortunes of one of the most powerful states of the early modern world.

Introduction: an empire by nature
1. Watering the Earth
2. The food chain
3. The framework of empire
4. In working order
5. From nature to disease
6. Another Nile
Conclusion: the imagination and reality of public works
Appendix: citations for cases enumerated in Tables 1 through 4.

Subject Areas: The environment [RN], African history [HBJH], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]