The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire

This book explores the serious and far-reaching impacts of Little Ice Age climate fluctuations in Ottoman lands.

Sam White (Author)

9781107008311, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 August 2011

376 pages, 7 b/w illus. 6 maps 3 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.72 kg

“In a balanced consideration of environmental and social factors, The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire gives the details of a fascinating and almost neglected story in a captivating and simultaneously vulnerable part of the world. Sam White’s well-planned structure and pleasant approach help readers to understand the multicomponent factors that led the Ottoman Empire to a crisis during the late Little Ice Age period.” – Elena Xoplaki, University of Bern

The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire explores the serious and far-reaching impacts of Little Ice Age climate fluctuations in Ottoman lands. This study demonstrates how imperial systems of provisioning and settlement that defined Ottoman power in the 1500s came unraveled in the face of ecological pressures and extreme cold and drought, leading to the outbreak of the destructive Celali Rebellion (1595–1610). This rebellion marked a turning point in Ottoman fortunes, as a combination of ongoing Little Ice Age climate events, nomad incursions and rural disorder postponed Ottoman recovery over the following century, with enduring impacts on the region's population, land use and economy.

Introduction
Part I. An Imperial Ecology: 1. Regions, resources, and settlement
2. Growth and its limits
3. Disasters of the later sixteenth century
4. Land at the margins: Karaman and Larende
Part II. The Little Ice Age Crisis: 5. The Little Ice Age in the Near East
6. The great drought
7. The Celali Rebellion
8. In the wake of the Celalis: climate and crisis in the seventeenth century
Part III. Ecological Transformation: 9. Desert and sown
10. City and country
11. Provisioning and commerce
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Middle Eastern history [HBJF1]