It is an often ignored but fundamental fact that in the Ottoman
world as in most empires, there were 'first-class' and 'second
class' subjects. Among the townspeople, peasants and nomads subject
to the sultans, who might be Muslims or non-Muslims, adult Muslim
males were first-class subjects and all others, including Muslim
boys and women, were of the second class. As for the female members
of the elite, while less privileged than the males, in some
respects their life chances might be better than those of ordinary
women. Even so, 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. Women also made up a
sizeable share of the enslaved, belonging to the sultans, to elite
figures but often to members of the subject population as well.
Thus, the study of Ottoman women is indispensable for understanding
Ottoman society in general. In this book, the experiences of women
from a diverse range of class, religious, ethnic, and geographic
backgrounds are woven into the social history of the Ottoman
Empire, from the early-modern period to its dissolution in 1922.
Its thematic chapters first introduce readers to the key sources
for information about women's lives in the Ottoman Empire (qadi
registers, petitions, fetvas, travelogues authored by women). The
first section of the book then recounts urban, non-elite women's
experiences at the courts, family life, and as slaves. Paying
attention to the geographic diversity of the Ottoman Empire, this
section also considers the social history of women in the Arab
provinces of Baghdad, Cairo and Aleppo. The second section charts
the social history of elite women, including that of women in the
Palace system, writers and musicians and the history of women's
education. The final section narrates the history of women at the
end of the empire, during the Great War and Civil War. The first
introductory social history of women in the Ottoman Empire, Women
in the Ottoman Empire will be essential reading for scholars and
students of Ottoman history and the history of women in the Middle
East.
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