Anhand des Beispiels der byzantinischen Feld- und Ackermasse und des ihnen ubergeordneten Systems der Landvergabe und -besteuerung verfolgt das Buch das Fortleben byzantinischer administrativer Elemente und Praktiken im Osmanischen Reich. Verlauf, Charakter und Motivation dieses kulturellen Transferprozesses werden hierbei nachgezeichnet. Hintergrund ist die oftmals von politisierten Geschichtsbildern und Identitatsdiskursen durchsetzte Debatte um die Natur und Rolle des byzantinischen Erbes im Staatsaufbau des fruhen Osmanischen Reiches.

Research on Middle Eastern press is of great importance for comparative historical studies. Many editors of newspapers and magazines were not only journalists, but also writers, poets, thinkers and politicians. These intellectual leaders used non-official journals as a means of accelerating public discourse on reforms in the Ottoman Empire are later on in its successor states. Introducing new genres of literature to the Middle East they serialized novels, short stories and travelogues, experimented with new kinds of poetry and let satire blossom. The 15 contributors approach this thematics from different perspectives: Some concentrate on certain newspapers, literary journals or satirical magazines, others centre on the biographies of editors or writers. Although the main focus of this book is on the Ottoman and Persian press until 1914, some articles extend this scope to include Post-Ottoman Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Cyprus.