Nature and Empire in Otoman Egypt: An Environmental History

Onur İNAL

doi:https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002277

Article Details

Nature and Empire in Otoman Egypt: An Environmental History

Authors:

Onur İNAL

Publisher:

Ankara University

Main Topics:

Sociology and anthropology

Journal:

Ankara University SBF Journal 2013 Vol.68 Issue 01, pp.169-170

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2012

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2000884110

Frequency:

Quarterly

eISSN:

1309-1034

pISSN:

0378-2921

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002277

Keywords:

-

Abstract:

 

History is an account of the use, control, and management of the irrigation  system in pre-modern Egypt, and how it coincided with Egypt’s transformation  from a remote Ottoman province loosely connected to the capital into a  sovereign state ruled by an autarch. Mikhail’s argument is clear: Egypt’s move  away from being a remote province of the Ottoman empire into a strong,  centralized, and authoritarian polity controlled by Egyptian bureaucracy  transformed the management of environmental resources. This transformation  necessitated the abandonment of old ways and habits, caused tension between  the local populations and Egyptian bureaucracy; and eliminated the rights of  peasants over land and water use. Mikhail’s book is valuable in two significant  ways. First, it acknowledges the interrelation between environmental changes  and political and socio-economic transformations in the Ottoman Empire.  Second, it moves nature from afield to the center of historical narrative  providing new environmental perspectives and approaches to historical events  in Ottoman history that were once regarded as unimportant. Mikhail’s work is  noteworthy for its methodology, approach, and its straightforward and readable  prose. There is no doubt that environmental historians will take notice of the  fact that the Ottoman Empire, due to its sheer size and proximity to Europe,  Asia, and Africa, its large diversity of ecological zones, climatic conditions,  and environmental features has a lot to offer.

Article Details

Nature and Empire in Otoman Egypt: An Environmental History

Authors: Onur İNAL

Publisher: Ankara University

Main Topics: Sociology and anthropology

Journal: Ankara University SBF Journal 2013 Vol.68 Issue 01, pp.169-170

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 12/2012

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2000884110

Frequency: Quarterly

eISSN: 1309-1034

pISSN: 0378-2921

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002277

-

Issues

Authors:

Onur İNAL

Publisher:

Ankara University

Main Topics:

Sociology and anthropology

Journal:

Ankara University SBF Journal 2013 Vol.68 Issue 01, pp.169-170

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2012

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2000884110

Frequency:

Quarterly

eISSN:

1309-1034

pISSN:

0378-2921

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002277