Becoming Ottoman - by Yavuz Köse & Petr Kucera & Tobias Völker (Paperback)

About the Book

A detailed examination of Europeans who became Ottoman subjects

Book Synopsis

This book examines the role of Europeans who settled in the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries and assumed "Ottoman identity", be it by way of conversion to Islam and assimilating to the host society or by becoming loyal servants or subjects of the Ottoman state, identifying themselves as Ottomans, but retaining their faith. Bringing together a variety of case studies that reflect a broad range of individual experiences in changing historical circumstances, the book provides a detailed study of the process of Ottomanization. The book draws upon a variety of archival and other sources such as travelogues, diaries and folk epics, including lesser known examples, from early-modern Czech, Venetian and Wallachian views of converts, to case studies of 19th century British, German and Austrians who switched loyalty. They show that this process depended on a range of factors, from conversion, to integration into the culture of the ruling elites, fluency in the language, affiliation through family ties or marriage, and, most importantly, social status and professional rank.

Review Quotes

"The approach adopted here is particularly compelling because it does not offer a broad, definitive overview; instead, it seeks to develop a history 'from below, ' grounded in the study of particularly significant cases." --Bulletin Critique des Annales Islamologiques [Bloomsbury translation]

"This collection stands out for its careful scholarship, multilingual scope, and methodological diversity. It offers a nuanced, comparative, and human-centred interpretation of imperial integration. The volume will be of strong interest to scholars across multiple fields." --Diyâr: Journal of Ottoman, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies

"Becoming Ottoman is a welcome addition to the studies of Ottoman identities. It is remarkable for its focus and coherence, the generosity of the editors to previous work, and the addition of new approaches such as acculturation, protection, patronage and opportunism to the now standard histories of ethno-religious convictions and conflicts." --Virginia H. Aksan, Professor Emeritus, McMaster University, Canada

"Investigating the question of changing acculturation processes in the form of "Ottomanization", Becoming Ottoman brings new perspectives to the rich research field of Ottoman-European encounters. Focusing on exemplary biographies from the 16th to the 19th centuries, it addresses a highly topical historiographical issue." --Dr Barbara Haider-Wilson, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria

"Becoming Ottoman enriches our understanding of a periodwhen East and West relations were superficially strained because of politics and power but through the eyes of those who were able to experience first hand a society run along Monotheistic principles, at once familiar and alien, which ultimately proved not tempting but rational to adopt." --The Muslim World Book Review

About the Author

Yavuz Köse is Professor of Turkish Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. His recent titles include"Buyurdum ki...." - The Whole World of Ottomanica and Beyond: Studies in Honour of Claudia Römer (2023) and Seeds of Power. Explorations in the Environmental History of the Ottoman Empire (2019).

Petr Kucera is Professor of Turkish Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. He is the co-editor of Selected Studies on Genre in Middle Eastern Literatures: From Epics to Novels (2023) and Texts, Contexts, Intertexts. Studies in Honor of Orhan Pamuk (2022) and co-author with J. Malecková of From Istanbul to the End of the World: Ottoman Travel Writings from the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries (2019).

Tobias Völker is PhD candidate at the University of Vienna, Austria. He has published several articles on the late Ottoman Empire in transcultural perspective.