Economic Life in Ottoman Jerusalem (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

Jerusalem was never just another Ottoman town, but in the heyday of the Ottoman Empire it displayed many of the characteristics of a Muslim traditional society. Professor Cohen makes full use of the rich and hitherto unexplored Arabic and Turkish archives relating to this period to reconstruct a vivid and detailed picture of everyday life in this lively urban centre. His study focuses on the major guilds of sixteenth-century Jerusalem - butchers, soap-producers and dealers, millers and bakers, describing and analysing their production methods, prices and measures, and the services they provided for the local population. In addition, their economic ties with neighbouring villages, as well as their social background and inter-relations are discussed. The author shows how this detailed knowledge can lead to a better understanding of the longer-term changes in the economy of the city and of the Empire as a whole.

First sentence: The office of hisba, although not mentioned in the Koran or in any of the other canonical texts of Islam, is one of the oldest institutions of the Islamic state.

Year

2002

Language

English

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Editions

1

Pages

187

ISBN

9780521524353

Data source: Wikidata