The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman Rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913 (Library of Ottoman Studies) [Hardcover]

George Gawrych (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1845112873 | ISBN-13: 978-1845112875 | Publication Date: December 26, 2006 | Edition: First Edition

A balanced and original picture of Ottoman rule and the Albanians during a critical period of Balkan and Middle East history. The Crescent and the Eagle examines the awakening of Albanian national identity from the end of the 19th century to the outbreak of the First World War - a period of intense nationalism in the Balkans - from an Ottoman perspective. Drawing on Ottoman and European archival and other primary source material, Gawrych contradicts and undermines the usual negative stereotypes of Ottoman rule. Instead he provides a critical but objective examination of the evolution of government policies toward Albanians, from attempts to mold them into an "iron barrier" to establishing a uniform system of administration. The author also analyzes the general problems of endemic violence and misadministration at the provincial level, and examines Albanian efforts to gain nationality rights and maintain local privileges and tribal autonomy. A stimulating study which offers many fresh insights into the dynamics of power within the Ottoman Empire.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 

"This stimulating study offers many fresh insights into the dynamics of power within the Ottoman Empire and contrubutes a new perspective to the study of the development of Albanian nationalism." --Abrar

 

"...expand[s] our understanding of late Ottoman/Austro-Hungarian history…provide[s] the most comprehensive scholarship on late Ottoman Albania to date and should be referenced by future historians as invaluable resource"-- Isa Blumi of The American Historical Review

"Gawrych has examined some familiar material in interesting and unusual ways... [H]is narrative provides an exciting and colorful means of exploring the complex and highly nuanced nature of national identities in the late Ottoman Empire." -Peter Mentzel, Liberty Fund, Inc.

About the Author

George W. Gawrych is Associate Professor of Middle East History at Baylor University. He is the author of The Albatross of Decisive Victory: War and Policy between Egypt and Israel in the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars and co-author of Armed Peacekeepers in Bosnia. He has written numerous articles about the history of Turkey and the Middle East and in 1989 he won the Biennial Award for the Best Published Article in Turkish Studies, awarded by the Turkish Studies Association of North America.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris; First Edition edition (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845112873
• ISBN-13: 978-1845112875
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,257,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)