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An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, Vol. 2: 1600-1914

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With a history spanning over six centuries, the Ottoman empire defies easy historical assessment. The frontier state of medieval times is naturally and necessarily different from the empire that survived at the start of the twentieth century. This poses a challenge for any historian, whose attempts to assimilate the enormous amount of information about these centuries invariably requires a degree of specialization that leaves them stronger on some areas than on others.

One of the methods of addressing this in a survey is to subdivide the work, bringing specialists to bear on their topics and then presenting it as a whole. This is the approach taken by this book, the second of two volumes surveying the social and economic history of the empire. Whereas the first volume, An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire (Economic & Social History of the Ottoman Empire) (Volume 1), was the solitary product of the great Ottoman historian Halil Inalcik, the second volume contains the work of four scholars, each of whom brings their expertise to bear upon a selected period or topic: Suraiya Faroqhi writes on the eleven decades between 1590 and 1699 C.E., Bruce McGowan covers the years between 1699 and 1812, and Donald Quataert addresses the "age of reforms" that stretches between 1812 and 1914. Sevket Pamuk contributes a final chapter on money in the Ottoman empire, which examines its development over the entire span of Ottoman history.

Such a presentation can have both advantages and disadvantages, as this volume amply demonstrates. The various sections are solid works of scholarship, each of which contain a great deal of specialized information that demonstrates a comprehensive (though in some cases dated) knowledge of the literature on the periods. Yet despite the best efforts of the editors, each section stands alone, frustrating an easy narrative about the social and economic history of the period. Readers seeking an introduction to Ottoman history would be better off starting with a general work such as Quataert's The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 (New Approaches to European History) before tackling this detailed and sophisticated examination of the broader socio-economic forces at work in the empire's long history.

I have yet to read the book but was extremely disappointed to find it was only one part of a two part item. It was (is) misleading not to have this information in the 'ad'. I guess I will now have to find the other volume.