Ergenç, Özer. XVI. Yüzyılın Sonlarında Bursa: Yerleşimi,
Yönetimi, Ekonomik ve Sosyal Durumu Üzerine bir Araştırma. Ankara: Türk
Tarih Kurumu, 2006, 324pp.
ABSTRACT
Bursa Before
the End of the Sixteenth Century: A Study on Urban Structure, Administration
and the Economic and Social Status
XVI. Yüzyılın Sonlarında Bursa: Yerleşimi, Yönetimi, Ekonomik ve Sosyal
Durumu Üzerine bir Araştırma
The book focuses on Bursa, the Ottoman capital city
from 1326 to 1402. By the end of the sixteenth century the city had become an
important trade centre.
The author questions two main judgments on Muslim
cities in the introduction of the book. The first is the absence of
administrative institutions that define a city. The second is the assumption
that there is a certain kind of disorder in the physical appearance of Muslim
cities, and that this arises from a lack of political consciousness, and the
absence of self-administration. Ergenç endeavours to refute these assumptions
by presenting Bursa as a typical Ottoman city. The book is a continuation of
the author’s study on Ankara and Konya. The primary sources used in this volume
include court records and cadastral surveys.
The book provides information on the physical
properties of Bursa, the buildings that make up the urban structure (like the
mosques, schools, public baths, and commercial buildings), the population, and
a detailed explanation of the Ottoman administration and the economic structure
of the city. The work focuses on the guild system and silk trade, which
contributed to the development of the city. The book is not limited to a
description of Bursa as the title may have suggested. Ergenç actually presents
a) the functioning of Ottoman administration in the province through city
notables and people, b) the elements of mahalle
(the main settlement unit of an Ottoman city) and c) the rulings of the guild
system (esnaf). It thereby presents
the voice of urban dwellers in the provincial administration and how their
participation constituted and affected the main components of the Ottoman city.
This outlook makes the book valuable for people studying Muslim cities, in
particular the Ottoman city.
Elif Bayraktar Tellan
Bayraktar Tellan, Elif. “English abstract of 'Bursa Before the End of the Sixteenth Century: A Study on Urban Structure, Administration and the Economic and Social Status'". Translated by Elif Bayraktar Tellan. In Cities as Built and Lived Environments: Scholarship from Muslim Contexts, 1875 to 2011, by Aptin Khanbaghi. 159. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Muslim Civilisations Abstracts - The Aga Khan University
