Preface

Summary

When first undertaking this project, I profited from the advice and encouragement of L. Carl Brown, Mark Cohen, Michael Cook, Halil Inalcik, Norman Itzkowitz, Bernard Lewis, A. L. Udovitch, and, above all, Cemal Kafadar, whose insights continue to inspire me. I am also grateful to Abraham Marcus, who guided my earliest research on pre-1798 Egypt. My colleagues in the Ottoman Egyptian subfield have been extraordinarily generous and supportive. I must single out Daniel Crecelius, Peter Holt, and André Raymond; though I may question some of the conclusions of their scholarship, I know very well that my own would not have been possible without theirs. Other colleagues who have offered advice both on the content of my research and on the process of preparing a book for publication include Philip Brown, Richard Bulliet, Stephen Dale, Carter Findley, Ulrich Haarmann, Victoria Holbrook, Eve Levin, Amy Singer, Ehud Toledano, and two anonymous readers for Cambridge University Press. Ron McLean of Ohio State's Graphics Services department prepared the maps while the University Libraries' Rare Books and Manuscripts collection supplied the cover photographs. Asim Karaömerlioğlu provided invaluable assistance with the index. Marigold Acland and her assistant Emma Mayes at Cambridge University Press have offered cheerful and expert guidance at every turn in the publication process.

My research would not have been possible without the generosity of the directors and staff of the Başbakanlik Osmanli Arşivi, the Süleymaniye Library, and the Topkapi Palace Library and Archives in Istanbul; and Dar al-Kutub in Cairo.