Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World

Rezensionen / Stimmen

'... a book that tackles and raises major questions about Ottoman history and the hitherto under-studied subject of disease. Much as the subject of plague has been ascribed great importance within the historiography of medieval and early modern Europe, Varlik demonstrates that plague in the Eastern Mediterranean merits consideration as the focal point in the study of the Ottoman Empire and its capital in Istanbul ... Whether continuing the study of diseases and their relationship with a transformation polity or exploring how cats became cuddly co-agents in an Ottoman reaction to repeated epidemics, Ottomanist scholars will return to Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World as an important source of new questions in the years to come.' Chris Gratien, The Journal of Ottoman Studies 'The significant contribution of Nuekhet Varlik's monograph is that it places the Ottoman empire in the context of world plague history rather than treating it as an isolated, Islamic site of plague phenomena. ... I expect this excellent, ambitious and original scholarly work to have a significant impact on the fields of Ottoman history and plague studies. It fits into a new wave of innovative Ottomanist scholarship that takes questions of disease and environment and makes them central to the study of empire.' Palmira Brummett, The English Historical Review