Pashas
Traders and Travellers in the Islamic World
Will be published approx. on 15. April 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-300-17091-7 (ISBN)
Description
The fascinating, forgotten story of when Europe and Islam first met
Long before they came as occupiers, the British were drawn to the Middle East by the fabled riches of its trade and the enlightened tolerance of its people. The Pashas, merchants and travelers from Europe, discovered an Islamic world that was alluring, dynamic, and diverse.
Ranging across two and a half centuries and through the great cities of Istanbul, Aleppo, and Alexandria, James Mather tells the forgotten story of the men of the Levant Company who sought their fortunes in the Ottoman Empire. Their trade brought to the region not only merchants but also ambassadors and envoys, pilgrims and chaplains, families and servants, aristocratic tourists and roving antiquarians. Unlike the nabobs who gathered their fortunes in Bengal, they both respected and learned from the culture they encountered, and their lives provide a fascinating insight into the meeting of East and West before the age of European imperialism.
Intriguing, intimate, and original, Pashas brings to life an extraordinary tale of faraway visitors beguiled by a mysterious world of Islam.
Long before they came as occupiers, the British were drawn to the Middle East by the fabled riches of its trade and the enlightened tolerance of its people. The Pashas, merchants and travelers from Europe, discovered an Islamic world that was alluring, dynamic, and diverse.
Ranging across two and a half centuries and through the great cities of Istanbul, Aleppo, and Alexandria, James Mather tells the forgotten story of the men of the Levant Company who sought their fortunes in the Ottoman Empire. Their trade brought to the region not only merchants but also ambassadors and envoys, pilgrims and chaplains, families and servants, aristocratic tourists and roving antiquarians. Unlike the nabobs who gathered their fortunes in Bengal, they both respected and learned from the culture they encountered, and their lives provide a fascinating insight into the meeting of East and West before the age of European imperialism.
Intriguing, intimate, and original, Pashas brings to life an extraordinary tale of faraway visitors beguiled by a mysterious world of Islam.
Reviews / Votes
"'A most impressive book, which vividly and humanely depicts a period when encounters between Christians and Muslims took a very different form from the so-called 'clash of civilizations' which so distorts and disfigures our perspective on these relationships today. The result is a major historical work, which also conveys a brave, powerful and hopeful contemporary message.' (David Cannadine) 'James Mather's wonderful book is the first full-length study since 1935... the importance of this excellent and balanced study cannot be underestimated.' (William Dalrymple, The Observer) 'Mather has written an impressively researched, imposing yet affectionate history.' (Barnaby Rogerson, Independent) 'Vivid and well-written.' (Linda Colley, Times Literary Supplement) 'James Mather has brilliantly stepped into the breach... Mather whisks the reader into the souks and khans of the Ottoman empire, evoking at once a sense of place and a real feel for the pleasures and profits that characterised the pashas' careers... Mather makes a forceful case, and an appealing well-written one at that.' (Maya Jasanoff, The Guardian) 'James Mather's intricate and entertaining study of English merchants in the Empire... is hugely helpful in making that tradition intelligible and explaining what later became of it... He is excellent on everything he covers, and equally good and commendably pithy on economics, the technicalities of commerce (especially shipping), and the diplomatic and intellectual dimensions of the story. He paints a vivid picture... an elegant, learned and illuminating book.' (Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Literary Review)"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
16 b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
355 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-17091-7 (9780300170917)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
James Mather graduated from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, before studying at Harvard as a Kennedy scholar. He now works as a commercial barrister in London.