Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World: The Ottoman Experience, 1347-1600

356 Pages·2015·4.839 MB·English

by  Nükhet Varlik

PlagueandEmpireintheEarlyModernMediterraneanWorld
TheOttomanExperience,1347–1600
This is the first systematic scholarly study of the Ottoman experience
ofplagueduringtheBlackDeathpandemicandthecenturiesthatfol-
lowed.Usingawealthofarchivalandnarrativesources,includingmed-
ical treatises, hagiographies, and travelers’ accounts, as well as recent
scientificresearch,Nu¨khetVarlıkdemonstrateshowplagueinteracted
withtheenvironmental,social,andpoliticalstructuresoftheOttoman
Empirefromthelatemedievalthroughtheearlymodernera.Thebook
argues that the empire’s growth transformed the epidemiological pat-
terns of plague by bringing diverse ecological zones into interaction
andbyintensifyingthemobilitiesofexchangeamongbothhumanand
nonhumanagents.Varlıkmaintainsthatpersistentplagueselicitednew
formsofculturalimaginationandexpressionaswellasanewbodyof
knowledgeaboutthedisease.Inturn,thisnewconsciousnesssharpened
theOttomanadministrativeresponsetotheplague,whilecontributing
tothemakingsofanearlymodernstate.
Nu¨khetVarlıkisAssistantProfessorofHistoryatRutgersUniversity–
Newark.Sheistheauthorofseveralarticlesandiscurrentlyeditinga
collectionofessaystitledPlagueandContagionintheIslamicMediter-
ranean. She is the recipient of an NEH Fellowship by the American
Research Institute in Turkey, a Senior Fellowship from Koc¸ Univer-
sity’sResearchCenterforAnatolianCivilizations,andaTurkishCul-
turalFoundationPost-DoctoralFellowship.

Plague and Empire in the
Early Modern Mediterranean World
The Ottoman Experience, 1347–1600
NU¨KHET VARLIK
RutgersUniversity–Newark
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107013384
(cid:2)C Nu¨khetVarlık2015
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Varlık,Nu¨khet.
PlagueandempireintheearlymodernMediterraneanworld:theOttomanexperience,
1347–1600/Nu¨khetVarlık(RutgersUniversity–Newark).
pagescm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-01338-4(hardback)
1.Plague–Turkey–Epidemiology–History. 2.BlackDeath–Turkey–History.
3.Plague–Environmentalaspects–Turkey–History. 4.Plague–Social
aspects–Turkey–History. 5.Plague–Politicalaspects–Turkey–History.
6.Imperialism–Socialaspects–Turkey–History. 7.Turkey–History–
OttomanEmpire,1288–1918. 8.Turkey–Environmentalconditions–
History. I.Title.
rc179.t9v37 2016
614.5(cid:3)73209561–dc23 2015006206
isbn978-1-107-01338-4Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyofurlsfor
externalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublicationanddoesnot
guaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
To Ben, with love and gratitude

Contents
Figures,Maps,andTables page ix
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xv
NoteonTransliterationandDates xvii
Introduction 1
part i. plague: history and historiography
1 ANaturalHistoryofPlague 17
2 PlagueinOttomanistandNon-OttomanistHistoriography 55
3 TheBlackDeathandItsAftermath(1347–1453) 90
part ii. plague of empire
4 TheFirstPhase(1453–1517):PlagueComesfromtheWest 131
5 TheSecondPhase(1517–1570):MultiplePlague
Trajectories 160
6 TheThirdPhase(1570–1600):IstanbulasPlagueHub 185
part iii. empire of plague
7 PlagueTransformed:ChangingPerceptions,Knowledge,
andAttitudes 207
8 TheStateofthePlague:PoliticsofBodiesintheMakingof
theOttomanState 248
Epilogue 292
Bibliography 295
Index 327
vii