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Pilgrims and Sultans: The Haji under the Ottomans
The pilgrimage to Mecca - the Hajj - is a major aspect of the Islamic religion, yet little has been written about its history or of the conditions under which thousands of pilgrims from far flung regions of the Islamic world were able to travel to the heart of the Arabian peninsula.
The book concentrates on the pilgrimage in the 16th and 17th centuries, when Mecca was ruled by the Ottoman sultans. At a time when, for the majority of the faithful, the journey was long, arduous and fraught with danger, the provision of food, water, shelter and protection for pilgrims presented a major challenge to the provincial governors of the vast Ottoman Empire. Drawing on documentation left by Ottoman administrators, and on the accounts of contemporary pilgrims, this book deals with such issues as the financing of the pilgrimage and the political problems it posed.
The book concentrates on the pilgrimage in the 16th and 17th centuries, when Mecca was ruled by the Ottoman sultans. At a time when, for the majority of the faithful, the journey was long, arduous and fraught with danger, the provision of food, water, shelter and protection for pilgrims presented a major challenge to the provincial governors of the vast Ottoman Empire. Drawing on documentation left by Ottoman administrators, and on the accounts of contemporary pilgrims, this book deals with such issues as the financing of the pilgrimage and the political problems it posed.
- GenresHistory
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
90 people want to read
About the author
Suraiya Faroqhi
61 books46 followersSuraiya Faroqhi was born in Berlin to a German mother and Indian father in 1941. She studied at Hamburg University and she came to Istanbul through a university exchange program when she was 21. At Istanbul University, she became a student of Ömer Lütfi Barkan. She completed her master's degree in Hamburg and between 1968-1970 she studied English Language Teaching at Indiana University-Bloomington. After her post-doctorate, she worked as English Lecturer at METU. She retired from METU in 1987 and from München Ludwig Maximillan Universität in 2005.
A turning point in her life came in 1962-63, when she took the opportunity to go to Istanbul University on a fellowship as an exchange student. Subsequently she became a student of Ömer Lüfti Barkan, one of the founding fathers of Ottoman history and an editor of Annales. When she first read Fernand Braudel at Barkan’s insistence, she “had the feeling that’s the sort of thing I wanted to do.” She wrote her doctoral thesis at Hamburg on a set of documents that a late 16th-century vizier submitted to his sultan discussing Ottoman politics at the time.[1]
She is regarded as one of the most important economic and social historians of the Ottoman Empire working today. Professor Faroqhi has written substantially on Ottoman urban history, arts and crafts, and on the hitherto underrepresented world of the ordinary people in the empire. She is well known for her distinctive approach to Ottoman everyday life and public culture. She has published numerous books and articles in the field of pre- modern Ottoman history.
A turning point in her life came in 1962-63, when she took the opportunity to go to Istanbul University on a fellowship as an exchange student. Subsequently she became a student of Ömer Lüfti Barkan, one of the founding fathers of Ottoman history and an editor of Annales. When she first read Fernand Braudel at Barkan’s insistence, she “had the feeling that’s the sort of thing I wanted to do.” She wrote her doctoral thesis at Hamburg on a set of documents that a late 16th-century vizier submitted to his sultan discussing Ottoman politics at the time.[1]
She is regarded as one of the most important economic and social historians of the Ottoman Empire working today. Professor Faroqhi has written substantially on Ottoman urban history, arts and crafts, and on the hitherto underrepresented world of the ordinary people in the empire. She is well known for her distinctive approach to Ottoman everyday life and public culture. She has published numerous books and articles in the field of pre- modern Ottoman history.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 1, 2023
Enjoyable read. Social history of hajj during the 15-16th centuries, when the Ottoman Empire just achieved control over Egypt and the Hijaz. To establish their legitimacy of rulers of the Muslim world, the Ottomans used their patronage of the hajj to show their competence in financing caravans/roads/construction of the haramayn, protecting caravans, and establishing diplomatic relationships with Muslims/Muslim rulers around the world.
A lot of emphasis is placed on first-hand accounts, such as that by the Ottoman traveler Evliya Celebi, and the cultural/social/economic details that they tell us. It's amazing how much Faroqhi was able to glean out of these accounts, such as the architecture and urban design of Medina and Mecca at the time, Ottoman expansion projects, pilgrims' experiences, the relationships between merchants, bedouins, and pilgrims, the authority and responsibility of hajj admins (including Hijazi rulers and caravan leaders) and so on.
Less but equally important emphasis is placed on economics and foreign relations, such as Ottoman relationships with Persia (and Shii pilgrims), Mughals in India, Czars in Russia, Mamluks in Egypt (although they were technically under Ottoman rule they sort of had their own internal politics and aided the Sultan in providing food supplies, financial support, and construction material for the Haramayn and its people), and even the Dutch and Portuguese, who in this early modern period were first embarking on their Age of Exploration.
Super interesting read.
A lot of emphasis is placed on first-hand accounts, such as that by the Ottoman traveler Evliya Celebi, and the cultural/social/economic details that they tell us. It's amazing how much Faroqhi was able to glean out of these accounts, such as the architecture and urban design of Medina and Mecca at the time, Ottoman expansion projects, pilgrims' experiences, the relationships between merchants, bedouins, and pilgrims, the authority and responsibility of hajj admins (including Hijazi rulers and caravan leaders) and so on.
Less but equally important emphasis is placed on economics and foreign relations, such as Ottoman relationships with Persia (and Shii pilgrims), Mughals in India, Czars in Russia, Mamluks in Egypt (although they were technically under Ottoman rule they sort of had their own internal politics and aided the Sultan in providing food supplies, financial support, and construction material for the Haramayn and its people), and even the Dutch and Portuguese, who in this early modern period were first embarking on their Age of Exploration.
Super interesting read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review