A Historical and Economic Geography of Ottoman Greece: The Southwestern Morea in the 18th Century [Paperback]

This book represents an innovative collaborative approach to the study of a particular region of the Ottoman empire, the southwestern Peloponnese (or Morea), Greece. It combines the study of unpublished Ottoman documents, other historical sources, and the results of diachronic archaeological fieldwork in an examination of the historical and economic geography of the Morea in the early 18th century, the period immediately following the Ottoman reconquest of this region from Venice. Central to the book is a translation of the section of an Ottoman cadastral survey ( defter ) listing in great detail properties in the district ( kaza ) of Anavarin (Navarino, modern Pylos). An introductory chapter outlines the history and methodology of the research project, while the translation is followed by chapters that provide a broader context, drawing on dozens of unpublished Ottoman documents and other sources for the analysis of the information contained in the document and the principles behind its composition. A final chapter summarizes the conclusions drawn from the research, and a series of appendixes offer additional detail, including concordances of the personal- and place-names, an index of properties described, narrative histories of the two fortresses in the region, and a new English translation of the Anavarin section of the 17th-century Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi's Seyahatname (Travel Book) . A CD-ROM with a facsimile of the document itself and color versions of all illustrations is also included.
Fariba Zarinebaf teaches Middle Eastern and Balkan history at Northwestern University and has published extensively on the social and economic histories of the Ottoman empire and Iran. John Bennet is Professor of Aegean Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Sheffield. Jack L. Davis is the Carl W. Blegen Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Cincinnati.

"...a pioneering and fascinating work..."
Kostas Vlassopoulos
Bryn Mawr Classical Review (2006)

"a monumental undertaking rarely seen in Greek studies and even less so in the English language...The edition itself is of very high quality'"
Evdoxios Doxiadis
Modern Greek Studies Review (2006)

"The volume is an important example of the potential of intensive archaeological investigations of the recent past, with lessons for archaeologists of the more distant past and for historians interested in communities without history. For scholars intrigued and committed to expanding archaeology to include the recent past, whether to continue the archaeological analysis to the doorstep of the present or as part of the archaeology of modernity, Zarinebaf, Bennet, and Davis provide an important case study that fills gaps in the narrative for Ottoman Greece and is an important incentive for studies of other regions of the Ottoman realm. Those interested in the developments of Ottoman archaeology will be rewarded with the historic details and the rich possibilities indicated by this research.'"
Uzi Baram
American Journal of Archaeology (2006)

"this sumptuous, beautifully produced volume is a tremendous achievement... All who subsequently work with Ottoman tax documents will need to strive to meet the high standards set by this brilliant piece of work.'"
Roger Matthews
Landscape History (2006)