Forging Urban Solidarities

Charles L. Wilkins, Ph.D. (2006) in History and Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, is Assistant Professor of History at Wake Forest University. He specializes in the history of the Arab Provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

“…the book remains of interest for scholars and students of Aleppo’s history and serves as an example for the wealth of information that can be found in its archives.”Thomas Phillip, H-Soz-u-Kult, H-Het Reviews, December 2010

• CONTENTSAcknowledgements ............................................................................ ixList of Tables, Maps, and Figures ................................................... xiList of Abbreviations ......................................................................... xiiiNote on Transliteration .................................................................... xvIntroduction ........................................................................................ 1PART IChapter One: Extraordinary Taxes (ʿAvārıż) and Local Administration .............. 19The ʿAvārıż Tax Regime and the Conduct of Tax Surveys .... 22The Mechanics of Local Tax Administration: Land Use, Personal Liability, and Apportionment .............. 36The Responsibilities and Compensation of Quarter Tax Officials ................................................................... 44A Fiscal Demography of Aleppo ................................................ 53Chapter Two: Urban Responses to the Imposition of Extraordinary Taxes ................................................... 63The Frequency and Level of Extraordinary Tax Levies .......... 64Popular Strategies for Tax Relief: Tax Exemption .................. 70Other Individual Strategies for Tax Relief ................................ 90Collective Action and Mutual Assistance ................................. 94Residential Quarters and the Question of “Positive Loyalties” ............................................................... 109PART IIChapter Three: Military Units: Elements of Solidarity and Division .................. 115Survey of Military Cadres ............................................................ 118Residence Patterns ........................................................................ 130Compensation of Troops ............................................................. 142Ocaḳlıḳ and the Guards of the Kars Citadel ............................. 153Soldiers, Market Regulation, and Moneylending .................... 158Mobilization and Unit Solidarity ................................................ 180The Career of ʿAlī b. Shabīb (d. ca. 1678) ............................ 185The Episode of ʿAlī Agha b. ʿAbdullāh .................................. 192Limits on Unit Discipline and Solidarity .................................. 199PART IIIChapter Four: Solidarity and Leadership in the Guilds .............. 205Guild Self-Government ................................................................ 208The Leadership of the Guilds: Two Case Studies .................... 221The Butchers .............................................................................. 226The Ḳaṣapbaşı: Compensation and Social Background ... 229The Tanners ............................................................................... 247The Akhī Bābā and Shaykh al-Sabʿa ................................. 247A Sketch of one Shaykh al-Sabʿa: Sayyid Ibrāhīm b. Sayyid Rajab al-Ḥanbalī (d. 1678) ................................. 257The Shaykh al-Dabbāghīn and Naqīb al-Dabbāghīn ...... 264Relations among Guilds ............................................................... 271Guilds: Patterns of Autonomy and Organizational Fluidity ................................................................................. 283Conclusion .......................................................................................... 287Glossary ............................................................................................... 293Bibliography ........................................................................................ 295Index .................................................................................................... 319