The Eastern Mediterranean Under Ottoman Rule: Crete, 1645-1840

The island of Crete was conquered by the Ottomans in the mid-seventeenth century, and was their last significant, and long-lasting, conquest of territory not previously held. Ottoman Crete has in recent years attracted historians’ attention for a number of reasons, among which two particularities related to broader themes in Ottoman history stand out: the institution of private landownership in 1670 in breach of the age-long tradition of the miri (‘state’) land system, and the emergence of a large Muslim population, mainly through the conversion of locals to Islam. The papers in this volume bring to light new archival, narrative, and epigraphic sources for Ottoman Crete and the Eastern Mediterranean, and aspire to contribute to the exploration of these but also other themes: centre-periphery relations and administration of an insular province, taxation, agricultural production, social life, and culture. This volume is dedicated to Professors Elizabeth A. Zachariadou and Vassilis Demetriades in recognition of their contribution to Ottoman history, and more particularly to the establishment of Ottoman studies at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies/FO.R.T.H and the University of Crete.