Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
Of all the disasters that hit Ottoman cities, earthquakes and fires belonged to the most harmful. Throughout centuries, the capital city of the Ottoman Empire suffered numerous catastrophic city...Show moreOf all the disasters that hit Ottoman cities, earthquakes and fires belonged to the most harmful. Throughout centuries, the capital city of the Ottoman Empire suffered numerous catastrophic city fires, or conflagrations, not in the least because of its wooden architecture and narrow streets that made the city vulnerable to fires. Accidents and sometimes arson were the main causes for the conflagrations which, because of the wooden houses, the building density, and lack of proper prevention methods regularly resulted in major catastrophes which had profound impact on both the personal, social and economic life of the inhabitants of the capital city. According to European diplomats, fires were sometimes so powerful that they not only reshaped entire districts but also had major impact on the larger political and social constellation of a particular period in time. Arson sometimes in combination with plunder was a mechanism that was regularly used by groups, such as the Janissaries, in order to ventilate protest and put pressure on the authorities. The fires of Istanbul were thus sometimes more than mere accidents. This thesis analyses the conflagrations (city fires) of Istanbul, their causes and effects on the capital city throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, a turbulent period during which the state and Janissaries conflicted.Show less
