Spies, Scandals, and Sultans

Istanbul in the Twilight of the Ottoman Empire

Translated by Roger Allen University of Pennsylvani

Publication date:

28 November 2007

Length of book:

196 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

238x166mm
7x9"

ISBN-13: 9780742562165

Spies, Scandals, and Sultans is the first English translation of a fascinating and acidly critical portrait of the Ottoman capital of Istanbul during the days of the Sultan Abd al-Hamid. This is the first time that the text, written by an Egyptian journalist and politician, has been available since 1896. Originally published as a series of newspaper articles in the mid-1890s, and then as a book entitled Ma Hunalik, the text was ordered to be banned and burned by the Sultan's representatives in Cairo. The ban was carried out, but a few copies survived, one of which has been used for this translation. The text of the Arabic original is prefaced with an extensive introduction in which the author's life is discussed and the highly controversial contents of the book are contextualized and evaluated for their accuracy against other contemporary accounts of life in the Ottoman capital. Spies, Scandals, and Sultans presents a highly critical view of the Ottoman government in Istanbul during the 1890s, with reference to earlier eras in Ottoman history. It is an Egyptian perspective of the Ottoman administration in one of its most problematic periods and is highly critical of every aspect of life in the capital city_not least, the elaborate spy system. Spies, Scandals, and Sultans takes on the theme of modernization and the role of more traditional values, including Islamic ones, in the process of setting the goals for a modern Middle Eastern state_a process that was to come to fruition after World War One in the creation of the modern state of Turkey. This first English translation should arouse intense interest among historians of the Ottoman Empire and Egypt, as well as those who study modernization in the Middle East and the status of Islam within both traditional and modernizing societies in the region. Spies, Scandals, and Sultans has a great deal to say about the processes of decline and the causes for it, and the ever increasing role of European nations in the establishment of priorities within the Ottoman government system.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Concerning the circumstances of the Ottoman Sultanate
Chapter 3 Almabayn
Chapter 4 The Chief Secretary's Department in Almabayn
Chapter 5 The Almabaynjiyya Department in Almabayn
Chapter 6 The Department of the Chief Eunuch in Almabayn
Chapter 7 The Department of the Yavaran in Almabayn
Chapter 8 Spies
Chapter 9 Anniversary of the Sultan's Accession
Chapter 10 Spies (II)
Chapter 11 Splendor of the Caliphate and Magnificence of the Sultanate
Chapter 12 Appointment to Ottoman offices
Chapter 13 Court Proceedings in Istanbul
Chapter 14 Shaykhs
Chapter 15 Writing Ma Hunalik
Chapter 16 The Sultan
Chapter 17 Deposition of Sultans
Chapter 18 Glossary

This is an extremely important—and exceedingly well-done—translation. The text itself is surprisingly entertaining and even funny in places, as the original author often employs fascinating hearsay anecdotes to help make a point. Allen's introduction masterfully puts the text into context for the non-specialist and successfully explains why, despite the author's biases, the text should be read as more than mere polemic or diatribe. By contextualizing the key players' affiliations and interests in the useful introduction, Allen helps the reader read between the lines of the text.