Empires in Friction: Egypt in the Sixteenth Century (Middle East Studies Beyond Dominant Paradigms)

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire had finally defeated the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt, completing their conquest of the Middle East and turning Egypt into a province of the Ottoman Empire.While much has been documented about the Mamluk period until 1517, publications on the historical record about the sixteenth century reveals little from distinctly Egyptian perspectives.In Empires in Friction, Nelly Hanna explores this transitional period and provides insight into the intricate dynamics of imperial control and political transition. With an original approach to understanding empire, Hanna challenges traditional narratives that emphasize the centralization of power and the dominance of the capital.Instead, she proposes a nuanced paradigm that focuses on the imperial problem of distance, the autonomy of provinces, and the continuity of local customs and economic activities across different imperial regimes. Hanna dives into the financial, economic, and commercial domains where Ottomanization ha