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This thesis examines the changing relationship between the Ottoman state and the Ismaʿilis of Syria from the middle of the 19th century until the end of World War I. It approaches the Ismaʿili community's new links with an imam in Bombay, the Aga Khan III, by entangling local society and politics with larger interregional trends, such as Pan-Islam, religious networks, and imperial citizenship. The Ismaʿilis attempted to refashion themselves through their newfound belonging to an emerging global religious community and also sought to present themselves as loyal Ottoman citizens entitled to constitutional rights and protections. The Ottoman state, however, viewed the community and their connection to the Aga Khan with suspicion, much as it had other groups with ties to foreign powers, like the Iraqi Shiʿa, Maronites, or the Armenians. The Aga Khan, meanwhile, continued his centralising reforms of the disparate Ismaʿili communities across Asia and Africa. These machinations came to a head at the outbreak of World War I, when the Aga Khan, as an Allied wartime propagandist, and the Ottomans, on the side of the Central Powers, each demanded clear signs of loyalty from the Syrian Ismaʿilis, who ultimately negotiated the dilemma on their own terms. It is overall the history of a local community negotiating inter-imperial rivalries, which offers a wider lens to explore Muslim networks and self-fashioning across political and ideological fault lines.

This dissertation aims to explore the lives, activities, experiences, and the social impact of the members of the virtually unstudied Manas family who operated in the fields of art, diplomacy, and finance, and to analyze the ramifications of the family's controversial Catholic identity in the 18th-and 19th-century Ottoman context, by tracking the individual stories of the Manases as social and cultural actors, and knitting them together with the lived realities of other members in order to situate them both individually and cumulatively into the social and political matrices of the period. In order to decipher the motivations and aspirations of the individual Manases, the current study will use the family as a nexus through which to discern the Manases' engagement with the society and the state. The multiple social, religious, and vocational layers in which this family existed, as Armenian by ethnicity, Catholic by denomination, and court artisan, diplomat, and banker by profession will be used to reflect on the travails of the Manases, as well as their comfort and success. This study has been able to fill in many of the extensive lacunae in the narratives of the Manas family members as well as rectify misconstrued facts about their lives and careers through rigorous archival research, enabling a firm scaffolding to stand on while tackling the family in a much more nuanced and profound manner. It places the Manas family within the context of a multivalent and porous society as opposed to one with impermeable barriers between its various communities, thereby understanding its members as part and parcel of Ottoman existence and history in contrast to dichotomizing frameworks that sever Armenian reality from its historical context. Through this approach it restores the historicity of the Manases as Ottoman actors, who were not extraneous to the axes of social and political change, but were participants in the processes of negotiation with the state alongside other Ottomans of various ethnic, social, and religious backgrounds to effectuate change. The dearth of insightful scholarship on the family in contexts where they have so far been discussed will be addressed in the first part of this dissertation. Chapters One and Two dealing with the family members' activities pertaining to imperial identity construction, through sultanic portraiture and diplomacy, respectively, aim to correct the historical record and offer further insights through the greater contextualization and analytical synthesis of the already available data with the vast body of newly introduced documents. The latter two chapters, which are centered around the Catholic identity of the Manases and the discussion of banking, prestige, and wealth in relation to the family, draw on a range of hitherto unstudied archival sources. These chapters considerably develop the extant scholarship, breaking ground to establish new frameworks for discussing the Manases.

The eventual demise of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War led to the dispersal of Ottoman Kurds across three newly formed states: Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. From the time of its dissolution until today, the late Ottoman Empire and post-Ottoman state formations in Kurdish areas have been a topic of great controversy in the literature. The genesis of discord and contentious between the states and Kurds, linked to the perceptions and policies of the states towards Kurds, is examined in this thesis. As such, the origins/types of Kurdish movements across all the three modern states are comparatively analysed. In focusing on the nexus of state formations, nations and origins/types of ethnic movements in the Kurds’ case, the research is conceptually and analytically based on new institutionalism and the comparative politics method. The thesis widely benefits from Turkish, British and League of Nations’ archives, Kurdish sources, as well as from the notes, reports, and letters of prominent political actors and officials of the period. In contextualising the state’s role in shaping Kurdish movements, the notions from new institutionalism – the state in society’s perspective – through the historical context of the macro and local social, political and economic developments in society, are applied. The comparative element is instrument in elaborating on how differences between Kurdish movements were shaped by newly institutionalised conditions imposed upon the Kurds’ geographical locales from the late Ottoman Empire to the post-Ottoman states. The Ottoman Kurds scattered across post-Ottoman states, historically shared common institutional conditions. Their politicisation across each regime and through different movements across Turkey, Iraq and Syria are comparatively analysed. The state formations in Kurdish populated areas,placed under scrutiny,are from the late Ottoman Empire to,specifically, (i) the Republican People’s Party (Single Party) Regime in Turkey (1923-1945), (ii) the British Mandate and King Faisal’s Regime in Iraq (1920-1932), and (iii) the French Mandate Regime in Syria (1923-1946). The aim of this research is to assess how these state entities shaped the origins/types of and metamorphosed the different Kurdish movements in the cases of (i) the Ararat Movement in Turkey (1926-30), (ii) the Barzan Movement in Iraq (1930-32) and (iii) the Khoybun Movement in Syria (1927-45). Have scrutinised the institutional conditions of each state, this dissertation contends that the perception of Kurds within the ethno-national context of each state determined the state policies towards both Kurds and Kurdistan,which also influenced the origins/types of Kurdish national movements. Political objectives, social and economic roots and resistance methods of Kurdish movements associated with the implementation of state policies in the social, administrative, economic, military and regional political fields in Kurdistan are considered. The thesis concludes that the divergent policies of the three post-Ottoman states toward the Kurds created highly varied institutional conditions which differently shaped the relationships between the Kurds and the state, and subsequently the origins/types of Kurdish movements that eventually emerged.

This thesis seeks to examine the roles of Augustus Charles Hobart-Hampden (Hobart Pasa) and Henry Felix Woods (Woods Pasa) as employees of the Ottoman Government between 1867-1909. Chapter one describes the origins of the thesis and analyses current literature. Chapter two provides an outline of Ottoman reform efforts in the nineteenth century, some challenges it faced, some brief remarks on Anglo-Ottoman relations and finally summarizes the careers of Hobart and Woods. Chapter three looks at their roles within the Ottoman Navy between 1867-1878 and outlines their efforts to help reform that institution and argues that they were given naval responsibilities that went beyond the reason for their initial employment. Chapter four covers the period 1878-1886 and shows how their roles began to change from only working in the Ottoman Navy to functions related to being Aide-de-camp to the Sultan. These included supporting the Sultan and his empire in print and being used as part of his personal diplomacy. This chapter largely concentrates on the work of Hobart. Chapter five covers the period 1886-1909 and argues that Woods took over Hobart's functions after his death. Both Hobart and Woods performed useful work for their employer, the Ottoman Government, in all areas in which they were used.

Turkish was written in Arabic alphabet for over a thousand years until the Latin alphabet reform, which was imposed in 1928 as a result of the modernization reforms. Despite this profound change, its effects on the design and typographic choices of period's publications and the role of these publications in the reform are not known. This research investigates how the reform was treated typographically and was promoted in newspapers and magazines, which were also helping the reformers in the transition and post-reform periods from 10 August 1928 to 1 May 1929. This study is based on archival research in the libraries of Turkey. The thesis consists of four main parts. The first part introduces the methods used to define the scope of newspaper and magazine analysis and to develop the criteria to select these publications, and describes the framework used to analyse the selected publications. The second part provides the linguistic and print-related context to the alphabet reform by tracing back the early alphabet discussions and the observations regarding the multicultural scene, starting from the 19th century in the Ottoman period. The aim of this part is to gain an insight into how the Turks ended up with the idea of this change. The third part presents the historical account of the reform and the phases of the implementation from political, social and educational perspectives. The final chapters, as the fourth part, contextualise and explore the transition through the design of five broadsheets (İkdam, Cumhuriyet, Milliyet, Hakimiyet-i Milliye, Akşam), two tabloid newspapers (Karagöz, Yeni Köroğlu) and two magazines (Servet- Fünun, Resimli Ay) published in this period. This part documents the general features of these publications, including production, layout and the use of type and how these were influenced by the transition from Arabic to Latin scripts. The analysis of publications showed that broadsheets played a key role by integrating Latin content during the transition period and publishing encouraging articles and alphabet lessons daily. Tabloids did the same, but with less participation, as they were the prominent ones in promoting the reform via cartoons. Besides publishing similar supportive content, magazines focused more on visual and content quality. Before the reform, newspapers and magazines in general had a more homogeneous look due to the few Arabic type style and size variations. After the implementation, because of new type purchases and rich variations of Latin metal types, page designs looked more refined, as the hierarchy between the sections became more visible despite some peculiar executions. Typesetters came up with creative solutions to substitute alternative letterforms for the new missing Turkish characters, due to the short period of transition (four months) and the lack of type and print resources. In this way, they showed a unique resilience to adopt this new convention owing to the multi-cultural printing scene inherited from the Ottoman Empire. This study aims to be a starting point for further studies, by revealing the first encounter of Turkish printed media with the Latin printing convention and the initial responses, which have long-term effects on the design, typographic and printing journey of Turkey.

This dissertation focuses on the Ottomanist ideas of Tunalı Hilmi (1871- 1928), Avram Galanti (Abraham Galante) (1873-1961) and Mustafa Satı (Sati' al-Husri) (1880-1968) in the years 1894-1928. Despite their different socio-political backgrounds, the three intellectuals pursued similar intellectual agendas with similar ideological inclinations over their long careers. Following their early publications as committed Ottomanists in the Ottoman period, Tunalı Hilmi and Avram Galanti turned into Turkish nationalists, while Mustafa Satı became a pioneering Arab nationalist in the context of the political shift from the Empire to post-Ottoman successor states. This study first examines the Ottomanist pursuits of the three figures in depth. It begins with a discussion of the late Ottoman milieu that constructed their Ottomanist mindset and continues with the clarification of the pillars of their Ottomanist stances. In order to better explore the broader implications of their pursuits, the dissertation particularly examines how Hilmi, Galanti and Satı considered education and language as a means to promote their Ottomanist agendas. Finally, the dissertation reflects on their nationalist stances and discusses the continuities in their intellectual pursuits to reveal the legacy of their Ottomanism on their nationalist years. With its content and scope, the dissertation aims to participate in the growing revisionist dialogue on Ottomanism. Its inclusive approach to Ottomanism and transnational reading of its legacy in the context of three intellectuals' ideological shifts constitute one of the first comparative studies on the subject. While it reveals the varying nature of Ottomanism in the multicultural context of the late Ottoman Empire, it indicates the broad implications of the ideology on the socio-political dynamics of the late Ottoman milieu and beyond. Moreover, by clarifying the discursive elements and political tools of their Ottomanist and nationalist years, it argues that Hilmi, Galanti and Satı's intellectual pursuits in two different political orders contain important elements of continuity.

Situated in the post-Oslo era, this work constitutes a parallel analysis of the collective transmission of the foundational pasts in Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian society, respectively the Holocaust and the Nakba. Through the application of postmodern criticism to Maurice Halbwachs' unitary understanding of group memory transmission, this thesis exposes the existence and perpetuation of exclusive and ethnocentric victimhood narratives that provide the theoretical foundations for an ensuing minimization of the out-group's past. Divided into three sections, which correspond to the examined realms of memory transmission, a range of qualitative research methods are used to analyze the conveyed narrative across the established realms of collective memory transmission: official state education, commemorative acts and mass mediation. Beyond an analysis of the depiction of the primary history events in the societies' curricula, mass media and commemorative institutes, semi-structured interviews with (former) memory agents and participant observation testify to the interplay between elites' historical conceptions and the transmitted narrative. While illustrating the universal plasticity of memory construction in coherence with contemporary political and societal needs, this work emphasizes the effects of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the contemporary contextualization of the primary historical events and the ensuing subversion of the other's past. Much like the original scenes of the watersheds and the principal actors, this thesis demonstrates that the exclusionary bases of Palestinian and Israeli victimhood narratives differ. The invocation of an exclusive Jewish Holocaust suffering thus is not unique to Israeli society; nevertheless, a consistent framing of a particularistic Zionist Holocaust victimhood narrative in the context of the Middle East conflict has stymied acknowledgement of the Palestinian catastrophe, deemed an inherent challenge to the ongoing redemptive nature of the Israeli state. An exclusive Palestinian victimhood narrative, conversely, has materialized in direct response to the opponent's foundational memory. Rather than solely underlining an understanding of Israeli-Jewish political usage of the Holocaust, this thesis reveals that the retaliatory nature that characterizes the exclusive Palestinian narrative derives from its application as an interpretative framework -- an 'ongoing Nakba' -- which sheds light on the Palestinians' marginalization and, consequently, demands a screening out of any past suffering of those held responsible.

The intractable problems posed by the decline of the Ottoman Empire were a defining feature of the nineteenth-century British experience. Events such as the Greek War of Independence (1821-32), the Crimean War (1853-5), and the Bulgarian Agitation (1876-8) were merely prominent denouements in the protracted history of what contemporaries called 'the Eastern Question'. The Eastern Question could be construed in many ways and admitted many answers. But by the 1870s, many Victorians had come to construe the Eastern Question as primarily an historical question. This thesis explores the ways in which Victorian public intellectuals brought 'historical-mindedness' to bear on the Eastern Question. Nineteenth-century historiography, it is suggested, may often be understood as a variety of contemporary political thought. Part One takes the historian E.A. Freeman, one of the Bulgarian Agitation's leaders, as its subject. Studied in depth, Freeman becomes a window onto how nineteenth-century intellectuals could experience and understand the Eastern Question. Part Two turns to the remarkable efflorescence of historical writing elicited by the so-called Eastern Crisis of 1875-80, investigating how historical arguments were invoked not merely in history books but also in newspaper reports, politically-freighted travel writing, and above all in periodical articles, over two-hundred of which are studied here. When Gladstone invoked the authority of 'the historical school of England' to criticise Lord Beaconsfield during this period, he did so advisedly, for historians both lay and professional were remarkably unanimous in their interpretation of events in south-eastern Europe. Drawing on the insights of comparative philology and often sympathetic to Eastern Orthodoxy for reasons of religion, these historians tended to emphasise the Balkan Christians' European identity, situating them within teleological narratives of progress which evoke contemporaneous Whig histories of England.

This thesis is a study of the oldest Islamic chronological history still extant: the Tārīkh (‘Chronicle’) of the Basran ḥadīth scholar and historian Khalīfa b. Khayyāṭ al-ʿUṣfurī (d. 240/854), which covers the political and administrative history of the Muslim polity between year 1/622 and 232/847. Despite its early date, Khalīfa’s Tārīkh has received little attention in modern scholarship and its value for understanding the development of early Islamic historiography has generally been disregarded. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to reassess the Tārīkh by analysing both the text and its context of compilation. After outlining Khalīfa’s biography (Ch. 1) and his social and intellectual context (Ch. 2), the thesis examines different aspects of Khalīfa’s Tārīkh in comparison to the wider Islamic historical tradition: his sources (Ch. 3), methods (Ch. 4), arrangement of material (Ch. 5) and narrative treatment of key themes in the early tradition (Chs. 6–7). The thesis thereby provides an in-depth study of one of the earliest Muslim historians and his methods of compilation, which is important for both the study of Islamic historiography and the usage of such sources in historical scholarship on early Islam. It is argued that Khalīfa’s role as a ḥadīth scholar and his early Sunnī outlook is reflected throughout the content of the Tārīkh. This is particularly evident in Khalīfa’s selection of sources, which consist of mainly Basran transmitters including numerous major ḥadīth scholars, and in his narration of controversial events such as the early civil wars, which displays an early Sunnī perspective. It is also suggested that Khalīfa’s particular selection and arrangement of material was largely determined by his aim to compile a critical and concise chronology of the political and administrative history of the Muslim community. Moreover, the thesis shows that, while the Tārīkh differs from many other early histories, it bears some resemblance to other chronographies compiled by early ḥadīth scholars—such as the works of al-Fasawī (d. 277/890), Ibn Abī Khaythama (d. 279/892) and Abū Zurʿa al- Dimashqī (d. 282/895) as well as the sections on post-Prophetic history in some ḥadīth collections such as Ibn Abī Shayba’s (d. 235/849) Muṣannaf. By comparing Khalīfa’s Tārīkh with these works, the thesis draws attention to this type of historical writing among some early ḥadīth scholars, which has so far been neglected in modern studies on early Islamic historiography.

The objective of this thesis is to analyse the British Mandate in Palestine with a view to developing a new understanding of the interconnections and dissonances between the principal agencies. Through a critical examination of British government papers the thesis argues that the moment of the British Mandate in Palestine signalled a new phase in the development of British imperialism constituting a rupture with the colonialist past and the advent of a new type of imperialist relationship. The encounter between this new-imperialism which developed from the end of the nineteenth century and a Palestinian society which was in the process of transformation between a predominantly pre-capitalist agricultural society into a commodity producing capitalist one engendered a conflictual environment dislocating the economic, social and political structures that existed. The Balfour Declaration constituted an agreement between British imperialism and organised Zionism which was the establishment of a symbiotic relationship emerging from the coalescence of two interdependent political goals. The British, intent on preserving their position as an imperial hegemon perceived the occupation of Palestine as a critical component of their strategy and a vital adjunct of their objective of remaining the dominant force in the region of the Near East. The combined aspects of this strategy cannot be reduced to but may be expressed as: a desire to retain untrammelled communications through the Suez Canal with the Empire at large; a pre-occupation with seeking to establish a dominant position in respect of the exploitation and marketisation of oil and the implantation of a colonising surrogate to act as the agency through which its objectives might be mediated. The Zionist objective, to create a National Home for the Jews, constituted a nationalist endeavour premised on the acquisition of an imperialist sponsor. The British course of action through the implementation of the Mandate constituted an intervention which distorted and gravely damaged the evolution of the economic, social and political life of the indigenous Palestinians. The thesis in analysing these events in a new way argues for a fresh appreciation of the origin and character of the British Mandate in Palestine.

Despite ruling over arguably the most powerful Christian nation in the period, in a time when European and middle-eastern history entered a new phase of interaction due to the Crusades, John's reign has received little scholarly attention. The only major monograph is Chalandon's Les Comnènes from 1912, since which a number of new sources have come to light, together with numerous studies on his contemporaries. Despite the impression that sources are lacking for his reign, in fact there are over 50,000 words of court letters and poetry that allow us to take the political pulse of the Komnenian court. When incorporated with the extra information found in Syriac, Arabic, Russian, Hungarian and many other texts, archaeological remains, sigillographic and numismatic evidence, John's reign is in fact very well covered, and ripe for analysis. Between fieldwork in Turkey, Serbia and Kosovo and translations of these previously unused texts, this thesis contains new material on top of over a century of updated methodologies and research since Chalandon. As such, this thesis will reevaluate assumptions concerning John and his reign, including rewriting the narrative itself, which has previously been distorted due to the agendas of the few sources used. Through the reconstruction of this narrative John's empire can be reexamined, and how it operated in the changed world of the twelfth century determined. The empire found itself in a more multi-polar power dynamic, and tackled this by operating more as an empire than it had as a larger polity as in the previous century: incorporating other peoples as clients and emphasing the rhetoric of imperial piety and legitimacy of the Roman empire. Equally, all of John's actions on the frontiers were fuel for the political theatre that was Constantinople, and this dynamic shaped his actions and resulted in the empire that Manuel inherited.

The relationship between the earliest Latin texts on the subject of the First Crusade and the genre of French vernacular epic poetry known as the chansons de geste has been frequently asserted in previous scholarship, but without sustained or meaningful analysis of the nature of any resemblance. These posited relationships have been claimed without detailed consideration of the genres as a whole. Instead, individual works have been viewed in comparative isolation. This thesis, which constitutes an original assessment of this historiographical position by relating it to the real natures of the two genres under discussion, seeks to redress these inadequacies in the scholarly study of the crusade texts, and position both genres within the literary culture of the late-eleventh and early-twelfth centuries. Seventeen key Latin texts and several shorter works written or composed in the period under investigation are the subject of analysis alongside a wide range of chansons de geste. The conclusion is reached that the postulated relationship is, in most but not all of the ways previously considered, a meaningful one, and that texts across the Latin crusading genre are profoundly influenced by the vernacular epic. It is further shown that the resemblance is greater at certain narrative points, denser in epic phrasings and references across the corpus, than others: in particular Dorylaeum, Antioch, and Ascalon. In part, this provides rare additional evidence for the debate about the genesis and development of the Latin genre, which has long been hypothesized to be linked to vernacular retellings, either oral or written. Furthermore, the systematic analysis of this relationship elucidates the poorly understood processes of textual memorialization of the First Crusade, and suggests that the participants of the expedition, or the redactors of the texts, were semiotically prepared to experience the crusade in accordance with existing epic models.

This study examines the development of artillery used in and around the Latin East during the period of the crusades. It begins with an examination of the broader historiography of medieval artillery, an overview of the spread of swing-beam siege engines (trebuchets) across Europe and the Levant in the Early Middle Ages, and the mechanical physics that govern such machines. From these foundations, the development and significance of the engines are investigated. Incorporating as much textual and archaeological evidence as possible, the use of artillery by Frankish and Muslim forces is examined on a case-by-case basis. With an appreciation of the power of these machines, the influence of artillery on the design of twelfth- and thirteenth-century-fortifications is analysed. Both Frankish and Muslim forces were familiar with the traction trebuchet by the end of the eleventh century. While these engines remained relatively light throughout the period of the crusades, the counterweight trebuchet appears to have been introduced by the end of the twelfth century. Initially rather primitive and little stronger than the traction variety, these engines developed fairly quickly. The appearance of new vocabulary for identifying these engines in the early thirteenth century indicates their increasing strength and physical evidence from the middle of the century confirms that they had become much more powerful by the start of the Mamluk period. Although counterweight trebuchets appear to have grown steadily throughout the thirteenth century, these had a relatively limited impact on the design of most fortifications. Trebuchets, large and small, were an important part of Frankish and Muslim siege arsenals in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but even the largest were not effective breaching engines by the time the Franks were pushed out of the Holy Land.

This thesis is an interdisciplinary study of the material culture of Frankish daily life within the mainland Crusader states in the 12th and 13th centuries. It explores the role of material culture in aspects of Frankish identity, including items of personal adornment and dress accessories. These portable objects are discussed, along with ceramics and glass, in the context of material from Western Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. In addition to the archaeological material, information from the written sources and the art produced in the Crusader states is examined. The role of Frankish identity in Crusader society is also discussed. This thesis is an attempt to begin integrating the material culture of daily life into broader discussions of Frankish identity. The key findings of the research can be summarised as follows: whilst creating and reproducing a distinctive group identity in relation to the cultures they encountered in the Levant, the archaeological evidence also demonstrates that Frankish identity articulated the shared experience of living in the Crusader kingdoms. As more material becomes available from excavations the conclusions from this thesis can be developed and expanded, adding further to our understanding of Frankish identity.

The county of Tripoli (Lebanon) was one of four “crusader states” established in the Levant after the First Crusade (1095-99). Compared to the other states, the county of Tripoli has suffered from a disproportionate level of historiographical neglect. What has been produced has taken an institutional and Eurocentric approach to the subject and its sources. The present thesis jettisons this in favour of a post-institutional methodology, approaching the county from the perspectives of geography and demographics, which together ensure that it is treated within its proper Syro-Lebanese context. Chapter one looks at the role of local geography in shaping the political frontiers of the county of Tripoli and its neighbours, arguing that topography was more important than the agency of the European settlers. Chapter two continues to challenge traditional assumptions regarding European influence, arguing that the specifically southern French origins of many of the county’s settlers were of little significance. Chapter three analyses the use of Arabic by the Frankish government of the county, informed by an awareness of diglossia. It argues that the Franks were more likely to know spoken Arabic than written, but remained reliant upon local intermediaries when ruling over Arabophones. Chapter four looks at popular religion, arguing that the cross-fertilisation of religious beliefs and practices was widespread but poorly understood by the contemporary intelligentsia, upon whose sources historians rely. As a whole, the thesis argues that the county’s inhabitants lacked a distinctive culture, identity, religion or language. The sole justification for viewing the county as an integrated unit is geographical.

Before the 16th century, Ottoman claims to legitimacy went through several such stages as associating with dervises called abdals, being Warriors of the Faith, being the legal heirs to the Selcuks, being descendants of Kayi, the story of Edebali's dream foretelling the future ascendancy of the dynasty. In the 16th century, however, there was a marked shift towards finding a justification for Ottoman rule in canonical Islamic sources, as a result of, not only the intellectual dominance of the ulema', but also political developments. The propaganda of the "heterodox" Safawids after c. 1502 required an "orthodox" counter propaganda; and the conquest of the Mamluks and the acquisition of Mecca and Medina in 1511-17, led the Ottomans to claim supremecy among Islamic rulers. The new legitimacy argument was that the Ottomans were leaders and defenders of the ahl al-sunna. The Ottoman ulema' supported and formulated this claim. They issued fetvas against the Safawids, rawing their arguments from sharti texts, and declaring the Safawids to be enemies within Islam. In these fetvas, a clear definition of heresy -and of heretical enemy- was not fully developed. Alongside external enemies, the Ottomans also perceived the existence of internal enemies to their rule from the beginning of the 16th century, encouraged particularly by the dynasty's need to present itself as defenders of orthodoxy against the Safawids. The Melametiyye are an example of a group opposed to Ottoman rule. Individuals such as Molla Kabiz and Karamanli seyh were certainly perceived by the Ottoman authorities as threats to their own legitimacy. The Ottoman authorities, however, faced difficulties in dealing with "heretics" since they had not yet formulated an adequate definition of what "heresy" was. Kemal Paqazade's judicial definition of the term zindik through his risäla on zandaka was a major step in creating the legal instruments to oppose heresy. He clearly adopted the concept from fukahä' of the 11th-12th centuries who had used it against the Ismä ills and Bä inis of their own day. The risäla also had a role in claims to legitimacy as representative and protectors of sunni Islam. Together with the risäla on zandaka, Kemal Pagazade, as a result of Molla Kabiz case, produced another risäla on sabb al-Nab! which also serves to define heretical enemy of the Ottoman dynasty. In his fatwä against al- Rawäfi , he deals with the offence of cursing the Companions and indicates that the offence merited execution. The inspiration for this view was clearly the Ottoman's need to justify action against Kizilbas.

This thesis employs newly declassified material in order to examine relations between the British government, King Abdullah and the Jewish Agency between 1921-1951. It starts by placing this relationship within the context of British Imperial strategy in the Middle East. It describes this relationship during the period when the British became the hegemonic power in the Middle East after World War I, and then the period of decolonisation after 1945. The underlying premise of this thesis is that the British were motivated by a combination of diplomatic and strategic considerations in Palestine and Transjordan. This study employs the conceptual framework of imperial historians. It shows that the British relied on a combination of 'formal' and 'informal' techniques in Transjordan. This study advances the historical debate by exemplifying the limited effect of these methods on a ruler who was determined to pursue his own interests and not those of the British. This thesis provides a positive reassessment of Abdullah's relations with the British. It takes advantage of untapped sources in order to challenge the argument that the British 'colluded' with Abdullah to occupy the West Bank in 1948 This thesis focuses on relations between Abdullah and the Jewish Agency. It is based on the assumption that this relationship was only one aspect of Abdullah's unrealised dynastic plan that sought to create a Hashemite monarchy over 'Greater Syria'. In this context Abdullah envisaged a rump Jewish entity with a certain degree of autonomy, but not sovereignty, within this Kingdom. Although Abdullah's ideas varied over the years, he consistently stuck to this idea. This study argues that the likelihood of a long-term political agreement between the two sides was quite unlikely because it was contrary to the Zionist objective of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine. As far as the Jewish Agency is concerned, it is hard to define a coherent policy on relations with the neighbouring Arab states, and Transjordan in particular, using the extant documentation. This thesis argues that there was no collusion between Abdullah and the Jewish Agency to carve up Palestine at the expense of the Palestinians. Hence it is possible to conclude that this relationship was not nearly as significant as is often assumed. Ultimately, the two most important periods in this study are between 1936-1939 and 1945-1951. In order to understand these complex events it is crucial to take into consideration wider issues, especially the amorphous process of decolonisation. It is possible to argue that the British withdrawal from Palestine was a result of a combination of circumstances. Even after the British departure from Palestine in 1948, they still retained a diminished but important role in relations between Abdullah and the Israelis until the murder of Abdullah in July 1951. This was manifested in the contentious supply of arms to Transjordan, and the application of the 1948 Anglo-Transjordan Treaty. This thesis contends that the Treaty deterred the Israelis from invading the West Bank in 1948, and contributed to the acrimonious nature of Anglo-Israeli relations in the years immediately after 1948.

This thesis takes the powerful explanatory tools of discourse analysis and applies them to the history of Britain's attempts at state-formation in Iraq. In order to do this, theories of discourse within social science are critically reviewed, assessing their power to explain the agency of those who oversaw the building of the state. The thesis then examines British policy towards Iraq under the League of Nations Mandate. Faced with imperial over-reach British foreign policy had little choice but to agree to United States' plans to re-order international relations by using the selfdetermining state as a universal unit. Under League of Nations supervision, colonial civil servants were involved in a serious attempt to build a self-sustaining modern state in Iraq. British conceptions of Iraqi society were crucial to how that state was built and how it interacted with society. The central focus of the thesis is an investigation into how British civil servants understood Iraq. At the heart of this understanding was an ideational dichotomy focused on the causal weight to be given to individual agency or to societal organisation; could and should the state form direct links with individuals or should it rule through tribal organisations and their shaikhs? The thesis maps the parameters of British conceptions; the rural-urban divide and how tribal structures and the role of the shaikh were understood. It then examines how dominant social conceptions shaped the nature of state institutions. Tribal life, for the British, was organised around the benign but powerful presence of the shaikh. democratically responsible to his tribespeople, bound to them by custom and interest. It is this vision of the Iraqi countryside that came to dominate British policy. The thesis concludes by suggesting that the social ontology that drove policy in Iraq sprang from a much wider divide in the discourses of modernity themselves.

This thesis is an attempt to find some concerte scientific historical explanation and interpretation of the many questions which have arisen concerning the reasons behind the inaccuracies and contradictions in the early Islamic narratives and sources with regard to the first Islamic conquest of Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem). The study attempts to establish new evedence and to develop new evidence for anacademic debate concerning the early Islamic history of Aelia. It examines the historical evidence of the first Islamic conquest of Aelia by critically analysing the early historical narratives and sources as well as examining the historical background of some important narrators who related these accounts. It also critically examines the topography and geographical boundaries of the Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem) region in order to define its true historical boundaries. Thesegeographical boundaries later become most useful in finding plausible explanations for the reasons behind the inaccuracies in the early Islamic sources regarding many issues relating to the first Islamic conquest. In order to provide more support for an accurate picture of the first Islamic conquest of Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem) the study further analyses the history of Aelia beginning from the start of the first Islamic conquests in Syria in 13 A.H/ 634 A.D until the arrival of Umar Ibn al-Khattab in the region in 16 A.H/ 637 A.D. This is done in two ways. First, it examines early narratives in order to accurately define the period of time that the Muslim army spent besieging the walled part of Aelia. Secondly, it endeavours to explain and clarify the reasons behind the uncertainty and inconsistency in the identity of the military leader who carried out the siege operation. This has been clear done by critically analysing the relevant narrations and defining the accurate identity of the military leaders who lead the conquest of Aelia and dates of the conquest. Further support of the view taken in the basis are provided by discussing the true reason behind ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab first historic visit to Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem), analysing the early narrations and sources, linking the reasons mentioned therein with the surrounding contemporary circumstances and explaining the reasons for the inaccuracies of the Islamic sources and accounts. It further highlights the reasons behind the different visits of ‘Umar’s to Syria and his activities in each visit, and also examined the attitude of Aelia people towards the first Islamic conquest in the light of ‘Umar’s Assurance of Safety (aman) to its people. Lastly, the study examines the early Muslims organisation and administration of Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem) as well as the clear Islamic interest in the region.

This Ph.D. thesis is a political, social and economic study of the Christians of the Jazira during the period 17-132 A.H./638-750 A.D. More specifically doctrinal aspects are not dealt with here, since they have already received considerable attention from many scholars and researchers. This subject was chosen mainly because the history of the Christians of the Jazira in the early Islamic period has suffered from a lack of academic interest; this is in contrast to the history of the Jazira before the rise of Islam which has been well researched and investigated.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the diplomacy of the middle first millennium B.C. Near East, a subject which has received less scholarly attention than the diplomacy of earlier periods of near eastern history. It falls into two parts : Part I is concerned with the diplomacy of the Assyrian Kings from c750 - 630 B.C. and, to a lesser extent, of the neo-Babylonian dynasty c 620 - 540 B.C. Cuneiform documents, in particular the royal inscriptions and administrative archives of neo-Assyria furnish most of the evidence for this part. Part II investigates the diplomacy of the Persian Kings with the Greeks c550 - c540 B.C. and is based on almost exclusively classical sources. The aim is to isolate and analyse significant aspects of diplomatic theory and practice in Assyria and then to study Persian diplomacy in the light of these findings. By this method it is possible to establish whether there were elements of continuity in diplomacy from the Assyrian to the Persian period and whether a more reliable view of Persian diplomacy, which has up to now been studied in the context of Greek rather than near eastern diplomacy, can be achieved. Part I, by analysis of selected events in their historical context and by discussion of important diplomatic terminology, establishes for the first time some important aspects of Assyrian diplomacy including : i) the emphasis on the subordination of foreign rulers to Assyria and the concomitant reluctance to concede parity- status, ii) the conflict between this political ideology and the exigencies of diplomacy, iii) the distinction between 'friendly' and 'hostile' states with no Intermediate 'neutral' category. In Part II Persian diplomacy is shown to reflect several features of Assyrian diplomacy, particularly the conflict between ideology and the requirements of practical diplomacy with the Greeks whose political ideas were markedly different.

After an introductory chapter, in which the studies of previous scholars are examined, warfare in the Latin East in the period is placed in its historical context. It involved not only crusades: there were long periods of truce when warfare was restricted to raiding expeditions, while many conflicts took place between Christians themselves. The Latin armies are then considered. There were many elements in them - the feudal levy, the Military Orders, mercenaries and other paid troops, confraternities and crusaders - but the armies proved consistently inadequate to deal with the Muslim threat to the Latin East, The Christians, therefore, were dependent on castles and fortified towns for their survival, and it was essential that these should be adequately built, maintained and garrisoned. The Military Orders took increasing responsibility for them during the thirteenth century. Strongpoints had a number of functions, both defensive and aggressive, but lack of manpower meant that their role was often restricted. In the thesis there follows a consideration of the forms armed conflict took. Battles were not a prime factor in the decline of the Latin East, because the Franks were rarely able to raise an army to fight in the open with the Muslims. Battles therefore tended to take place during crusade expeditions, when adequate numbers were available. On some occasions - the First Crusade of Louis IX, and Theobald of Champagne's Crusade, for example - a lost battle seriously impaired a campaign. Battles should be distinguished from raids. The Muslims used raiding expeditions as an integrated part of their efforts to remove the Franks from the east. But the raid was used as an end in itself by the Franks and towards the end of this period it had become their principal means of carrying war to their enemies. Finally, there is a study of sieges. The capture of strongpoints by the Muslims, particularly in the second-half of the thirteenth century, progressively loosened the Franks' grip on the area. Sieges undertaken by the Franks often became matters of attrition, whereas when they were defending themselves, a Muslim assault often proved decisive in a short space of time. The Franks' lack of manpower was again significant.

This study is concerned with the biography of Atabeg Zangi and the conditions prevailing during his reign; it contains a survey of relevant sources and notes on modern works which render information reflecting the subject. It is in six chapters together with an appendix concerning his titles. The first of the chapters endeavours to portray the background to his life by a biographical survey of his childhood, training and youthful development, the changing circumstances of which finally produced the great and even ruthless Atabeg who ruled Mosul. In the second chapter his service to the Seliuqs in the East and West are discussed. The struggles for power between the Maliks and Zangi's involvement with them is its theme, together with the role played by the 'Abbasid Caliphate. Chapter three deals with Zangi's conflicts with the Latin States in the East. His wars against the Crusaders are discussed here as also are their dealings with the Atabegs of Damascus, followed by Zangi's endeavours to rule that city. An expedition led by the Byzantine Emperor, John II Comnenus, is described in chapter four. In this, his project for the capture of the Muslim towns In Syria is the chief topic as is also Zangi's reaction against the Byzantines. In chapter five, the Turcomans and Zangi's operations against them in Shahrazur, the Artuqids in Hisn Kayfa and Mardin and the Kurds in the north of Mosul are the main theme. The final and sixth chapter which deals with the revolt of Malik Farrukh-Shah, for whom Zangi acted as Atabeg, and the siege of Qal'at Ja'bar, ends with the murder of Zangi during this, his last operation.

After a critical examination of the available sources and a chronological survey of the period, the thesis sets out to analyse the institutions of the Saljuqid State, so far as they can be identified. Among them are the royal family and Court including relations of princes and activities of wives, constitution of the armed forces, relations with amirs and Turkmen and Arab tribes, civil administration, relations with the caliphate, religious opposition, and economic factors. The bearing of each upon the fortunes of the dynasty and the conditions in the Middle East is examined as fully as possible. Finally, the political history of the period is surveyed in the light of the factors analysed above. The thesis thus aims at presenting for the first time a critical history of a period hitherto known only in general outline, and at isolating the features which marked the political life of the Eastern Islamic world during this period.

After an introductory chapter on the territorial structure of the Great Seljuq Empire, the thesis aims at describing various Seljuq institutions, and the conditions under which they developed. The functions of the central government, the military organisation and the position of the Turkish aimirs to the state are discussed. An outline is given of provincial government and local administration, and some aspects of urban life are briefly examined. The last chapter deals with the attitude of the Great Seljuqs towards the caliphate. In giving a general outline of some of the most important features of the Great Seljuq period, an attempt has been made to present a more detailed account of these institutions than has been hitherto available.

This thesis is a political study of the Umayyad Caliphate during the reign of 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, 65-86/684-705. The first chapter deals with the political, social and religious background of 'Abd al-Malik, and relates this to his later policy on becoming caliph. Chapter II is devoted to the 'Alid opposition of the period, i.e. the revolt of al-Mukhtar ibn Abi 'Ubaid al-Thaqafi, and its nature, causes and consequences. The 'Asabiyya (tribal feuds), a dominant phenomenon of the Umayyad period, is examined in the third chapter. An attempt is made to throw light on its causes, and on the policies adopted by 'Abd al-Malik to contain it. The fourth chapter is concerned with the civil war between 'Abd al-Malik and Ibn al-Zubair. The underlying factors leading the people of al-Hijaz to support Ibn al-Zubair are examined, to elucidate the nature of the Zubairid opposition movement in general. Chapter V deals with the revolts of Ibn al-Jarud, and of the Zanj; the insurrection of the Azd in 'Uman; and the far more dangerous revolt of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Ash'ath. These revolts are compared to see if they spring from similar discontents, and whether they are in response to the policies of al-Hajjaj. Chapter VI treats the Kharijite movement, which reached its height of activity in this period, in its political aspect, as a source of opposition to 'Abd al-Malik's caliphate. The minor, scattered revolts are described as well as the better-known major Kharijite revolts. This chapter also examines the link between the revolt of Mutarrif ibn al-Mughira, and the movement of Shabii ibn Yazid and the Kharijites in general.

This thesis is an attempt to find some concerte scientific historical explanation and interpretation of the many questions which have arisen concerning the reasons behind the inaccuracies and contradictions in the early Islamic narratives and sources with regard to the first Islamic conquest of Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem). The study attempts to establish new evedence and to develop new evidence for anacademic debate concerning the early Islamic history of Aelia. It examines the historical evidence of the first Islamic conquest of Aelia by critically analysing the early historical narratives and sources as well as examining the historical background of some important narrators who related these accounts. It also critically examines the topography and geographical boundaries of the Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem) region in order to define its true historical boundaries. Thesegeographical boundaries later become most useful in finding plausible explanations for the reasons behind the inaccuracies in the early Islamic sources regarding many issues relating to the first Islamic conquest. In order to provide more support for an accurate picture of the first Islamic conquest of Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem) the study further analyses the history of Aelia beginning from the start of the first Islamic conquests in Syria in 13 A.H/ 634 A.D until the arrival of Umar Ibn al-Khattab in the region in 16 A.H/ 637 A.D. This is done in two ways. First, it examines early narratives in order to accurately define the period of time that the Muslim army spent besieging the walled part of Aelia. Secondly, it endeavours to explain and clarify the reasons behind the uncertainty and inconsistency in the identity of the military leader who carried out the siege operation. This has been clear done by critically analysing the relevant narrations and defining the accurate identity of the military leaders who lead the conquest of Aelia and dates of the conquest. Further support of the view taken in the basis are provided by discussing the true reason behind ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab first historic visit to Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem), analysing the early narrations and sources, linking the reasons mentioned therein with the surrounding contemporary circumstances and explaining the reasons for the inaccuracies of the Islamic sources and accounts. It further highlights the reasons behind the different visits of ‘Umar’s to Syria and his activities in each visit, and also examined the attitude of Aelia people towards the first Islamic conquest in the light of ‘Umar’s Assurance of Safety (aman) to its people. Lastly, the study examines the early Muslims organisation and administration of Aelia (Islamic Jerusalem) as well as the clear Islamic interest in the region.