Trade, coin & craft
Economy
Caravan routes and the spice trade, guild workshops and grand bazaars, the coinage and land system that financed a continental state.
The Ottoman Economy: Trade, Agriculture, and Craft ProductionOverview
A comprehensive overview of the Ottoman economy from the timar system and urban crafts to long-distance trade, monetary policy, and 19th-century integration into the world market.
Ottoman Crafts, Guilds, and Manufacturing
The esnaf guilds, the imperial workshops of Ehl-i Hiref, and the great manufacturing centers of Bursa, Edirne, Damascus, İznik, and Kütahya.
Ottoman Trade Routes and the Silk Road
A guide to the caravan and maritime trade routes of the Ottoman Empire, from the revived silk road and the Hajj to the Black Sea and the Levant.
Ottoman Carpet Weaving
The history of Ottoman carpet production in Uşak, Ghiordes, Kula, and Hereke, the court carpets of the palace, and the European market for Turkey carpets.
Ottoman Coinage and Currency
The akçe, the para, the kuruş, and the sultani: silver and gold coinage in the Ottoman Empire, the history of debasement, and 19th-century monetary reform.
Ottoman Silk Textiles: The Silk Industry of Bursa and the Aegean
Bursa as the silk-weaving capital of the Ottoman Empire, raw silk from Persia, the route to Istanbul and the Aegean, and the great brocades and kaftans of the court.
The Capitulations and Their Consequences
The early commercial treaties (imtiyazat) granted by the Ottoman sultans to Venice, France, England, Holland, and Russia, and their long-term economic effects.
The Ottoman Coffee Trade
The arrival of coffee from Yemen in the sixteenth century, the trade route through the Red Sea, taxation, the rise of the coffeehouse, and 17th-century banning attempts.
The Spice Trade Under the Ottomans
The Ottoman role in the Indian Ocean spice trade after Selim I conquered Mamluk Egypt in 1517, and the empire's control of the Red Sea routes.
The Timar System: The Prebendal Cavalry of the Ottoman Empire
The prebendal timar and zeamet system that tied Ottoman cavalry service to land grants, and the long-term consequences for the empire.