The Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire explores the serious and far-reaching impacts of Little Ice Age climate fluctuations in Ottoman lands. This study demonstrates how imperial systems of provisioning and settlement that defined Ottoman power in the 1500s came unraveled in the face of ecological pressures and extreme cold and drought, leading to the outbreak of the destructive Celali Rebellion (1595-1610). This rebellion marked a turning point in Ottoman fortunes, as a combination of ongoing Little Ice Age climate events, nomad incursions and rural disorder postponed Ottoman recovery over the following century, with enduring impacts on the region's population, land use and economy.
Introduction
Part I. An Imperial Ecology
1. Regions, resources, and settlement
2. Growth and its limits
3. Disasters of the later sixteenth century
4. Land at the margins: Karaman and Larende
Part II. The Little Ice Age Crisis
5. The Little Ice Age in the Near East
6. The great drought
7. The Celali Rebellion
8. In the wake of the Celalis: climate and crisis in the seventeenth century
Part III. Ecological Transformation
9. Desert and sown
10. City and country
11. Provisioning and commerce
Conclusion
Sam White is an Assistant Professor of History at Oberlin College, where he teaches courses on global and environmental history. He has received grants and fellowships from Columbia University, the American Research Institute in Turkey and the Delmas Foundation. His articles have appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies and Environmental History, among other publications.