Istanbul: A City of Migrants, 1453-1800

• Applicant: Denise Klein, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Early Modern History ; Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies ; Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542578600

Migration made Istanbul an imperial capital and one of the most diverse cities in the early modern world. Migrants of different origins repopulated and rebuilt the deserted city after the Ottoman conquest of 1453, forming a significant part of the population ever since. At the same time, they held key positions in the capital’s imperial institutions and dominated important sectors of urban life. However, Istanbul’s history of migration is yet to be written. The proposed book offers the first global treatment of Istanbul as a city of migrants, providing a fresh view on migration in the Ottoman realm at large. It examines, for the first time, migration to Istanbul over the longue durée and considers the many different people who came to the city: men, women, and children; Muslims, Christians, and Jews; members of the imperial elite, merchants, artisans, labor migrants, refugees, and slaves. This approach stresses Istanbul’s diachronic role as a destination of migration while identifying continuities and ruptures in migration patterns and in the role of migrants in the city. Cutting through religious, ethnic, and social lines, it also shows the similarities, differences, and connections between different migrant groups. Unlike earlier scholarship, the book focuses on people rather than politics, exploring the ideas and experiences of both migrants and established Istanbulites. While highlighting the idiosyncrasies of migrant lives, it also shows that they often resorted to the same strategies in order to integrate into the city’s communities. They also found similar ways to express their experience of being removed from their place of origin and being obliged to build a new life. Moreover, the book examines the troubles and prejudices migrants faced as well as the solidarity and support they received. In short, it shows how individuals and Ottoman society dealt with migration and belonging. On a conceptual level, my book underlines the relevance of mobility in discussing difference and multi-culturalism in the Ottoman Empire, challenging the analysis of these matters primarily in terms of religious belonging. It also questions the usefulness of concepts such as tolerance, oppression, or xenophobia suggesting that the notion of ‘throwntogetherness’ (Massey 2005) is better suited to show that coexistence was conditioned not only by people’s belonging to a group but also by the need to negotiate their position in their daily interactions. The book develops in five chapters that study: 1. (‘Becoming a Migrant’) the different groups and individuals who came to the city and the circumstances of their migration; 2. (‘Settling Down’) their housing and employment in Istanbul; 3. (‘Living Together’) the daily grind of living in a city of migrants; 4. (‘Difference and Belonging’) people’s experiences of the city and of each other; and 5. (‘Home and Homecoming’) migrants’ adaption to a new life, connections to their place of origin, and sense of home.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants