A Portrayal of an Ottoman City and Its Inhabitants: Administration, Society, and Economy in Ottoman Antakya (Antioch), 1750-1840

This dissertation examines the main features of the social and economic life of the district of Antakya between 1750 and 1840 to essentially understand the characteristics of the daily life of society, administration, political developments, and economic activities in this particular city. While elucidating the city administration, demography, neighborhood life, trade, marketplace, guilds, religious minorities, women, children, and the politics of notables in the district of Antakya between 1750 and 1840; my observations revealed the main aspects of social, economic, and politic life of the city of Antakya- one of the most important religious, political, and commercial centers in the classical world under the Ottoman Empire. Even though this study conveys some of the complexities and patterns of local society, the conceptional framework and methodology it proposes, the sources it uses, and the questions it addresses are relevant to the history of other communities in the Levant and Southeast Anatolia as well as other mid-sized towns in the Ottoman Empire, which shared much in common with Antakya