Mosul and Mosilu historians of the Jalīlī era (1726-1834)

This work of regional history deals with the Ottoman town of Mosul in northern Iraq at a time when it was ruled by a local dynasty of walis, the Jalīlīs. The work falls into eight chapters covering: the urban geography of Mosul and the pattern of urban growth under the Jalīlīs (suqs, religious buildings, etc.); urban society (communities, officialdom, armed forces); the nature of the Mosuli economy and the role of the town in an intricate network of trade routes linking Persia to the Mediterranean and Asia Minor to the Gulf; political life in Iraq as it developed along the major arteries of communication encircling Mosul (influence of the walis of Bagdad, power of the Arab, Kurdish and Yazīdī tribes); the urban politics of notables (rise of the Jalīlīs, the "localisation" of political combinations, etc.); cultural life in Mosul (fundamental orientations as determined by the geopolitical situation of the area, the centres of cultural life in Mosul, the main fields of cultural production); a presentation of the Mosuli historians and historical production; and finally, an investigation into Mosuli perceptions of the history of the Ottoman Empire, the political entity of which Jalīlī Mosul was - - and felt itself to be - - an integral part.