The guilds of Ottoman Jerusalem /
by Amnon Cohen.
- Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2001.
- vi, 305 pages ; 24 cm.
- The Ottoman Empire and its heritage, v. 21 1380-6076 ; .
- Ottoman Empire and its heritage ; v. 21. .
Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-299) and index.
The Guilds -- Food and drink -- Butchers -- Slaughterers -- Bread supply -- Extractors of sesame oil -- Sweetmeat producers -- Coffee sellers -- Municipal services -- Water carriers -- Bathhouse janitors -- Scavengers -- Washers of the dead -- Undertakers and diggers -- Tourist guides -- Beauticians -- Physicians -- Veterinarians -- Leather goods -- Tanners -- Shoemakers -- Cobblers -- Makers of waterskins -- Metal works -- Gold and silversmiths -- Blacksmiths -- Sword makers and knifesmiths -- Coppersmiths and tin-platers -- Textile production -- Cotton merchants -- Weavers -- Dyers -- Tinters and bleachers -- Cloth printers -- Cloak weavers -- Tailors -- Silk merchants -- Goat-hair weavers -- House and household -- Carpenters -- Potters -- Builders -- Trade -- Grocers -- Greengrocers -- Spice dealers -- Soap merchants -- Soap porters -- Muleteers -- Bookbinders and booksellers -- Public criers and brokers -- Conclusion--Guilds as Harbingers of Civil Society.
"This is a book about the economic and social realities of a world that existed in the Middle East up to our days, seen through the kaleidoscope of one important town - Jerusalem. The reconstruction of all the guilds that functioned during the Ottoman period draws on the untapped archives of the local court of Muslim Jerusalem (XVIth-XVIIIth centuries) - but it includes a plethora of information on the Christians and Jews of that town who actively participated in its economic life." "About 50 different guilds are described: goldsmiths and blacksmiths, tourist guides and undertakers, tailors and carpenters, soap makers and cotton weavers, beauticians and bookbinders. The modus operandi of each guild, and of the system as a whole, are analysed and presented for the first time as precursers of civil society. The book holds also 19 original documents - facsimiles plus translations - illustrating the activity of several central guilds." "Readership: academic institutions teaching Middle East history, social and economic historians, Palestinian institutions and everyone interested in Palestinian histories, Jewish institutions and historians, all universities and public libraries in Turkey and Israel."--Jacket.