“Typologies of Urban Violence in Ottoman Aleppo, Cairo, and Tunis (1798-1864)” by Professor Nora Lafi

14 Oct 2014 - 16:00 / 14 Oct 2014 - 18:00

NMC Conference Room, Bancroft Building 200B
4 Bancroft Ave.
Toronto

Typologies of Urban Violence in Ottoman Aleppo, Cairo, and Tunis (1798-1864) 

Nora Lafi
Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin, Free University, Berlin

Based on archives in Aleppo, Tunis, and Cairo as well as the central Ottoman archives and French and British consular material, this presentation analyzes violence in Arab cities of the Ottoman Empire from the point of view of historical anthropology. It discusses revolts in Aleppo, Tunis, and Cairo that happened in different contexts and times, and uses these exploratory case studies to suggest elements of a typology. This paper looks for the roots of violent outbreaks in Arab cities as arising from ruptures in previous governance balances as well as in socially constructed features of urban coexistence. There was no natural inclination for violence, and likewise no natural disposition for coexistence. Both are to be understood as various facets of the Ottoman governance system of diversity, with its achievements and its limits.