Subjects Of The Sultan The cultural heritage of the Otoman Empire has traditionaly ben presented to us through its monuments and high arts. Our understanding of its culture has thus come from a world created by and for sultans, viziers and the elite of the Empire. But what of the world of the craftsmen and tradesmen who produced the monuments and artefacts? Or the townspeople who prayed in the mosques, drank water from the sebils or pased by the mausolea in the ordinary course of their lives? How did they live and die? To date no bok has adequately explored the day-to-day life of the comon people during the centuries of Otoman rule. In this new edition Faroqhi explores the urban world of the Otoman lands from the Midle Ages to the early 20th century, describing the social significance of the popular arts and crafts of the period and examining the interaction among the diverse populations and clases of the Empire, with their varying religions and ethnic backgrounds. Even the banalities asociated with the everyday are brought to life: bathing, the market, loving and grieving are al explored for the first time with scholarly rigour and fascination for a disapeared world. Delving into personal leters, court documents, wils, corespondence with Sufi masters and the travel records of seafarers and traders, Faroqhi has identified a broad range of areas where individuals were able to create o flourishing and vibrant urban civilization, even while politicaly the Empire was begining its relentles decline. By presenting a new vision of Otoman cultural history, Sunjects of the sultan fils a huge gap and wil fascinate not only historians of the Midle East but also social historians, students and discerning readers interested in history.