Table of Contents

List of Maps, Plates, and Tables
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Note on Translation and Transliteration
INTRODUCTION: PALESTINE AND THE OTTOMAN INTERIOR 
Toward a History of Provincial Life in the Ottoman Interior 
Rethinking Ottoman Palestine 
Sources 
Approach and Methodology 
1. THE MEANINGS OF AUTONOMY
Jabal Nablus as a Social Space 
Boundaries in Time and Space 
Conclusion 
2. FAMILY, CULTURE, AND TRADE
Textile Merchants 
The Arafat Family 
Regional Trade Networks 
Local Trade Networks 
Conclusion 
J· COTTON, TEXTILES, AND THE POLITICS OF TRADE
Cotton and the Politics of Monopoly 
The Politics of Free Trade 
Textiles: Resilience and Restructuring 
Conclusion 
4· THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF OLIVE OIL
From the Hands of the Peasants 
A Forced Marriage? 
Redefining Identity and Political Authority 
Conclusion 
5. SOAP, CLASS, AND STATE
Soap and the Economy 
Soap and Society 
Soap and the State 
Conclusion 
CONCLUSION 
The Labyrinthine Journey 
The Discourses of Modernity 
Appendix 1. Weights and Measures 
Appendix 2. Court Records, Judges, and Private
Family Papers 
Appendix 3· Soap Factories and the Process of Production 
Glossary 
Notes 
Select Bibliography 
Index 

About the Author

Beshara Doumani is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.