Bøger af Nelly Hanna

In fine detail, Hanna explores economic influences on culture during periods of plenty and poverty during the first three centuries of Ottoman rule. She unveils a fully-fledged Cairene middle-class culture that bridges the gap between the salons (majalis) of the elite and the common people.

Deftly synthesizing a wide range of economic and historical theory, Hanna reinvigorates the current scholarship on early Ottoman history and provides a persuasive challenge to the largely shallow perception of artisans' role in Egypt's economy.

Nelly Hanna's work challenges the standard perceptions about Middle East society and economy of the seventeenth century. Both novel in its approach and information, this book's central theme revolvesaround the rise of an indigenous form of capitalism existing as early as the 1600s. Making Big Money in 1600 examines the reemergence of the economic sector and its complex influences on social conditions during this time. By examining the life and work of Isma'il Abu Taqiyya, Hanna traces the relationship between economic activities and culture. As we are introduced to Abu Taqiyya we learn how he negotiates partnership with other merchants, arranges for the handling of goods, and negotiates loans for colleagues. Hanna reveals his home life, his wives, children, and concubines, his relations with his family and friends, and how these relations evolved and were affected by the changing social and economic conditions-a perspective rarely discussed in works before the modern period.