The center-periphery struggles: the case of the house of macn

Official URL: https://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b2586137_(Table of contents)

The prime objective of this thesis is to probe into the House of Ma,n(1516-1697) (also known as Ma,nids in English, and Ma,anoğulları, ,Al-i Ma,n, Beni Ma,n in Turkish and Arabic), a Southern Syrian-based Druze (Duruz, Duruzi taifesi) power-holding family, as a case study in the context of Istanbul-periphery relations and political struggles. In light of new historical findings of Ottomanists in the Ottoman archives, this investigation, phase by phase, sifts through the Ma,nids’ involvement with the Ottoman Empire. In particular, I focus on Fakhr al-Din ibn Ma,n(Fakhr al-Din II) (1572-1635), who was the most well-known local Druze leader of Southern Syria and Lebanon, and, in a broader context, the Druze rebellions (1516-1697). The focal point of the thesis is how the Ottoman Empire pragmatically utilized policies, including the process of bargaining and negotiation, to consolidate its imperial control over the Eastern Mediterranean. Equally significantly, the thesis explores the position of Fakhr al-Din ibn Ma,n in the context of the Jelali movement. Through a micro case study comparing Fakhr al-Din ibn Ma,n’s rebellion with that of Janbulat ,Ali Pasha (1606), a Kurdish rebel based in Northern Syria, I address parallels and dissimilarities between the two. Last but not least, the thesis scrutinizes Ottoman perceptions of the periphery, and the Druze in particular.