The Transformation of Urban Space: Civil Society in Aleppo (18^th Century) in the Mediterranean Context

1. The ‘middle period’ in Ottoman history – the ‘transformation-paradigm’

Some developments in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, like the attribution of tax-farms to provincial notables and the distribution of related tasks to sub-tenants, improved the material situation of parts of the urban population. Visible for example through building and endowing activities, this development is not yet well studied and is a very promising new field of research.

2. The concept of ‘space’

Since about 10 years the social and historical sciences experience the so-called ‘spatial turn’: the [re]discovery of ‘space’ as object of scientific investigation.

‘Space’, in this context, is not an empty area enclosed by a material shell, but a social category, constructed by processes of perception, ideation and recall. Therefore, ‘urban space’ shall be understood in my study as all overlapping perceptions and constructions of ‘space’ that define and structure the city and separate it from its surroundings by specific rules and laws, actions, and a distinct urban architecture.

3. Aleppo during the ‘middle period’

Social transformations are best observed in large cities, due to the complexity and density of various institutions and structures. Ottoman Aleppo constituted a vast build-up area with about 100.000 inhabitants, the third largest metropolis of the Empire, and is therefore a very suitable object for our study.

Two developments can be observed during the ‘middle period’:

- A construction activity that embellished a significant number of the city’s residential buildings.

- The foundation of a large number of religious endowments (waqf, pl. awqaf) in favour of neighbourhood institutions established by ‘ordinary’ (non-notable, non-‘askeri) people.

These social transformations create a phenomenon that I will call ‘civil society’. Institutions and structures of this civil society fulfil functions that were formerly carried out by state agents (e.g. water supply, security).