Der Urbanisierungsdiskurs im Spätosmanischen Reich

Abstract

Civilization (medeniyet) was a key concept of the late Ottoman Empire. Apart from many other aspects, it also had shifting spatial implications. While late Ottoman conceptions mostly identified civilization with cities, the 1920s saw a decisive change towards an equation of rural spaces with “Turkish” civilization that mirrored similar changes in other interbellum societies. Drawing on sources from popular music to intellectual debates, the present paper investigates the development of this shift in thelate Ottoman period. Acknowledging the influence of geopolitics and the economy, it nonetheless argues for a specific late Ottoman trajectory in the spatial semantics of ‘civilization’. Four elements stand out: an intellectual tradition fusing both classic Islamic philosophy and European influences; a change from urban space to rural people; the special role of Istanbul; and the influence of certain middle-class groups, in this case physicians and military officers.