Constructing Ottoman beneficence : an imperial soup kitchen in Jerusalem / Amy Singer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Singer, Amy.

Series:

SUNY series in Near Eastern studies.

SUNY series in Near Eastern studies

SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Endowments--Jerusalem--History.

Endowments.

Waqf--Jerusalem--History.

Waqf.

Turkey--History--Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918.

Turkey.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 240 pages) : illustrations, maps

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Ottoman charitable endowments (waqf) constituted an enduring monument to imperial beneficence and were important instruments of policy. One type of endowment, the public soup kitchen (imaret) served travelers, scholars, pious mystics, and local indigents alike. Constructing Ottoman Beneficence examines the political, social, and cultural context for founding these public kitchens. It challenges long-held notions about the nature of endowments and explores for the first time how Ottoman modes of beneficence provide an important paradigm for understanding universal questions about the nature of charitable giving.A typical and well-documented example was the imaret of Hasseki Hurrem Sultan, wife of Sultan Süleyman I, in Jerusalem. The imaret operated at the confluence of imperial endowment practices and Ottoman food supply policies, while also exemplifying the role of imperial women as benefactors. Through its operations, the imaret linked imperial Ottoman and local Palestinian interests, integrating urban and rural economies.

Contents:

"Devote the fruits to pious purposes"

What is a waqf?

The roots of waqf

Why found a waqf?

The Ottomans

A Bowl of Soup and a Loaf of Bread

The written record

Institutions of the endowment

Endowed properties

Personnel

Soup

Why Jerusalem?

Ladies Bountiful

The conflated traditions: Hurrem-Helena

Beneficence and women in Islamic history

Early examples

The Byzantine factor

Turco-Mongol heritage

The Gender of Beneficence

Serving Soup in Jerusalem

A report from the imaret

On management

Tax arrears and firewood

Food for all

Building a bath

Dealing in grain

Adding to the endowment

Feeding Power

Provisioning

Istanbul and Topkapi Palace

Provincial towns

The army on campaign

Janissaries

Hajj caravans

On the word imaret

Pre-Ottoman precedents

An Ottoman institution

Conclusion: Practicing Beneficence.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-228) and index.

ISBN:

9780791488768

0791488764

9780585471198

0585471193

OCLC:

61367604