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This in-depth study by Ahmet C.
Gazioglu, a well-known historian and managing director of the Cyprus Research
and Publishing Centre - CYREP, is the author’s first book written in the
English language. Since publication in 1990, it has become a key source for
researchers and enthusiasts interested in Cyprus during the Ottoman era, as well
as for those interested in the general Ottoman system of administration.
The book utilizes much
interesting primary historical material and covers political, social and
economic developments during the three centuries of Ottoman rule on the island.
Addressed are issues such as the Turkish Settlement in Cyprus, the Ottoman
Administrative System, Land Ownership & Forced Labour, Education, the role of
European Consuls & Dragomans of the Saray, Intercommunal Relations and Revolts &
Uprisings.
While, (as with most books on
the history of Cyprus !), there are points and arguments made by Gazioglu that
will no doubt be disputed by other scholars, one eminent scholar has given this
book his unreserved stamp of approval. Professor Geoffrey Lewis, FBA, (Professor
Emeritus of Turkish at Oxford University) declared:
| “Books on Cyprus abound, but
Ahmet Gazioglu’s is unique. I know of no other work by a Turkish author that
tells the history of the Island in so dispassionate and scholarly a way. It
reads like history, not propaganda. [...] This accomplished depiction of the
long period during which Turkish Muslim and Greek Christian Cypriots lived side
by side in amity inspires the hope – in spite of everything – that those days
may come again.” |
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December Review /
