Outcasting Armenians - (Modern Intellectual and Political History of the Middle East) by Talin Suciyan

About the Book

Draws upon a rich trove of archival sources to reconsider the reform era of Ottoman history.

Book Synopsis

The history of Tanzimat in the Ottoman Empire has largely been narrated as a unique period of equality, reform, and progress, often framing it as the backdrop to modern Turkey. Inspired by Walter Benjamin's exhortation to study the oppressed to understand the rule and the ruler, Talin Suciyan reexamines this era from the perspective of the Armenians. In exploring the temporal and territorial differences between the Ottoman capital and the provinces, Suciyan brings the unheard voices of Armenians into the present. Drawing upon the rich archival materials in both the Archives of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ottoman Archives, Suciyan uses these to show the integral role Armenians played in all aspects of Ottoman life and argues that accounts of their lives are vital to accurate representation of the Tanzimat era. In shedding much needed light on the lives of those who were vulnerable, disadvantaged, and otherwise oppressed, Suciyan takes a significant step toward a more inclusive Ottoman history.

Review Quotes

Outcasting Armenians: Tanzimat of the Provinces is a fascinating and important work that makes a valuable contribution to both Ottoman historiography and Armenian Studies. It offers a fresh analysis of the Ottoman provinces, the 'reform' era, and the multiethnic populations of the Empire.-- "Nazan Maksudyan, author of Ottoman Children and Youth during World War I"

A declared bottom-up historiography centered on the Armenians of the provinces, this lucid study explores untouched archives and offers a corrective to the history of the late Ottoman Empire.-- "Hans Lukas Kieser, author of Talaat Pasha: Father of Modern Turkey, Architect of Genocide"

A deeply innovative contribution to the study of the Ottomans and a challenge to the way historical research is conducted on all multiethnic empires. Essential.-- "Choice"

About the Author

Talin Suciyan is associate professor at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, specializing in the history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. She is the author of The Armenians in the Modern Turkey: Post-Genocide Society, Politics and History.