Honor, Reputation, and Reciprocity

The essay argues that looking at reputation and how one gained a good or bad one is the most productive avenue for understanding how people in early modern Ottoman times understood honor. It explores honor and dishonor as relational processes whereby one person’s gain may spell another’s loss, or th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Leslie Peirce
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association pour la Recherche sur le Moyen-Orient 2014-07-01
Series:European Journal of Turkish Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/4850
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Summary:The essay argues that looking at reputation and how one gained a good or bad one is the most productive avenue for understanding how people in early modern Ottoman times understood honor. It explores honor and dishonor as relational processes whereby one person’s gain may spell another’s loss, or there may be an attempt to maintain equilibrium among individuals, that is, to recoup damaged reputations for all parties involved in a troubled situation. The role of individuals acting as mediators, witnesses, and guarantors are explored for the ways in which the community figured in the making or breaking of reputation. Sources drawn upon for the essay consist primarily of court cases but also include historical writings and petitions submitted to the sultanate.
ISSN:1773-0546