Environmental History as an Emerging Field in Ottoman Srudies: An Historiographical Overview

Abstract

Environmental  history  is  a  discipline  that  studies  the  mutual  relationship between humans and their natural environment over time. It was born out of a strong moral concern in the 1970s, when global environmental problems such as climate change rose to prominence. It explores the impact of environmental change on people’s lives, as well  as  people’s  use,  perception,  management,  and  conservation  of  their  surrounding environment.  Environmental  history  introduces  a  new  perspective  to  our  understand- ing of historical change. Only recently have Ottoman specialists begun looking through the lens of environmental history and begun to exhibit an interest in the environmental dimensions of  the political, economic, and social history of the Ottoman Empire. The goal of this article is to bring environmental history to the attention of the community of specialists on Ottoman history and discuss how environmental history can push Ottom- anists to create new dialogues and new ways of thinking about history. Approaches that transcend the rigid geographical, political, and national boundaries which have heretofor dominated the field.