A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen

Hathaway, Jane

ISBN 10: 0791458830 / ISBN 13: 9780791458839

Published by State Univ of New York Pr, 2003

About this Item

288 pages. 9.00x6.25x0.75 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0791458830

Bibliographic Details

Title: A Tale of Two Factions: Myth, Memory, and ...

Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Publication Date: 2003

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Brand New

About this title

Synopsis:

Reevaluates the foundation myths of two rival factions in Egypt during the Ottoman era.

Winner of the 2003 Ohio Academy of History Outstanding Publication Award

This revisionist study reevaluates the origins and foundation myths of the Faqaris and Qasimis, two rival factions that divided Egyptian society during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when Egypt was the largest province in the Ottoman Empire. In answer to the enduring mystery surrounding the factions' origins, Jane Hathaway places their emergence within the generalized crisis that the Ottoman Empire-like much of the rest of the world-suffered during the early modern period, while uncovering a symbiosis between Ottoman Egypt and Yemen that was critical to their formation. In addition, she scrutinizes the factions' foundation myths, deconstructing their tropes and symbols to reveal their connections to much older popular narratives. Drawing on parallels from a wide array of cultures, she demonstrates with striking originality how rituals such as storytelling and public processions, as well as identifying colors and emblems, could serve to reinforce factional identity.

About the Author:

Jane Hathaway is Associate Professor of History at Ohio State University, the author of The Politics of Households in Ottoman Egypt: The Rise of the Qazdaglis, and editor of Rebellion, Repression, Reinvention: Mutiny in Comparative Perspective.