Unseen Rebels: The ‘Mob’ of Istanbul as a Constituent of Ottoman Revolt, Seventeenth to Early Nineteenth Centuries

Abstract

Ottoman urban revolt has been the subject of many studies, but most of them consider either the janissaries or political factions of the elite as the main actors. However, Ottoman sources point to the marked participation of what can be called the ‘urban mob’, people without any strong professional or military affiliation. The article seeks to explore the type and scope of this participation, the composition and socioeconomic characteristics of this mob, and the possible hints we may obtain about their motives and ideology.