The book examines the role of the Ottoman Christians – Greek, Slav, Armenian and Arab ones – in the radical transformation of the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s. They were dynamic, learned and cosmopolitan communities which played a pivotal role in modernizing the Empire, also thanks to their ties with Europe. However, the coexistence of the different ethnic and religious communities which the Empire was built upon went through a crisis as the Western concept of nation broke in and penetrated in the East, also thanks to the Ottoman Christian communities. Hence, the contribution of the Ottoman Christians to modernization ended up backfiring on them. The beginning of the 1900s saw the rise of an anti-West, Turkish nationalism that considered the Ottoman Christians accomplices to European imperialism. The crisis of coexistence marked the end of the Ottoman civilization and of its pluralism, and it brought consequences we still witness today: it paved the way to the prevalence of Islam in the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean countries.

Quale fu il ruolo svolto, nella radicale trasformazione ottocentesca dell'Impero ottomano, dai cristiani ottomani (greci, slavi, armeni e arabi)? Essi rappresentarono comunità dinamiche, colte e cosmopolite, decisive nella modernizzazione dell'Impero grazie anche ai loro rapporti con il mondo europeo. Ma la coabitazione tra le diverse comunità etniche e religiose, su cui si fondava la costruzione imperiale, fu messa in crisi dall'irrompere del modello occidentale di nazione. Il contributo dei cristiani ottomani alla modernizzazione finì così per ritorcersi contro di loro. Ai primi del Novecento, prevalse un nazionalismo turco anti-occidentale che li considerava complici dell'imperialismo europeo. La crisi del pluralismo ha segnato la fine della civiltà ottomana, i cui effetti si fanno sentire ancora oggi, aprendo la strada ad una prevalenza dell'Islam nei paesi del Mediterraneo orientale e meridionale.

Del Zanna, G. A., I cristiani e il Medio Oriente (1798-1924), Il Mulino, Bologna 2011:<<Saggi>>, 361 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/8360]

I cristiani e il Medio Oriente (1798-1924)

Del Zanna, Giorgio Aldo
2011

Abstract

The book examines the role of the Ottoman Christians – Greek, Slav, Armenian and Arab ones – in the radical transformation of the Ottoman Empire in the 1800s. They were dynamic, learned and cosmopolitan communities which played a pivotal role in modernizing the Empire, also thanks to their ties with Europe. However, the coexistence of the different ethnic and religious communities which the Empire was built upon went through a crisis as the Western concept of nation broke in and penetrated in the East, also thanks to the Ottoman Christian communities. Hence, the contribution of the Ottoman Christians to modernization ended up backfiring on them. The beginning of the 1900s saw the rise of an anti-West, Turkish nationalism that considered the Ottoman Christians accomplices to European imperialism. The crisis of coexistence marked the end of the Ottoman civilization and of its pluralism, and it brought consequences we still witness today: it paved the way to the prevalence of Islam in the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean countries.
2011
Italiano
Monografia o trattato scientifico
Del Zanna, G. A., I cristiani e il Medio Oriente (1798-1924), Il Mulino, Bologna 2011:<<Saggi>>, 361 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/8360]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10807/8360
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