The effects of the French Revolution reached far beyond the confines of France itself. The Ottoman Empire, ancient ally and major trading partner of France, was not immune from the repercussions of the 'Age of Revolutions', especially since it was home to permanent French communities with a certain legal autonomy. French Revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire examines, for the first time, the political and cultural impact of the French Revolution on Franco-Ottoman relations, as well as on the French communities of the Ottoman Empire. The modern interpretation of revolutionary ideological expansionism is strongly influenced by the famous propaganda decree of 19 November 1792 which promised 'fraternity and help to all peoples who wish to recover their liberty', as well as the well-studied efforts to export the Revolution into the territories conquered by the revolutionary armies and to the various Sister Republics. Against all expectations, however, French revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire exhibited neither a 'crusading mentality' nor a heightened readiness to use force in order to achieve ideological goals. Instead, as this volume shows, in matters of diplomacy as well as in the administration of French expatriate communities, revolutionary policies were applied in an extremely circumspect fashion. The focus on the effects of the French regime change outside of France offers valuable new insights into the revolutionary process itself, which will revise common assumptions about French revolutionary diplomacy. In addition, Pascal Firges takes a close look at the establishment of the new political culture of the French Revolution within the transcultural context of the French expatriate communities of the Ottoman Empire, which serves as a thought-provoking point of comparison for the emergence and development of French revolutionary political culture.

About the Author
Pascal Firges is a research fellow at the German Historical Institute in Paris. Having studied History and Philosophy in Heidelberg, Paris, and Cambridge, he holds a PhD in history from Heidelberg University. He is the author of Grossbritannien und das Osmanische Reich Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts (2009) and the co-editor of Well-Connected Domains: Towards an Entangled Ottoman History (2014). His recent areas of research include the French Revolution, the cultural history of diplomacy, entangled histories of early modern Europe and the world around it, cultural and gender history, and the social structures of early modern court societies.

Reviews
Out of several well-trodden subjects-the French Revolution, diplomatic history, and the beginnings of decline in the Ottoman Empire-Pascal Firges has produced something exciting and fresh...French Revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire offers a valuable contribution to the fields of both Ottoman and French history...More and more excellent studies are demonstrating in myriad ways the many and complex ways European and Ottoman history has always been intertwined. This book contributes admirably to that larger goal. * Julia Landweber, Montclair State University, H-France Review *
Firges's study dispels conspiratorial myths about secret funds and subterfuge on the part of revolutionary diplomats in Istanbul-myths that originated with misleading reports by Prussian and British agents. The book also nuances past accounts of revolutionary foreign policy by offering a case study that emphasizes continuity over rupture with the past. ... the importance of Firges's book reaches beyond the ?eld of diplomatic history. His work will be of interest to historians of France's overseas slave colonies during the revolutionary era. * Miranda Spieler, Journal of Modern History *
Pascal Firges has succeeded in producing a solidly researched, well-written study based on records from Kew, Nantes, Paris, and Vienna. * Malte Fuhrmann, Historische Zeitschrift *
Pascal Firges' French Revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire is very valuable, because it emphasizes a less studied aspect of the French Revolution, its effect on the Levant. * Huseyin S. Tabakoglu, French History *
this is a fine study with fascinating details . . . * Virginia Aksan, International Journal of Middle East Studies *
Pascal Firges's book is highly recommendable and a fortunate contribution to the renewal of the history of international relations during the Revolution. [Translated from French] * Marc Belissa, Annales historiques de la Revolution francaise *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198759966
Author Pascal Firges
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 161mm * 22mm