The Ottoman-Russian wars of the eighteenth century reshaped the map of Eurasia and the Middle East, but they also birthed a novel concept - the prisoner of war. For centuries, hundreds of thousands of captives, civilians and soldiers alike, crossed the legal and social boundaries of these empires, destined for either ransom or enslavement. But in the eighteenth century, the Ottoman state and its Russian rival, through conflict and diplomacy, worked out a new system of regional international law. Ransom was abolished; soldiers became prisoners of war; and some slaves gained new paths to release, while others were left entirely unprotected. These rules delineated sovereignty, redefined individuals' relationships to states, and prioritized political identity over economic value. In the process, the Ottomans marked out a parallel, non-Western path toward elements of modern international law. Yet this was not a story of European imposition or imitation-the Ottomans acted for their own reasons, maintaining their commitment to Islamic law. For a time even European empires played by these rules, until they were subsumed into the codified global law of war in the late nineteenth century. This story offers new perspectives on the histories of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, of slavery, and of international law.

About the Author
Will Smiley is a historian of the Middle East and of international and Islamic law, with a particular interest in the Ottoman Empire. He is Assistant Professor of History and Humanities at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge and his JD from Yale Law School, and previously held fellowships in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, and in Legal History at New York University.

Reviews
Smiley's well-researched book will be valuable for anyone working on Ottoman history, international law or Eurasian studies and blazes a new trail for future debates and research in these fields. Moreover, readers can obtain thorough knowledge, about the history, legal history and political and institutional histories of the Russian and Ottoman states. Smiley's ability to read between the lines and interpret historical events from different perspectives makes the book more perspicuous and interesting to read. * Turkana Allahverdiyeva, Sehepunkte *
...especially interesting... * Julia Leikin, University of Exeter *
Will Smiley's learned, engaging, and thoroughly researched book serves as an exemplar of comparative, historically grounded legal research. It is certain to leave its mark in the fields of Ottoman studies, Eurasian studies, Islamic law, and international law and to find favor with specialists and educated lay readers alike. * Mariam Sheibani, Islamic Law and Society *
this is an expert book that will be compulsory reading for all scholars of international legal history, Ottoman history, imperial Russian history and the history of the Black Sea region ... this book will spark a whole new generation of scholars researching the rich international legal histories of Eurasia. * Philippa Hetherington, Slavonic and East European Review *
This is an extensively detailed history of Ottoman Turkish relations primarily but not entirely with the Russian Empire, the Hapsburgs, and the West, dealing with the numerous wars in which it was involved between 1700 and 1876... Recommended * CHOICE *


Awards
Winner of Winner of the Jelavich Book Prize.



Book Information
ISBN 9780198785415
Author Will Smiley
Format Hardback
Page Count 300
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 242mm * 163mm * 23mm