Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Dr. James Grehan
Episode: "Empire of Manners: Ottoman Sociability and War-Making in the Long Eighteenth Century"
Published: October 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores Dr. James Grehan’s upcoming book, Empire of Manners: Ottoman Sociability and War-Making in the Long Eighteenth Century. The conversation delves into the nuances of everyday life in the Ottoman Empire, focusing on social manners, leisure culture, urban-rural dynamics, and the transformation of military and civil society during a period often mischaracterized as one of decline. Dr. Grehan challenges traditional historiographies and highlights the interconnectedness of cultural practices and state power.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Ottoman “Decline” and Methodology

• Challenging the Decline Narrative:
  Grehan argues the 18th century deserves reinterpretation—rather than simply as an era of decadence, he advocates for a view attentive to cultural dynamics and continuity.

  “This book is an attempt really to reinterpret that whole period and put it in a new light using manners…” (04:16)

• Sources and Approach:
  His research draws widely from chronicles, biographical dictionaries, memoirs, and both Ottoman and European travelogues to reconstruct lived experiences, paying special attention to what Ottomans themselves recorded and valued (05:28–07:20).

2. Identity: Geography, Gender, and Rural/Urban Divides

• The Primacy of Geography:
  Grehan stresses that regional identities—rather than religion or ethnicity—most strongly shaped daily life and cultural norms.

  “…cultural difference…we’re not going to find it in religious or ethnic identity…Regional identities were much stronger, they were much more visible.” (08:34)

• Urban vs. Rural Life:
  The experience and expression of manners, identity, and customs varied radically between cities and the countryside, with ~80-90% of the population living in rural environments where community norms dominated (08:34–10:36).

3. The Rise of Leisure Culture

• Coffeehouses and Tobacco:
  A maturing leisure culture—rooted in coffeehouse life and tobacco consumption—became pervasive, overcoming initial religious and political resistance through broad social desire and fiscal needs of the state.

  “Leisure culture has by this point really gained the upper hand…And I don’t think this is an Ottoman story, I think it’s actually a global story.” (11:00–13:11)

• The State’s Dilemma:
  The Ottoman state’s increasing reliance on taxes from leisure activities bound fiscal and social change together, pushing tolerance and sometimes even support for these practices (13:26–14:37).

4. Manners: Polite vs. Honorable Codes

• What Were Ottoman Manners?
  While every stratum had manners, the urban elite’s code was especially detailed, rooted in custom and continuity rather than innovation (15:05–16:16).

  • Example: Literary salons demanded precise dress, posture, and conversational etiquette.

• Polite vs. Honorable Manners:
  Grehan distinguishes between “polite” manners (restraint, education, mutual respect) and “honorable” manners (status defense, unrestrained reaction, sometimes violence).

  “…with polite manners, we have an ideal of refinement…When we come to honorable manners…they might actually require some kind of vehement reaction. It could be verbal, it could actually culminate in physical violence…” (18:14–19:41)

• Memorable Moment:

  “I have one episode in Damascus in which a chief judge beats his assistant for defying one of his orders…He was reacting to this infringement of his higher status, which cannot be tolerated.” (19:49)

5. Destabilization of Social Hierarchies

• Money and Status:
  The expanding fiscal state—driven by the needs of war—introduced new economic dynamics that undermined traditional hierarchies, increasing anxieties about status and fueling both polite and honorable reactions (21:30–23:20).

6. The Emergence of the ‘Urbane Warrior’ and Urban Rowdiness

• Transformation of the Military Elite:
  Janissaries and other military officers increasingly became urban notables, integrating into the civilian economy, accumulating wealth, and adopting urban lifestyles. This complicated their roles and blurred the boundaries between “warrior” and “gentleman.”

  “…the officers…style themselves as urban gentlemen. And it is a lifestyle which strongly appeals to them…” (23:45–26:25)

• The Rise of Rowdy Paramilitary Subculture:
  With more rural recruits, towns saw disruptive, rowdy behavior as these new urban soldiers acclimated, sometimes threatening public order (26:44–29:10).

• Crisis in Patriarchy and Order:
  The presence and conduct of soldiers (especially harassment of women) contributed to political crises and became a pretext for state reform:

  “…crisis in patriarchy…part of the prehistory of what becomes the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of a modernizing political order.” (29:29)

7. Modernization: Continuities and Limits

• 19th Century Reforms:
  Contrary to the notion of a sharp “Westernization” vs. tradition divide, Grehan argues that the Tanzimat and related reforms were conservative, technocratic, and left much of traditional culture intact until the rise of the modern middle class in the late 19th century.

  “…these are actually very conservative projects…for the rest of the 19th century, most of Ottoman society retains its loyalty to the older codes of manners and fashion.” (31:09–33:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I’ve always been rather skeptical about this kind of language. And so my approach has been to dive in and take a very close look on Ottoman society and ask what actually do we see if we let Ottomans talk.”
  — Dr. James Grehan (02:50–03:44)

• “Regional identities were much stronger; they were much more visible…The linkages…to create a larger sense of identity that we often express today using religion or ethnicity was for the most part, missing.”
  — Dr. James Grehan (08:34)

• “Leisure culture has by this point really gained the upper hand, and it is accelerating…this is going to be essential, actually, if you want to rewrite Ottoman history and make it more and generate a new framework for it.”
  — Dr. James Grehan (12:25–13:11)

• “Money is…you might say the arch enemy of status. It acts as a kind of acid on prevailing hierarchies.”
  — Dr. James Grehan (21:30)

• “The Janissary Corps becomes a much more complex organization in social terms.”
  — Dr. James Grehan (26:25)

Timestamps for Key Sections

• [01:35] Host and Guest Introduction
• [02:50] Grehan’s background, research focus, and skepticism about “Islamic culture” frameworks
• [05:28] Source types and reconstructing social history
• [08:34] Importance of geography and regional identity
• [10:51] Leisure culture: coffee, tobacco, and the global context
• [13:26] The fiscal state’s motives and social change
• [15:05] What manners meant in the Ottoman context
• [18:14] Polite vs. honorable manners
• [19:49] Conflict between the two codes (Damascus judge anecdote)
• [21:30] Hierarchy destabilization through fiscal/military pressures
• [23:45] Rise of the urbane warrior and Janissary integration
• [26:44] Social consequences and rise of rowdy subcultures
• [29:29] Crisis in patriarchy and political transformation
• [31:09] Modernization and continuity
• [33:47] Grehan’s current and future research directions

Conclusion

Dr. Grehan’s research reconstructs Ottoman daily life and challenges simplistic dichotomies about tradition, decline, and modernization. He demonstrates how social practices—manners, leisure habits, and the blurring of military-civilian lines—both reflected and catalyzed deeper state and societal changes. The episode offers listeners a nuanced, richly contextualized account of the long eighteenth century, relevant not only for Ottomanists but for scholars of global early modernity.