ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explains that 'Middle East' is a quite recent coinage which had no meaning for the Ottomans. And while the Ottoman Empire was officially Sunni Muslim, substantial numbers of Ottoman subjects, even in the Arab provinces, were non-Muslims who deserve space in the historical narrative. It then attempts to demonstrate, the problem with the conventional narrative of decentralization is that it is too pat. The book then implies a neat dichotomy between Ottoman officials and local notables that did not, in fact, exist. It further explains much scholarship, following the lead of Albert Hourani, has interpreted ayan to refer to local Arabophone military administrators who, along with ulema and certain other of the provincial sociopolitical elite, served as intermediaries between the provincial population at large and the Ottoman administration.
