Middle East on the Eve

¶ … Middle East on the Eve of Modernity: Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century Abraham Marcus has written a book from which most American students would learn valuable information. It is hard to cover all of world history in an overview course because of the large span of time, but most world history courses focus on Western civilization.

In his book, the Middle East on the Eve of Modernity: Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century, the author shows us that the Middle East had a rich, varied and complex history that was well-established before their culture experienced modernization such as the effects of the Industrial Revolution. This reader found surprises in every chapter.

For instance, American students learn about the Crimean War and the Crusades from a Western perspective, and may tend to think of the people of the Middle East as fiercely patriotic and warlike, but Marcus explains that the citizens of Aleppo did not draft men into the army against their will. Overt expressions of patriotism were not required (p. 18). Related to war with other countries, Marcus made the point that the area around Aleppo very often suffered indirectly from the many wars of the 18th century.

While that was not surprising, he indicated that the citizens were more afraid of Arab armies than invaders (p. 23). This is explained later in the fact that the military often helped governmental powers collect taxes, sometimes using excessive force. Marcus' reports of the cultural diversity and complicated social structure were fascinating. Students with little knowledge of Middle East history might think that Arab society was relatively simple, ruled by tribal chieftains, but within Aleppo Marcus reveals a many-layered community.

Social distinctions were important, and some of it seems to resemble today's tendency toward conspicuous consumerism in the United States. Wealth and status mattered, and one's neighbors were judged according to the clothes they wore, the value of their home, jewelry and other outward indications of relative wealth. (p. 50) The main social determinants in Aleppo were one's religion and how wealthy one was. Religion was paramount: only Muslims could have real power, and Christian and Jews were second-class citizens in many ways.

But while the stereotype seen today of the Middle East is of little or no tolerance of non-Muslim religions, Christian and Jews were important minorities in Aleppo. They were not isolated from the larger community. Muslims, Christians and Jews very often all lived in the same neighborhoods. The legal system in Aleppo's society was well structured and complex. Distinctions were made within the legal system between Muslim and non-Muslim. Non-Muslims paid more taxes than Muslims and had other restrictions including clothing they could not wear.

For part of this period, non-Christians were not allowed to ride horses. (p. 41). But interestingly, all citizens of Aleppo required their women to be well covered, not just Moslems, and all groups segregated according to sex. Justice was swift in Aleppo, and sometimes complaints were heard in court the very day the complaint was first raised, or very shortly thereafter. Other justice-related issues sounded more familiar. Like the Taliban in recent Afghanistan, patrols walked through the streets and markets and could flog wrong-doers on the spot.

In spite of strict veiling rules for women, women could hold a fair amount of power. Current news reports might lead an American to believe that under Moslem rule, women never have any rights, can own no property, may not work outside their homes, and in general must live extremely constricted lives. However, in 18th century Aleppo, women worked in the marketplace, owned property, could have wealth in their own name and often earned income, particularly by owning property or as moneylenders.

While they were not equal to men (in legal proceedings, the testimony of two women was considered equal to that of one man), women were not equal in Europe either. The rules that allowed women these rights came out of Middle Eastern tradition, not Western influence -- Marcus writes about a period of time before Western influence dominated Middle Eastern culture. The relative wealth of Aleppo as a whole was a surprise to this reader.

Marcus reports that one-third of the population might have been what we think of as "middle class." (p. 66) They owned their homes and often their shops, and had servants. Aleppo had a complex system for property ownership, which meant that nearly everyone, including most of the poor people, could own their own homes. The smallest houses might cost only 50 piastres, and if a person could not afford that, they could buy part of a house.

They had full rights to that ownership and could sell those rights, so often non-related people lived in and owned the same house together. (p. 189) Other surprises came in the area of domestic relations. Moslem law made it relatively easy for men to divorce their wives, and as a result, families broken.