Changing Identities at the Fringes of the Late Ottoman Empire: The Muslims of Dobruca, 1839-1914 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Catalina Hunt, Ph.D. Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Carter V. Findley, Advisor Jane Hathaway Theodora Dragostinova Scott Levi Copyright by Catalina Hunt 2015 Abstract This dissertation examines the Muslim community of Dobruca, an Ottoman territory granted to Romania in 1878, and its transformation from a majority under Ottoman rule into a minority under Romanian administration. It focuses in particular on the collective identity of this community and how it changed from the start of the Ottoman reform era (Tanzimat) in 1839 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914. This dissertation constitutes, in fact, the study of the transition from Ottoman subjecthood to Romanian citizenship as experienced by the Muslim community of Dobruca. It constitutes an assessment of long-term patterns of collective identity formation and development in both imperial and post-imperial settings. The main argument of the dissertation is that during this period three crucial factors altered the sense of collective belonging of Dobrucan Muslims: a) state policies; b) the reaction of the Muslims to these policies; and c) the influence of transnational networks from the wider Turkic world on the Muslim community as a whole. Taken together, all these factors contributed fully to the community’s intellectual development and overall modernization, especially since they brought about new patterns of identification and belonging among Muslims. Teachers, religious leaders, journalists, and political activists among the region’s Muslims proved to be essential in this process due to their power of example and capacity of mobilizing fellow coreligionists. During ii the Ottoman period, Muslims asserted their imperial identity at the expense of religious, ethnic, and local sub-identities whenever community projects were at stake. In contrast, during the Romanian period they emphasized their national identity, even if for a similar purpose. Displays of loyalty were part of a well-thought-out strategy to attract the benevolence of state officials, and in the process, Muslims became active agents in the making of state policies of the empire and of the nation-state, respectively. Such a balancing act allowed them to assert a collective identity formulated in modern and western rather than conservative and religious terms. The focus of this research is unique in the field of Ottoman studies concerning the long nineteenth century. The project exploys official documents, private letters, diaries, and newspaper articles written in Ottoman Turkish, modern Turkish, French, English, and Romanian, as well as a relevant secondary literature. It rewrites the local history of the region’s Muslim population, rejects the exclusive importance of state policies in the process of identity formation, and firmly places the history of western Ottoman borderlands within the broader context of imperial and post-imperial evolution in Europe and the Middle East. The dissertation enhances understanding of the meaning and politics of identity in the late Ottoman Empire and its heir state of modern Romania. It also contributes to a growing trend of including minority populations in discussions of reconstruction and shaping of new national identities after imperial collapse. iii Dedication To Garrett, Balthazar, and Melchior for their affection, support, and patience iv Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have been possible without the help of many individuals and institutions that provided me with the necessary moral and financial support required for its successful completion. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my mentors at The Ohio State University, Professor Carter Vaughn Findley and Professor Jane Hathaway. Their extraordinary intellectual rigor, professionalism, and generosity had the most profound influence on my formation and development as a scholar of the late Ottoman Empire. Professor Findley, my graduate advisor, was closely involved in my training as graduate student and devoted considerable time to teaching me the Ottoman Turkish language and working on several dissertation drafts. His vast knowledge of Ottoman history and enthusiasm for the study of the late Ottoman Empire and its language were contagious and helped me stay focused on the task at hand. With her amazing knowledge of Ottoman history, scrupulous attention to detail, and excellent editing skills, Professor Hathaway has helped elevate the quality of this project. She provided both moral and intellectual support throughout my years as Ohio State and dedicated an extraordinary amount of energy to this project during its completion. I have been extremely fortunate to “grow up” in the program in the company of these exceptional Ottoman scholars, whose dedication to the growth of their field and the training of their students has been exemplary and a source of constant inspiration. v I have also been very fortunate to work with Professors Theodora Dragostinova and Scott Levi, the other two members of my dissertation committee. Professor Dragostinova helped sharpen the arguments regarding the Romanian part of my research. She immersed me in the most recent trends in Modern European historiography regarding the issues of nationality and nation-state building and had also been a cheerful supporter of my research. Professor Levi provided guidance and support, making sure I did not overlook the larger world historical context of my project. Other professors deserve my gratitude for having had influenced my development as a historian. Professor Gregor Anderson provided me with a very solid background in historiography, while Professor Keneth Andrien revealed to me the fascinating realm of World History. I am deeply grateful to Professor Selim Kuru of the University of Washington and Professor Yorgos Dedes of the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, for working with me on perfecting my Ottoman Turkish skills. Without their dedication to the students of the Ottoman School in Cunda, Turkey, where I took classes during the summers of 2008 and 2009, I would not have been able to decipher the Ottoman documents that informed my research on Dobrucan Muslims. Special thanks are in order for Professors Gregory Key and Murat Inan, who trained me in Modern Turkish, Persian, and Arabic in the same program. At Ohio State, Professors Snjezana Buzov and Bülent Bekcioğlu also spent considerable time training me in Modern Turkish. During my research period in Romania and Turkey, Professor Anca Popescu of the “Nicolae Iorga” History National Institute in Bucharest and Professor Yonca Köksal of Koç University in Istanbul have proved immensely helpful with their vi comments and encouragement regarding various sections of my dissertation. In Istanbul, Sinan Kuneralp has graciously assisted me in navigating the complex Ottoman archives and introducing me to the immensely valuable collection on Muslim emigrants to the Ottoman Empire. In Constanţa, Dr. Corina Apostoleanu facilitated access to important primary sources in the “I.N. Roman” County Library, sources which she helped me to locate on numerous occasions. During my research years in Romania and Turkey, I enjoyed meeting and working with the staff of the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul, the Atatürk Library, the Library of the American Research Institute in Istanbul, the Romanian National Archives in both Bucharest and Constanţa, the Archives of Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the “I.N. Roman” County Library. At Ohio State, the Middle Eastern librarian, Johanna Sellmann, went above and beyond her duties to acquire for me materials not available in the collection hosted by the university’s Thomspon Library. All these institutions have welcomed me and provided me with sources in various languages in the most effective and efficient way possible. Without them the materialization of this dissertation would have been practically impossible. This project benefited from the support of many other scholars who provided feedback on different parts of my dissertation. Many thanks to Gabor Agoston, Virgil Coman, Linda Darling, Rositsa Gradeva, Susan Gunasti, Steven Hyland, Dina Khoury, Hasan Kayalı, Thomas Kuehn, Viorel Panaite, Julia Phillips Cohen, and Fariba Zarinebaf. They have all taken time from their busy schedules to discuss with me ideas and thoughts I found hard to articulate on my own. My deep gratitude for reading and making vii comments on different chapters of my dissertation goes to fellow graduate students Stephanie Honchell and Kirsten Hildonen of Ohio State and Noami Pitamber of the University of California in Los Angeles. We had amazing discussions on how to sharpen some arguments and how to develop others over cups of Turkish tea or American coffee. I would like to acknowledge and thank all the various organizations that funded my dissertation research. The American Research Institute in Turkey, the U.S. Department of Education (through the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program), and the College of Arts and Humanities at Ohio State all helped me examine the various archives and libraries in Turkey and Romania that were vital for my doctoral research. I would especially like to thank Professor Anthony Greenwood