EUGENE L. ROGAN, Frontiers of the State in the LateOttoman Empire, Cambridge Middle East Studies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1999). Pp. 289.

Extract

Eugene Rogan's book on Transjordan in the later Ottoman period offers a narrative and an analysis that will interest Middle East historians in various fields. Using central Ottoman archives, local Jordanian records and memoirs and European accounts, Rogan paints an intriguing and nuanced picture of a frontier society's experience of incorporation into the modern state. The book frames its material in a way that allows historians in other fields to compare the Transjordanian experience to their own specialized areas. The author's major thesis is that the modern state was introduced into Transjordan by the Ottomans and their associates in the 19th century, laying the groundwork for the redefinition of the country as a political entity by the British and Hashemites after World War I. In arguing his thesis, Rogan is sensitive to regional variations in local society and politics. Each of the עAjlun, Salt, and Karak districts is finely drawn, allowing the reader to understand the distinct features of each district's engagement with late-Ottoman modernity. The book explores the indigenous population's relationship with newly arrived immigrants, colonists, merchants, and missionaries. Themes of general historical interest include state formation, population movements, integration into regional markets, crystallization of modern identities, and the creation of new forms of consciousness. The icing on the cake is Rogan's fluent prose and nimble use of character sketches, which together make this one of those rare scholarly books that is also a pleasure to read.