Muslim beliefs have inspired charitable giving for over fourteen centuries, yet Islamic history has rarely been examined from this perspective. In Charity in Islamic Societies , Amy Singer explains the basic concepts and institutions of Muslim charity: the obligatory annual payment of zakat together with voluntary donations of all sizes, undertaken at every level of society, and across the span of individual lifetimes. Charitable endowments – established by rulers, wealthy individuals, and even those of more modest means – shaped Muslim societies, cultures, and landscapes in ever era. This book demonstrates how historical circumstances, social status, gender, age, and other factors interacted with religious ideals to produce a vast array of charitable practices, from the early days of Islam to the present. Relying on evidence from written texts, buildings, images, and objects to anchor the discussions in each chapter, the author explores the motivations for charity, its impact on the rich and the poor, and the politicization of giving, arguing that the study of philanthropy affords a unique prism through which to examine the past.

Cities of the Ottoman Empire have drawn consistent attention in modern research, which implicitly and explicitly investigates the concept of an "Ottoman city." The great variety of cities in the empire, along with indicators of their commonalities, is clearly reflected in the papers presented here, which discuss cities from Tarbiz to Cairo, from Sivas to Sremska Mitrovica. The papers also reveal the diversity and profusion of source materials which characterize modern Ottoman studies. This volume contains 26 of the over 120 papers presented at the Ninth Congress of the Comité International des Études Préottomanes et Ottomanes (CIEPO), which convened in Jerusalem in July 1990.