This book analyzes the expansion of the Anatolian livestock trade, focusing on sheep and cattle, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries— a period marked by significant changes in state policies, society and environment. It examines the impact of these changes on both human and non-human actors, maps trade routes and networks, and explores their transformations over time, thereby contributing to the literature on Ottoman environmental and socioeconomic history.

The book identifies three regions —central, northeastern, and northwestern Anatolia— and four Eastern Mediterranean ports (İzmir, İskenderun, Mersin, and Antalya) as major centers of livestock trade. It examines a combination of environmental, economic, social, and political dynamics that shaped the emergence of these regions as primary suppliers of sheep to Istanbul and the ports as gateways for livestock exports.

By highlighting diverse ecosystems and socioeconomic dynamics, and utilizing a variety of primary sources including Ottoman and British state documents, newspapers, memoirs, and travel accounts, the book aims to address several key questions: How did the ecosystems and socioeconomic dynamics of these regions and ports change in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries? What were the repercussions of these changes on livestock production and trade? And how did they impact the organization of livestock and meat trade in Istanbul?

Yonca Köksal Özyaşar is a Professor of History at Koç University. Her work focuses on the late Ottoman Empire, the Tanzimat reforms in the provinces, tribes and livestock trade in Anatolia, and Muslim minorities in Bulgaria and Romania. She has published several books and articles. Her most recent book is entitled The Ottoman Empire in the Tanzimat Era: Provincial Perspectives (Routledge, 2019). Her articles have appeared in journals such as European History Quarterly, American Behavioral Scientist, Nationalities Papers, Turkish Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Archiv Orientalni, and New Perspectives on Turkey.

Can Nacar is an Associate Professor of History at Koç University. His research centers on the lives of artisans and workers, transportation industries, trade networks, and the history of animals in the Ottoman Empire. His first book, entitled Labor and Power in the Late Ottoman Empire: Tobacco Workers, Managers, and the State, 1872-1912 was published in 2019. His publications have also appeared in journals such as the International Journal of Middle East Studies, Archiv Orientalni, Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, Toplum ve Bilim, and Kebikeç.

Table of Contents; Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Central Anatolia: An Established Supplier Of Livestock To Istanbul; Chapter 3: Northeastern Anatolia: An “Excluded” Region; Chapter 4: Hüdavendigar: A “Model” Province On The Passageways; Chapter 5: Eastern Mediterranean Ports And Livestock Trade; Chapter 6: Feeding The Imperial Capital; Chapter 7: Conclusion; Bibliography; Index