This book includes a foreword, an introduction, and thirteen articles. Editors of the book classified the articles into three categories as below: part 1, “The Medieval City as a Cultural Crossroad”; part 2, “The Multi-Ethnic Dimension of Early Modern ‘Metropolises’”; part 3, “Mediators; Translators; Interpreters.” The authors describe each article on two principles. First, this book is full of the words diversity, multi-ethnicity, plurality, etc. We find the energy and commitment for pluralism shown by the authors. Second, the authors are conscious of referring to something concerning “culture and practice” of coexistence with a clear purpose. Their consciousness also appears in each conclusion.
Some authors focus on specific cities, such as Acre, Famagusta, Genoa, Venice, Istanbul, Rome, Cordova, and Tarragona, in which a variety of ethnic groups influenced the history of each city. The authors find the scenes where plural ethnic or cultural groups coexisted in the city. In those cases, the authors often illustrate the importance of the relationships between people and neighborhoods.
In contrast, the subjects of some articles are individuals such as humanists, historians, priests, book traders, travelers, etc. These people experienced a multi-ethnic world, deepened their viewpoints about it in their writings, or dedicated their time to the transmission of different cultures. The reader can see different perspectives depending on the position of each contemporary writer.
The historical materials that the authors analyze are varied in nature: plans, lists of crews of galleys, archeological pieces of evidence, paintings, sculptures, court registers, texts that admire a city, travel diaries, etc. Some authors explain pluralistic phases in a single period, and others deal with ethnic changes over time. All types of articles stress the importance of the interactive aspects.
Throughout, the authors try to reveal and describe the reality—that is to say, the practice of coexistence—without ideological prejudice or bias. In addition, many authors appear to be trying to find new perspectives that are not bound by previous research, even if sometimes they appear to be minor revisions of previous studies.
It is appropriate for the research of a multicultural world that the authors themselves have a wide variety of backgrounds. The countries where they earned doctoral degrees and where they work now are also wide-ranging: Italy, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. The participation of Turkish researchers in the project of this book could particularly broaden our horizons for an open-minded discussion with cross-cultural contact.
The style of each article also varies from author to author. Some authors devote a larger space in their paper to the discussion concerning the multi-ethnic subject, rather than illustrating research based on analysis of historical sources. The levels of historical analysis are diverse, and some of the articles demonstrate rather bold or wild interpretations. The interdisciplinary contents in this book are fully impressive, but some research methods of historical analysis may be a little difficult for scholars in other fields to judge adequately.
It was challenging to judge whether the content presented in each article was fresh or not as an analysis of historical materials or interpretation for experts in each field. The book, nevertheless, provides us with a precious opportunity to learn about multi-ethnicity and practices in various areas of historical research. The careful and elaborate study based on the Ottoman court ledger, for example, shone light on Turkish historical materials. And through all articles, the reader can deepen their viewpoint on the subject of cultures and practices of coexistence. This is an important issue that is relevant to the contemporary society we live in now. The reader could widen their insight about such a subject through this book.
