French Studies of the Ottoman Empire's Arab Provinces

Abstract

French interest in the Arab countries of the Mediterranean is long-standing, the result of the geographical proximity of France to these countries and the commercial ties that developed between France and the échelles of the Levant. Travel accounts of the eighteenth century afforded the French a systematic, practically scientific familiarity with these countries, one that culminated in the Description de l'Egypte. French colonization of the Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East only increased this interest. From 1830 to 1950, scholarly research was dominated by Orientalism, though colonial prejudices served only to tinge these thorough studies, whose results are often still valid. Research during the years 1950–70 underwent a transition marked by the process of decolonization. Since the 1970s, French research has experienced a rapid expansion, particularly in the field of urban studies, which is one of its traditional strong points.