How do terms used to describe migration change over time? How do those changes reflect possibilities of inclusion and exclusion? Ella Fratantuono places the governance of migrants at the centre of Ottoman state-building across a 60-year period (1850 1910) to answer these questions. She traces the significance of the term muhacir (migrant) within Ottoman governance during this global era of mass migration, during which millions of migrants arrived in the empire, many fleeing from oppression, violence and war. Rather than adopting the familiar distinction between coerced and non-coerced migration, Fratanuono explores how officials' use of muhacir captures changing approaches to administering migrants and the Ottoman population. By doing so, she places the Ottoman experience within a global history of migration management and sheds light on how six decades of governing migration contributed to the infrastructures and ideology essential to mass displacement in the empire's last decade.How do terms used to describe migration change over time? How do those changes reflect possibilities of inclusion and exclusion? Ella Fratantuono places the governance of migrants at the centre of Ottoman state-building across a 60-year period (1850–1910) to answer these questions. She traces the significance of the term muhacir (migrant) within Ottoman governance during this global era of mass migration, during which millions of migrants arrived in the empire, many fleeing from oppression, violence and war. Rather than adopting the familiar distinction between coerced and non-coerced migration, Fratanuono explores how officials’ use of muhacir captures changing approaches to administering migrants and the Ottoman population. By doing so, she places the Ottoman experience within a global history of migration management and sheds light on how six decades of governing migration contributed to the infrastructures and ideology essential to mass displacement in the empire’s last decade.

"With her impressive linguistic abilities [Ella Fratantuono] has exploited well the Turkish archives to produce an important scholarly work that contributes to the rehabilitation of the late Ottoman Empire." - CHOICE

"In her comprehensive book, Fratantuono explores six decades of migration narratives to the Ottoman territories, meticulously examining the intricate interplay of laws, institutional frameworks, and structural dynamics that shaped these movements. She highlights the roles of key actors involved in this complex process, drawing on an extensive array of large-scale and richly detailed sources to provide a profound understanding of the historical context and implications of migration during this period." - Diyâr, Journal for Ottoman Studies, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies