Zivkovic, Jelena; (2020) Archaeology of Ottomanisation in the Middle Danube region: technological perspectives on pottery production in Belgrade between the 14th-17th centuries. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis presents archaeological research that centres on the phenomenon of Ottomanisation, defined as the cultural change that unfolded within the political framework of the Ottoman Empire. The research focusses on Belgrade (Serbia) during the 14th-17th centuries, when this town was a major urban centre of the Middle Danube region. Although the term Ottomanisation is often used in historiography to describe changes in material culture, particularly architecture, agents and mechanisms of these changes remained understudied. The archaeological approach to Ottomanisation proposed in this thesis focuses on the long-term development of Belgrade’s ceramic production technology. The pottery coming from several well-defined archaeological contexts located in the intra and extra muros settlements of Belgrade’s town is scientifically analysed for technological characterisation and provenance determination. Ceramic petrography, wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy are the three methods used for the analyses of ceramics, slips and glazes. The theoretical framework used for the interpretation of the analytical data is embedded into the cultural approach to technology and the chaîne opératoire conceptual framework that enable the identification of potters’ choices, their communities of practice and technological traditions. The results suggest that the production technology of the locally made pottery went through substantial changes after the Ottoman conquest of Belgrade in 1521. The Ottoman-era production (1521-1688) brought a new set of knowledge and skills, suggesting the presence of a new group of potters in Belgrade after the conquest. They probably encountered an existing community of potters, as some technological traits suggest. A dynamic of interaction between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ communities of potters shaped the cultural change. Therefore, this thesis suggests that Ottomanisation should not necessarily be seen through a top-down model of political influence of the Ottoman Empire on its subjects, but it can also be related to cultural interaction between different communities in the Ottoman societies.

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