A Comparative Evolution of Business Partnerships: The Islamic World and Europe, with Specific Reference to the Ottoman Archives
This monograph deals with the entrepreneurs, the partnerships they
formed and how these partnerships evolved through a time span of
about fourteen centuries, that is, from the birth of Islam to the
present. The first part of the book examines the evolution of
medieval partnership forms in Europe and finally in the United
States, while in the second part the much less known Islamic
evolution is studied. The study of the Islamic evolution is based
on extensive original research conducted in the Ottoman
archives.
Comparative economic and business historians of these two great
civilizations will find this book highly important, while modern
Islamic bankers and economists interested in the actual functioning
of an Islamic economy will find this volume indispensable reading,
for here they have a unique chance to observe an Islamic economy
and business operating within an historical framework.
'"This is a well-researched book whose main strength lies in the new information it brings on the evolution of business partnerships in the Ottoman world."' Elena Frankgakis-Syrett, "Business History", 1998.
Murat Cizakca, Ph.D. (1978) in Economics, University of Pennsylvania, is Professor of Economics and Economic History at Bo azici (Bosphorus) University in Istanbul, Turkey. He has published extensively on comparative (European/Ottoman) industrial and financial history, Islamic banking and economics.
