The studies brought together here are based on Amnon Cohen's many years of research in the archives of the Shari'a courts in Jerusalem, as well as archives in Ankara and Istanbul, London and Paris, complemented and enhanced by travellers' reports, diplomatic correspondence, and Arab chronicles of the Middle East. Cohen highlights major developments in the economic, demographic and social fields, stretching over four centuries of Ottoman rule in Palestine, from the zenith of military achievements in Europe up to the demise of the empire and conquest of Palestine by the British army in the first World War. These studies are histories of the whole country, stretching from the Mediterranean coasts to the highlands of Jerusalem and beyond, to the Jordan valley. They cover the vicissitudes of both the urban setting and rural hinterland, with special attention equally paid to the diversified nature of the Palestinian population comprised of Jews, Christians and Muslims - and their respective holy places.