The English Chaplains at Aleppo: Exploration and Scholarship between England and the Ottoman Empire, 1620–1760

Abstract

Between the late 16th and the late 18th century, a small community of English merchants resided in the heart of the old city of Aleppo. Although primarily concerned with the business of international trade, the factors, consuls and chaplains who served the English Levant Company formed an important cultural link between England and the early modern Ottoman Empire. This article surveys the careers of the chaplains, over a period of around 140 years, and explores some of their interests in the fields of oriental studies and antiquarianism. By tracing the ways in which information about the Levant was relayed from Aleppo to English scholars, it argues that the English factory played an important role in the development of these fields as scientific disciplines.