Middle East Drug Cultures in the Long View

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter discusses the integration of opium, cannabis/hashish, tobacco, and coffee into Middle East drug cultures from the rise of Islam in the seventh century through the long nineteenth century. Each of these key stimulants or intoxicants was introduced and disseminated in the region independently, some earlier than others, with each drug becoming subject to distinct perceptions; medicinal, legal and political discourses; and distinct social anxieties and controversies. Yet, beginning in the seventeenth century, the budding of new urban coffeehouses throughout the Middle East meant that such drugs could now be consumed together under a single roof. As a result, novel patterns of shared consumption and sociability were forged across Middle East societies. These processes and the debates they precipitated are explored in their Ottoman and Iranian contexts, providing a broader comparative perspective on these drug transformations.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationThe Oxford Handbook of Global Drug History
EditorsGootenberg Paul
PublisherOxford University Press
Chapter13
Pages230-248
ISBN (Print)0190842644
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2022

Publication series

NameOXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES
PublisherOxford University Press

Keywords

  • cannabis
  • coffee
  • coffeehouses
  • hashish
  • Iran
  • opium
  • Ottoman Empire
  • tobacco
  • World History

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