The Transimperial Identities Oscillating Between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1923)

The present study examines the transimperial character of Italian identity in the Ottoman Empire, its ethnocultural origins, and the transformation process it underwent after the 1911 Italo-Ottoman War. To this end, the study will firstly theorize the formation and evolution of Italo-Levantine identity, explore its demographic background and composition, and elaborate on its extraterritoriality, which is of a pragmatic nature. In addressing this subject, the study will also explore the role of Italian Jews, who have oscillated between confessional and imperial affiliations since the fifteenth century, in the formation of this identity. Moreover, the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 signified an evolutionary turning point for the Italo-Levantine community within the Ottoman Empire. This incident subsequently led to post-Risorgimento migrations, characterized by a heightened political sentiment and a strong sense of homeland affiliation. This generation, integrated into the Venetian and Genoese colonies that had been settled for centuries in port cities such as Istanbul and Izmir, also introduced a civic awareness. This diasporic amalgamation within the Ottoman Empire, characterized by its intergenerational and transimperial nature, derived its legal authority from the capitulatory regime, which flourished on the basis of extraterritoriality. As illustrated by the typological classification and the individual cases presented in this study, the pragmatic flexibility of this identity was evident in the practices of naturalization. The second half of the thesis engages with the wartime transformation of Italian identity in the Ottoman Empire from “capitulatory protégés” to “enemy aliens” following the 1911 invasion of Ottoman Tripolitania. This transformation, which intensified with Italy's declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire in 1915, resulted in the marginalization of Italians both institutionally and individually, and their inclusion into a program of demographic design. For a more comprehensive understanding of the concept of “enemy alien,” its historical and conceptual background and its connection to Italian extraterritoriality within the Ottoman context are explored. The final part of the thesis consists of a case study based on the phenomenon of “transimperial jurisdiction” that emerged between the Ottoman and Italian regimes after the 1912 occupation of the Dodecanese. The intersection of Italian colonialism, Greek irredentism, and the Ottoman legacy fostered the transformation of the centuries-old Aegean capitulations into civic designs specific to the region, such as Aegean status and citizenship. Keywords: Transimperial identities, Italo-Levantines, Italian Jews, extraterritoriality, Ottoman capitulations, naturalization, enemy aliens