Commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 18th Century: The Case of Damietta Port

Abstract

Located on the eastern branch of the Nile, close to Syrian ports, Damietta has served marine vessels trading with the Palestinian, Syrian and Anatolian markets for centuries. With the 1517 conquest of Egypt, Port of Damietta came under the rule of the Ottomans, and thus, owing to its commercial importance, the city was given the status of a centrally administered sanjak in 1572 together with other Egyptian port cities. Due to the policies implemented there by the Ottoman State, the regions which Port of Damietta had commercial relations with were mostly regions that formed the domestic trade pillar of the state. The port’s commercial relationship with European ports remained at a very limited level. Damietta came to the forefront with its position as the shipping port of various commercial commodities such as notably rice, coffee, sugar, cereals, henna, linen, etc. transported to Anatolian coasts, Syrian ports and the Ottoman capital, Istanbul. Being a rather small port when compared to Alexandria, one of the important Egyptian ports, Damietta has been an important center for Istanbul for centuries, especially thanks to the rice indigenous to the city. 
 In this study, we will focus on the dimensions of the trade conducted in Port of Damietta in the 18th century. In this context, the traded commodities, the geography with which the port had commercial relations with and the routes used, as well as the policies followed by the Ottoman state to keep the trade in Damietta alive will be discussed in the light of documents found in Ottoman archives.