INSTRUCTIONS
Topic for my final research paper: (I have also attached this along with my annotated bibliography)
This paper will analyze the transformation of Aleppo’s merchant economy in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, focusing on how shifts in global trade networks, Ottoman
reforms, and European economic encroachment reshaped the city’s prosperity and the roles of its
minority communities. The paper claims that although Aleppo was a busy trading and banking
center between the Ottoman sector and its Mediterranean and Asian trade, its commercial
prominence gradually diminished as European banking and commerce undermined local
merchants, and Ottoman centralizing reforms interfered with traditional circles of influence. By
comparing modern work on the decline of Aleppo with the travel accounts of Sir Adolphus Slade
in his Records of Travels in Turkey and Russell's Natural History of Aleppo, this work will
demonstrate that, even as external forces played a role in the decline of Aleppo, internal
restructuring that undermined the traditional merchant elites and marginalized minority groups
also contributed to the fall of Aleppo. Things to keep in mind: This is an argumentative research paper, so it should maintain an argumentative tone and avoid any personal phrases like "I". So don't include "I think" or "I believe" or any other personal terms. Also, my professor mentioned that it is known that this is an argumentative paper, so don't write about how its an argumentative paper and include things like "this source is for my argumentative paper". Lastly, Make sure the book's names are in Italics. My professor also hasn't graded my annotated bibliography so when I receive a grade and any feedback, I will provide it as soon as possible to apply anything she recommends to the final paper. Please do not use AI and be sure that it passes any AI detection sources, even GPT 0. My professor is strict so make it human.