The Mellah of Marrakesh

Weaving together threads from Jewish history and Islamic urban studies, "The Mellah of Marrakesh" situates the history of what was once the largest Jewish quarter in the Arab world in its proper historical and geographical contexts. Although framed by coverage of both earlier and later periods, the book focuses on the late 19th century, a time when both the vibrancy of the mellah and the tenacity of longstanding patterns of inter-communal relations that took place within its walls were being severely tested. How local Jews and Muslims, as well as resident Europeans lived the big political, economic, and social changes of the pre- and early colonial periods is reconstructed in Emily Gottreich's vivid narrative. Emily Gottreich has taught courses in Jewish history and Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard, the University of California, Davis, and the University of California, Berkeley, where she currently serves as Vice Chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.