Paris Papamichos Chronakis, "The Business of Transition: Jewish and Greek Merchants of Salonica from Ottoman to Greek Rule" (Stanford UP, 2024)

Paris Papamichos Chronakis, "The Business of Transition: Jewish and Greek Merchants of Salonica from Ottoman to Greek Rule" (Stanford UP, 2024)

From New Books in Turkish Studies by New Books Network

September 25, 2025 · 1h 12m

About this episode

Paris Papamichos Chronakis discusses his book on the Jewish and Greek merchants of Salonica during the transition from Ottoman to Greek rule.

The Business of Transition: Jewish and Greek Merchants of Salonica from Ottoman to Greek Rule (Stanford UP, 2024) examines how the cosmopolitan bourgeoisie of the Eastern Mediterranean navigated the transition from empire to nation-state in the early twentieth century. In this social and cultural history, Paris Papamichos Chronakis shows how the Jewish and Greek merchants of Salonica (present-day Thessaloniki) skillfully managed the tumultuous shift from Ottoman to Greek rule amidst revolution and war, rising ethnic tensions, and heightened class conflict. Bringing their once powerful voices back into the historical narrative, he traces their entangled trajectories as businessmen, community members, and civic leaders to illustrate how the self-reinvention of a Jewish-led bourgeoisie made a city Greek. Papamichos Chronakis draws on previously untapped local archival material to weave a rich narrative of individual portraits, introducing us to revered philanthropists and committed patriots as well as vilified profiteers and victimized Salonicans. Offering a kaleidoscopic view of a city in transition, this book reveals how the collapse of empire shook all the constitutive elements…

People in this episode

Guest: Paris Papamichos Chronakis

Topics covered

  • Jewish history
  • Greek history
  • Ottoman Empire
  • nation-state transition
  • merchant communities
  • cultural identity
  • archival research

Keywords

  • Salonika
  • Thessaloniki
  • Jewish merchants
  • Greek merchants
  • Ottoman to Greek rule
  • cultural history
  • bourgeoisie
  • national identity
  • archival material

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford UP

Books & works: The Business of Transition: Jewish and Greek Merchants of Salonica from Ottoman to Greek Rule

Places: Salonika, Thessaloniki

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