LAUSR

crews of galleys, archeological pieces of evidence, paintings, sculptures, court registers, texts that admire a city, travel diaries, etc. Some authors explain pluralistic phases in a single period, and others deal with ethnic changes over time. All types of articles stress the importance of the interactive aspects. Throughout, the authors try to reveal and describe the reality—that is to say, the practice of coexistence—without ideological prejudice or bias. In addition, many authors appear to be trying to find new perspectives that are not bound by previous research, even if sometimes they appear to be minor revisions of previous studies. It is appropriate for the research of a multicultural world that the authors themselves have a wide variety of backgrounds. The countries where they earned doctoral degrees and where they work now are also wide-ranging: Italy, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. The participation of Turkish researchers in the project of this book could particularly broaden our horizons for an open-minded discussion with cross-cultural contact. The style of each article also varies from author to author. Some authors devote a larger space in their paper to the discussion concerning themulti-ethnic subject, rather than illustrating research based on analysis of historical sources. The levels of historical analysis are diverse, and some of the articles demonstrate rather bold or wild interpretations. The interdisciplinary contents in this book are fully impressive, but some researchmethods of historical analysis may be a little difficult for scholars in other fields to judge adequately. It was challenging to judge whether the content presented in each article was fresh or not as an analysis of historicalmaterials or interpretation for experts in each field. The book, nevertheless,providesuswith apreciousopportunity to learn aboutmulti-ethnicityandpractices in various areas of historical research. The careful and elaborate study based on theOttoman court ledger, for example, shone light on Turkish historical materials. And through all articles, the reader can deepen their viewpoint on the subject of cultures and practices of coexistence.This is an important issue that is relevant to the contemporary societywe live in now. The reader could widen their insight about such a subject through this book.