Abstract
Peasant migration was the subject of careful regulation in the Ottoman Empire. The government tried to control peasant movement in order to ensure the supply of agricultural labor; peasants, on the other hand, used migration as one weapon against government abuses. This article examines Ottoman policy towards migration and recorded instances of peasant migration in sixteenth-century Palestine. Peasant migration is most commonly considered in the context of seasonal labor movements, responding to large-scale agricultural enterprises or temporary labor shortages. Alternatively, migration may occur as a result of some disaster: war, famine, drought, or flood. Temporary migration suggests a short-term move, wherein people pull up stakes for a denned period and retrace their steps after some months or years. This article, however, examines migration as the action of individuals who appear to have left their former homes permanently.