New book on Ottoman history hits shelves in Egypt

A new book on Egypt's Ottoman-era history, "The High Court in Ottoman Egypt," hit bookstores in Cairo on Tuesday.

According to a press release issued by Egypt's National Library and Archives, the book draws on records kept by the Ottoman High Court between 1742 and 1744.

Describing Egypt's Ottoman era as "a critical period in the country's history," the book tackles a range of issues, including contemporary religious endowments, commercial contracts and marriages and divorces.

The book contains documents dating back 12 centuries, written in Ottoman and translated into Arabic. The period of Ottoman rule in Egypt ran, on and off, from the 16th century to the early 20th century.