Visible and invisible borders between Christians and Muslims in the Early Modern World

It has traditionally been argued that with the rise of the modern nation state, borders increasingly became lines demarcating the spatial limits of state power. Recent efforts have been made to re-examine this territorial argument and pay close attention to the social, cultural, political, economic, and religious networks that created, reinforced, and also traversed borderlands. Though war, conquest, and diplomacy repeatedly redrew the dividing lines between empires and kingdoms, extensive interactions and exchanges left the borderlands with deeply entangled roots and routes. These patterns, mechanisms, and forces had a deep impact on all aspects of life and are still felt today. Arguably, no single element has been more dominant in shaping this complex relationship than the regional historiographies and historical memories that tried to write the empires out of their pasts entirely.