Ellinor Morack, *The Dowry of the State?: The Politics of Abandoned Property and the Population Exchange in Turkey, 1921-1945*. Bamberg, Germany: University of Bamberg Press, 2017.

In 1922, the Greeks and the remaining Armenians in what is now Turkey were forced to leave their homeland, and the properties they left behind were termed "abandoned property" (emval-i metruke). This legal designation implied that the absent owners still held their property rights and were represented by the state. However, in practice, their homes, lands, and belongings were confiscated. These assets were repurposed to satisfy the immediate housing needs of the remaining population, distributed among the wealthy and powerful, and sold at public auctions. Initially, only a small portion of the abandoned property was under the control of the new Ankara government, which was eager to use it as a source of revenue for its strained finances. Before this could be fully realized, the government encountered various forms of both active and passive resistance: homeless individuals and refugees took over the "abandoned" properties, while members of parliament were initially hesitant to pass laws that would legitimize government control over these assets. Beginning in 1924, the compensation for incoming migrants from Greece (the so-called exchangees) threatened the state's financial stability and created friction between the newcomers and the existing residents. By exploring these aspects of the "abandoned property" situation, this book offers important insights into the socio-economic and political history of early republican Turkey.