A Short History of the Ottoman Empire
© 2021
The question of "who were the Ottomans" has occupied many scholars over the last hundred years. The Ottoman Empire was a formidable force involved in European politics and commerce almost since its inception; yet, despite its prominence, the Ottomans are often not emphasized in narratives of medieval and early modern Europe.
Beginning with an introduction to pre-Ottoman history, this book traces the emergence of the Ottoman Empire from the Turkic migrations out of Central Asia to their encounters with the Islamic world. It also explores the expansion of Ottoman rule not just into the Middle East but into the Balkans and North Africa. Uncovering the strategies behind the longevity of the Ottoman Empire, the author highlights the Empire’s pragmatism and flexibility in governing over vast territories and diverse peoples. Beautifully illustrated in full color throughout, A Short History of the Ottoman Empire utilizes clear headings, themes, text boxes, primary source translations, and maps to assist students in understanding the Empire’s complex and lengthy history.
Product Details
- World Rights
- Page Count: 376 pages
- Illustrations: 90
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.0in x 9.0in
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Author Information
Renée Worringer is an associate professor of Islamic and Middle East History in the Department of History at the University of Guelph. -
Table of contents
Acknowledgments
An Introduction to Ottoman Historiography
Sources of Ottoman History
Chapter Outline
Glossary of Terms1. The Early Ottoman Synthesis: Inheritors of Multiple Traditions
Who are the Turks?
Islamic Beginnings
Islamic “Ghulam System” and “Mamluk” Slavery
The Islamic Cultural Milieu
The Medieval “Neighborhood”: Anatolia and the Middle East
The House of Osman
Islam and Non-Muslims on the Anatolian-Balkan Frontier2. The Ottoman Emirate: Consolidating Power, Evolving Strategies
Some Chronology to 1402
Alliance-Building and Legitimacy
Shifting Succession, Open Succession, Reproductive Politics
Early Provincial Administration and the Timar-Holding Sipahi Cavalry
Kapıkulu Slaves: The Devşirme System and the Janissary Corps3. Ottoman Interregnum and Revival
An Ottoman Family Divided
Vassals, Venice, and Vexing Rebels
Imperial Vision: Fatih Mehmed II
The Siege of Constantinople
Constructing an Ottoman Capital
Communal Relations, or Evolution of the “Millet System”
Ottoman Authority Reclaimed4. Becoming an Empire: Tools of State
Dealing with the Unruly: Sürgün or “Resettlement”
Managing Conquest: Vassals and Voivodes
“Family Strife” and European Involvement: Bayezid II (r.1481-1512) and Cem
Battle Formations, Weapons, and Siege Tactics
Early Ottoman Naval Forces
Ottoman Diplomacy, Naval Power, Friends and Enemies, Christian and Muslim
The Safavid “Heresy”
The Mamluk Sultanate, the “Southern Tier”5. Reaching Imperial Heights: Sixteenth Century Ottoman Empire
“The Grand Turk”: Süleyman the Magnificent, Süleyman the Lawgiver (Kanuni)
Sultan Süleyman’s Many Campaigns
Structures of Empire and Ottoman Governance
Projecting Ottoman Prestige
Disruption in Succession
From Center to Provinces
Dynastic Upheaval Begins6. Life in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Identities, Public Spaces, and Social Groupings
Non-Human Animals in Ottoman Life
Living, Loving, Learning, Dying: The Non-Elite Experience7. An Empire Changing: The Balance of Power at Home and Abroad
Global Reordering and the Ottoman Position
Sultanic Spectacle and Palace Dynamics
War, Climate, Rebellion
Ottoman “Decline”?
Seventeenth-Century Chaos and Renewal: Kadızade Conservatism, Spiritual Millenarianism, the Köprülü Grand Vezirs8. Late-Seventeenth-Century Ottoman Disruptions, Eighteenth-Century Intrusions and Exchanges
Trouble in the Northern Arc
The Siege of Vienna 1683 and Ruinous Aftermath
The “Edirne Incident” and a Changing Elite
Imposing Neighbors, Europe is Knocking
Cultural Exchanges: Eighteenth-Century Ottoman Intersections
Late-Eighteenth-Century Disruptions9. The “Long” Nineteenth Century: Reform, Change, and the Rise of Nationalism
“Defensive Modernization” Begins
Besieged Within and Without
Losing Egypt
Ottoman Reform Amid Crises
Nationalism Germinating
The Crises Continue: Reform and Repercussions
The Crimean War, Refugees, the Young Ottomans10. At Empire’s End
Changes in Ottoman Lifestyle
Precursors to Sectarian Violence and Mass Migrations
The Ottoman Constitution and Parliament
San Stefano, the Treaty of Berlin: Balkans Lost, Refugees Gained
Sultan Abdülhamid II, Autocrat Modernizer
The Young Turk Movement, Nationalism, and Revolution
The Committee of Union and Progress in Power
Arabism and the Naḥda11. The Empire at War
The Ottomans Lose Europe
CUP Crisis Management and the Coming of the Great War
The Ottoman Empire, World War One
The Armenian Genocide, April 1915 ~
Secret Deals, the Arab Revolt
Great War Ends, Anatolian War Continues, the Political Aftermath12. Epilogue: Ottoman Legacies and Turkey’s Ghosts
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