The Ottoman Empire
A gap in the curriculum
The Ottoman Empire
ScopeBroad enough for its own sub-branch
AfterDestiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes
Lineage13 books back to the Big Bang
I also do not know enough about the Ottoman Empire—specifically how it rose, how it was governed, and what eventually made it the so-called sick man of Europe. I am vaguely aware of its different pillars of society and the ways some modern Middle Eastern states may still reflect Ottoman forms of organization, but I do not understand the system clearly.
Claude’s take
Destiny Disrupted sketches the Islamic world; the Ottomans — its longest-lived early-modern power — deserve their own line.
Candidate reading
- Osman's Dream — Caroline Finkel
- The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe — Daniel Goffman