The Ottoman state was, doubtless, dual nature by design. The Muslim, Turkish sultans in still predominantly Christian Anatolia and later completely Christian Thrace could only rule by co-opting, allying and converting local elites, Greeks, Slavs, Italians, Jews and Armenians. The Ottoman court continued to recruit outsiders down to the 19th century, when defeated Polish revolutionaries joined the sultan’s army as pashas (and converted to Islam). In its heyday, the empire forcefully recruited Christian boys into the elite infantry units, the Janissaries, and kidnapped Christian girls for the imperial harem. As a result of this latter practice, Muslim sultans could converse easily in Greek or Italian, the language of their mothers. Mehmet II, the conqueror of Constantinople, Baer reminds us, collected scientific and literary works in both those languages.

The Ottomans by Marc David Baer — Open Letters Review The Ottomans by Marc David Baer — Open Letters Review

The Ottoman’s created the first military band music of any country. Think about it: which country today makes the best cymbals for a marching band? Turkey. Ottomans added the tambourine, bass drum, kettledrum and Turkish Crescent (google that on YouTube w/ Berlioz). I picture popular Ottoman marching hits like, “We’ll take Your Son, in Ways More than One” and “Never leave Your Buddies Behind.” At this time, European elites are introduced to Ottoman fabrics, furniture (divan & ottoman), and Turkish coffee. Beardless Albanian youth worked in Ottoman public baths as shampooers and prostitutes. How difficult was it for Ottomans to shampoo their own damn head? When was the last time you thought, “Oh my God! Why can’t someone other than me, shampoo me?”It is somewhat anachronistic to glorify the empire as a multicultural haven; yes, many groups found greater tolerance under the Ottomans than they did under other regimes, but even as this story goes, it becomes clear that in times of crisis it reasserted itself as a fundamentally Muslim enterprise. Its undoing is well described by the nationalism that fueled the 19th and early 20th centuries: both the nationalism of the peoples who separated from the empire, and the Turkish nationalism that overtook the empire's leadership. Baer traces the origins of the Ottoman dynasty from its humble beginnings as a nomadic tribe in Anatolia to its rise as a super power, a global empire that spanned three continents and six centuries. He highlights the Ottoman heritage of Byzantine-Roman, Turco-Mongol, and Muslim influences, and how they shaped the Ottoman identity and worldview. He also explores the Ottoman practices of religious conversion, patronage, diplomacy, warfare, reform, succession politics which culminated into fratricide and how they changed over time in response to internal and external challenges and eventually the empire collapsed and how Memory matters: in 1918, the French general who entered Istanbul after the Allied victory was riding a white horse in a deliberately humiliating imitation of Mehmed II more than 450 years earlier. Baer’s fine book gives a panoramic and thought-provoking account of over half a millennium of Ottoman and – it now goes without saying – European history.

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs|Paperback The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs|Paperback

The Ottoman Empire was founded by, and named after, Osman I, a tribal leader of one of many Anatolian beyliks which emerged in the second half of the thirteenth century. His grandson Murad I, who ruled 1362 to 1389, was the first head of the Ottoman dynasty to style himself as sultan, secular civil and military leader, rather than the title of 'bey' (chief) taken by his predecessors Osman and Orhan. The new title represented the transition to a more settled and organised empire, which was expanded by Murad I's conquests of Adrianople (which he renamed Edirne) and much of the Balkans during his reign.Venice and Florence were big beneficiaries from the Fall of Constantinople. The British and French got much of their silks and cottons from the Ottomans. In fact, during the Renaissance, the Ottomans were the largest trading party in Europe. Elizabeth I lost her teeth to Moroccan sugar. “The Ottoman’s only claim to legitimacy was their might.” Selim I conquers Tabriz and gets to work with his soldiers by “raping women, boys and girls.” When he’s done, Tabriz needs Fabreze. Much of Kurdistan comes under Ottoman control and Selim I virtually re-establishes the Ottoman state. Selim I slaughters tens of thousands of shi’ites. The Ottomans conquer the Mamluks, Egypt and Syria and part of Sudan and they will rule the Middle East until 1917. The Ottomans actually noticeably contributed to the Protestant Reformation in Europe because its enemy, the Hapsburgs, were Catholic; Martin Luther called the Ottomans the instrument of divine punishment against the church. In Spain, Hungary and the Netherlands the Ottomans were a bee in the Hapsburg bonnet. Anti-Hapsburg rebels in the Netherlands actually made coins printed with “Rather Turkish than Popish” in the 1570’s. That the Ottoman Empire wasn't actually majority-Muslim until Selim I "The Grim" conquered the Mamelukes and expanded into Safavid-held territories in the late 1400's. It’s not news that Sufism is interesting, but I couldn’t help observing while reading this history that, though on one level I already felt like I was being punished, like I was punishing myself for wanting more after a previous history, I’d still be really interested in a history of Sufism. I’m sure there’s an encyclopedia somewhere, actually, there must be people with graduate degrees in the history of Sufism. Over and over, throughout the 600-year history of the empire, political events are mixed up with the latest emergence of a new doctrine or particularly charismatic new Sufi leader. The Ottoman Empire is often regarded as Islamic-Asian but this book argues it has been a central part of European history. At the height of their power, the Ottomans ruled much of southeastern Europe – nearly one-quarter of its land mass. Tracing the empire’s history from its late 13th-century founding, chapters focusing on successive rulers are interspersed with chapters discussing cultural issues. Ottoman power peaked at the end of the 16th century but gradual decline set in – because of internal and external factors – after the failure to capture Vienna in 1683. Perhaps the author could be accused of adopting an anti-western slant in places and of treating the Ottomans as too enlightened, but this well-written, thought-provoking account argues persuasively for the empire as multiethnic, multilingual and multireligious for much of its history. Brian Maye