Readings on Ottoman History in the Middle East and the Balkans

The Ottoman Empire arose from the rubble of waning Islamic and Byzantine empires and became the longest lasting Islamic empire in history. In this seminar we will explore the rise of the empire, from its nascence as an unknown tribe in thirteenth-century western Anatolia to its formidable dominance of the Mediterranean and European worlds in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and on to its responses to European ascendancy on the eve of modernity. Selected readings will help us explore its origins, its political, social, and cultural structures, as well as its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural identity, with particular attention to its influence on the Balkans and the Arab Middle East during the early modern period. 3 hrs. sem.