The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs
- Downloads：3796
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-30 06:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Marc David Baer
- ISBN：1541673808
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A major new history of the Ottoman dynasty， revealing a diverse empire that straddled East and West
The Ottoman Empire has long been depicted as the Islamic， Asian antithesis of the Christian， European West。 But the reality was starkly different: the Ottomans’ multiethnic， multilingual， and multireligious domain reached deep into Europe’s heart。 Indeed， the Ottoman rulers saw themselves as the new Romans。 Recounting the Ottomans’ remarkable rise from a frontier principality to a world empire， historian Marc David Baer traces their debts to their Turkish， Mongolian， Islamic， and Byzantine heritage。 The Ottomans pioneered religious toleration even as they used religious conversion to integrate conquered peoples。 But in the nineteenth century， they embraced exclusivity， leading to ethnic cleansing， genocide， and the empire’s demise after the First World War。
The Ottomans vividly reveals the dynasty’s full history and its enduring impact on Europe and the world。
The Ottoman Empire has long been depicted as the Islamic， Asian antithesis of the Christian， European West。 But the reality was starkly different: the Ottomans’ multiethnic， multilingual， and multireligious domain reached deep into Europe’s heart。 Indeed， the Ottoman rulers saw themselves as the new Romans。 Recounting the Ottomans’ remarkable rise from a frontier principality to a world empire， historian Marc David Baer traces their debts to their Turkish， Mongolian， Islamic， and Byzantine heritage。 The Ottomans pioneered religious toleration even as they used religious conversion to integrate conquered peoples。 But in the nineteenth century， they embraced exclusivity， leading to ethnic cleansing， genocide， and the empire’s demise after the First World War。
The Ottomans vividly reveals the dynasty’s full history and its enduring impact on Europe and the world。
Reviews
Richard Derus
，
STARRED LibraryJournal review！ https://www。libraryjournal。com/？revie。。。 STARRED LibraryJournal review！ https://www。libraryjournal。com/？revie。。。 。。。more
Ethan
，
A thorough history of the Ottoman Empire from its origin in Anatolia in the 13th century until its collapse in the early 20th century。The author correctly recognizes how the Ottoman Empire is generally only tangentially studied and appreciated: it is known for finally capturing Constantinople and eliminating the Byzantine Empire; it was romanticized as the land of sultans and his harem; it represented a continual threat to central Europe; they were part of the Central Powers。 Yet the Ottomans ar A thorough history of the Ottoman Empire from its origin in Anatolia in the 13th century until its collapse in the early 20th century。The author correctly recognizes how the Ottoman Empire is generally only tangentially studied and appreciated: it is known for finally capturing Constantinople and eliminating the Byzantine Empire; it was romanticized as the land of sultans and his harem; it represented a continual threat to central Europe; they were part of the Central Powers。 Yet the Ottomans are seen as wholly Other， Eastern; not part of the European world。The author thus tells the history of the Ottomans to try to refute that view。 He speaks of their alliances with the Byzantines at times， the multinational， multiethnic， and multireligious nature of the Empire， its frequent tolerance， and how it saw itself as the next iteration of the Roman Empire， its leaders as Caesars， and the people of southeastern Europe as Rumis， or Romans。 The lives of the various leaders are told as well as their successes and failures; much is said about the nature of the harem and the institutional bureaucracy。 Much is made of the sexuality of the age and how it privileged the love of young boys over that of women， but also how that view was attempted to be fully reformed in the 19th century。 The author tries to suggest that the Ottomans were about discovery also， but the evidence for such a view is spotty。 He is on much firmer ground regarding how Ottoman influence was profoundly felt throughout Europe， and how European influence profoundly influenced the Ottoman Empire。 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。 A good corrective to neglect of the Ottoman Empire， even if its arguments are often a bit overstated。**--galley received as part of early review program 。。。more
Alexandra
，
Very interesting profiles and events under the leaders of the Ottoman empire up until its end in the 1920s。 A look at politics， religion and other topics under their rule。
TKP
，
I wanted a book about the Ottoman history and boy did I get one。 A reference tome which reads like a story， but then they do say the best stories come from fact。 This book is a powerhouse。 Fact written in a way so compelling that I had trouble putting this book down when my breaks from work finished， It took me a few weeks but I did it， I was sad to finish it but I learnt so much from reading it and that’s all I ask for from books。Definitely one for the history buffs out there。
Josh Coe
，
I had a hard time rating this。 The author’s knowledge and scholarship are apparent and the thesis is sound。 Baer posits that the Ottoman Empire was an important member of the European community and contributed significantly to the history of the continent。 There were sections of insightful analysis， especially in the chapters covering the Renaissance and the Armenian genocide。 However， these illuminating moments were not sufficient to overcome the lack of explanatory detail and storytelling abil I had a hard time rating this。 The author’s knowledge and scholarship are apparent and the thesis is sound。 Baer posits that the Ottoman Empire was an important member of the European community and contributed significantly to the history of the continent。 There were sections of insightful analysis， especially in the chapters covering the Renaissance and the Armenian genocide。 However， these illuminating moments were not sufficient to overcome the lack of explanatory detail and storytelling ability in the rest of the book。 The introduction began with a beautiful description of Baer’s experience in the Topkapi Palace Library; the space came alive， and I felt the author’s enthusiasm for poring over ancient maps and manuscripts。 This section made me so excited to work through the next 500 pages。 But nothing in the rest of the book rose to this level of interest。 Instead， the book overwhelmed with facts and details without explanations， requiring a lot of Googling to understand the author’s references。 If the book was meant for laypeople， it could have used a gentler hand， with more explanation and storytelling instead of dry facts。 If the audience was academic， the book probably would have benefited from more limited scope。 The Ottoman Empire contained extremes of human experience in piety， ruthlessness， sumptuousness， and beyond。 I really wanted to walk away from this book understanding the Ottomans in all their diversity。 I think 3 stars reflects how well this book helped me understand them and internalize what I read。 Nonetheless， if you already have a decent working knowledge of the Ottomans and are interested in a reexamination of the dynasty’s relationship with Europe， this book is for you！ 。。。more
Jean-Luc
，