Read more
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOLFSON HISTORY PRIZE
A SUNDAY TIMES PAPERBACK OF THE YEAR
'Magnificent . . . Important and hugely readable' William Dalrymple, Financial Times
'A wildly ambitious and entertainingly lurid history' James Barr, The Times
'A panoramic and thought-provoking account' Guardian
'A winning portrait of seven centuries of empire, teeming with life and colour' Sunday Times
'Superb, gripping and refreshing' Simon Sebag Montefiore
'Sweeping, colorful, and rich in extraordinary characters' Tom Holland
The major new history of 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, when in reality, their multiethnic, multilingual, and multireligious domain reached deep into Europe's heart. Recounting their remarkable rise to a world empire, Marc David Baer traces their debts to their Turkish, Mongolian, Islamic and Byzantine heritage. Upending Western accounts of the Renaissance, the Age of Exploration and the Reformation, The Ottomans is a magisterial portrait that vividly redefines the dynasty's enduring impact on Europe and the world.
About the author
Marc David Baer is professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of five books, including Honored by the Glory of Islam: Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe, which won the Albert Hourani Prize.
Summary
A major new history of the six-hundred-year dynasty that connected East to West as never before.
Foreword
A major new history of the six-hundred-year dynasty that connected East to West as never before.
Additional text
Magnificent . . . Like a swift Ottoman caique cutting through the Sweet Waters of Asia, Baer's taut prose splices stereotypes and makes us think twice about long-held assumptions . . . [An] important and hugely readable book - a model of well-written, accessible scholarship
Report
A wildly ambitious and entertainingly lurid history
James Barr, The Times
