The Ottoman Empire began in 1300 under the almost legendary Osman I, reached its apogee in the sixteenth century under Suleiman the Magnificent, whose forces threatened the gates of Vienna, and gradu
*Includes pictures*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further readingIn terms of geopolitics, perhaps the most seminal event of the Middle Ages was the successful Ottoman siege of Consta
This volume examines the rise of Turkish power in Anatolia from the arrival of the first Turks at the end of the eleventh century to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Taking the period as a whole, the volume covers the political, economic, social, intellectual and cultural history of the region as the Byzantine empire crumbled and Anatolia passed into Turkish control to become the heartland of the Ottoman empire. In this way, the authors emphasise the continuities of the era rather than its dislocations, situating Anatolia within its geographic context at the crossroads of Central Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The world which emerges is one of military encounter, but also of cultural cohabitation, intellectual and diplomatic exchange, and political finesse. This is a state-of-the-art work of reference on an understudied period in Turkish history by some of the leading scholars in the field.