THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. Academy Workshop

Transcription

1 THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Academy Workshop BIBLIOGRAPHY Vernon O. Egger, A History of the Muslim World to 1405: The Making of a Civilization. (The standard university-level textbook. Useful for background) Caroline Finkel, Osman s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire (The most detailed of histories. Perhaps too dense for the general reader, but useful for specific presentations). Daniel Goffman, The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe. (2002) Goffman makes a persuasive case that Ottoman (or "Moorish) influence on Europe, especially in Greece, the Balkans, and Spain is far greater than is generally perceived. He sees the Ottoman failure to take Vienna in 1683 as a critical turning point in European history. Colin Imber, The Ottoman Empire : The Structure of Power (2002) This is the best account of the governance of the multi-ethinc Ottoman Empire and of the genius of the Ottomans in preserving peace among potentially divisive and hostile groups. The best account of church/state (Caliph/Sultan) division. ISIS (ISIL, Daesh) today speaks of a universal Caliphate. A perversion of Ottoman history? Donald Quataert, The Ottoman Empire (2000) A good account of how empires decline. Perhaps an over-emphasis on how the Ottomans resisted "modernization." Quataert is familiar with the much more successful japanese model. M. Sukru Hanioglu, A brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire (2008) Interesting interpretation by a Turkish historian. Hanioglu clearly loves Turkey and takes the position that the Turkish people were betrayed by a decadent ruling class. David Jacobs, Istanbul: A History. A very readable, brief account of the Ottomans seen from the perspective of their capital. This short book is delightful summer reading. Eugene Rogan, The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East. Readable and wellregarded as history. Will help us to understand how and why the the imperialist powers divided up the empire after the first World War. Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. (1998) Critics either love or hate this book by an award-winning journalist. Jumpy (across the timeline) quirky (why did the sultan insist on silver slippers?), and lots of fun, if sometimes confusing. Especially useful for us since the chapters are topical -"war," 'cities," etc. and the info is generally accurate. Radi Dikici, Four Istanbuls. Good for those interested in the evolution of a great city Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman.

2 Lord P. Balfour Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire. First published in 1976, this is a good example of Orientalism and the "White Man s Burden" A little dense at 600 pages, but provides very vivid portraits of figures like Suleiman the Magnificent, and creates a picture of the "mysterious" intrigues of court and harem. THE HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE YOUTUBE VIDEO. ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE WORKSHOP SHOULD WATCH THIS 2013, 90-MINUTE VIDEO BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORKSHOP. IT IS ALSO A USEFUL BEGINNING TO CHOOSE PRESENTATION TOPICS. TO FIND IT, SIMPLY THE GOOGLE THE TITLE AND ADD THE SEARCH TERM VIDEO. Most of these books are available in the Toronto library system, or Amazon, and all of them are available in the UofT system. They can be borrowed from the university system on my card. We plan, prior to each meeting, to send each participant a short background reading. And don't forget that the Cambridge History of Turkey is readily available in the Toronto Library system. WORKSHOP TOPICS AND TENTATIVE SCHEDULE At this early stage, workshop titles are still tentative, and every effort will be made to accommodate special interests. Since the workshop is full, and with a waiting list, we may on occasion, have to schedule three shorter presentations in a single session. Not having expected so much interest, we have 24 registrants and have planned for only 20 presentations. As to the choice of topics, the usual rule of first come, first served applies. Please choose your presentation early, and convey your wish to Ragip and Rick ASAP. Our first meeting is on Sept. 20, We are especially anxious to fill the first-term slots and appeal to experienced presenters to step up for these. SESSION ONE (Sept. 20) - Introduction, Administration, Final Choice of Topics, and an outline of the subject by Ragip. Questions and Answers. SESSION TWO (Oct.4) Two presentations. Osman and the foundation of the Turkic Empire. Expansion and contraction of the Empire shown by maps. [There are numerous maps of the Empire at various stges found scattered on the Internet. We hope Linda might do her usual magic with the maps and kick off our presentations by consolidating them to show the progress and decline of the Empire]. Mehmet the Conqueror and the Taking of Constantinople in A short preamble to the presentation might talk a little about Constantinople under Byzantine rule. Pics of Hagia Sophia (537 A.D) SESSION THREE (Oct. 18) Two presentations. Essentially biographies.

3 Sultan Selim ( ) -a short biography. The division of the Muslim world between Sunni and Shiite which divides the Muslim world today. This report should explain the difference between Sunni and Shiite. Suleiman the Magnificent ( ). His biography. The Golden Age of the Empire. (The next few presentations refer principally to the Empire under Suleiman). RECOMMENDATION. SOME WARM SUMMER EVENING, GRAB A BOWL OF POPCORN AND/OR A GLASS OF WINE, AND GOOGLE "THE MAGNIFICENT CENTURY" ON YOUTUBE. SULEIMAN, THE TENTH SULTAN, RULED FOR 46 YEARS, AND THIS "SOAP OPERA" ABOUT HIS LIFE AND TIMES RAN FOR FOUR SEASONS ON TURKISH TV. IT IS HIGHLY AUTHENTIC IN TERMS OF SETTINGS, COSTUMES AND ATMOSPHERE; AND CENTRES LARGELY ON THE GREAT LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN SULEIMAN AND ROXELANA - THE CRIMEAN SLAVE WHO ROSE FROM THE HAREM TO BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN THE EMPIRE...AND MADE SULEIMAN THE FIRST SULTAN TO LEGALLY MARRY A CONSORT. YOU WILL BE TRANSPORTED, AND MAYBE EVEN ADDICTED TO THE PROGRAMME. I CRIED WHEN ROXELANA DIED! THERE ARE ENGLISH SUBTITLES. SESSION FOUR (Nov. 1) - Two or three presentations. The Ottoman Court The role of the sultan. The structure of his government. How did the succession work? The most famous love affair Suleiman and Roxlana. The rise of female government. Topkapi Palace. There are some great pictures available on the internet. NOTE: Aspects of these topics could be expanded or extended to the next session. Someone may wish to read and do an independent presentation on N.M. Penzer, "The Harem: Inside the Grand Seraglio of the Turkish Sultans." This book also contains a lot of info on Topkapi. SESSION FIVE (Nov.15) - Two presentations. How the Ottomans fought and conquered. Structure of the army. Weapons. The Janissaries. (How boys from Christian Europe were taken to Istanbul, converted to Islam, and became the core of the Sultan s bodyguard and the vanguard of his army. (See the youtube video, An Army of Slaves. ) The Ottoman Conquests up to the walls of Vienna in (Wikipedia has a TIMELINE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE). The Ottomans in Europe. This presentation should show the extent of the Ottoman Empire at its height, and focus on the "Europe of the Ottomans." SESSION SIX (Nov. 29) Two presentations. (Or more) Art and Architecture under the Ottomans. Sinan. This might include thing like tiles, miniatures, and mosque architecture (especially its symbolism). The written word in the Ottoman Empire. (Literature, poetry, works of scholarship etc.)

4 HOLIDAY BREAK We hope that the first-term has laid a foundation by covering what Ragip and I (after much consultation), consider to be the essentials of the Empire up to the end of the Golden Age. In the second term, we hope to allow participants to explore their special interests, while still maintaining a roughly chronological format. Historians generally consider that a SLOW period of stagnation and decline began with the Ottoman failure at Vienna in 1683 and their subsequent naval defeats by the Venetians, but that only in the 1800's did the Ottomans become the "Sick Man of Europe." Hence, we would like to focus the first two meetings in January on aspects of the Empire while it was still healthy. Readings will be provided. SESSIONS SEVEN and EIGHT - (Jan. 17 and Jan. 31) Four or more presentations. A tolerant multi-religious and multi-ethnic empire. Family, work, prayer for non-muslims - Jews, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics. Participants should choose to look at one of these groups. How was conflict avoided? Identity preserved? A turning point perhaps, in the reign of Selim III ( ). Biography. Musician, poet, artist...but not a successful ruler. Patron of whirling dervishes. Video and discussion of the dervishes? The Ottomans and Naval Power. Their ships. Control of the Mediterranean? Exploration? The economy of the Ottoman Empire with emphasis on the agricultural 'timar" system. Forms of taxation. Urban and rural etc. SESSIONS NINE, TEN AND ELEVEN - (Feb. 14, 28, March 14 ) These sessions will look at the decline of the Ottomans: not emphasizing the internal failure of leadership, but looking at Ottoman relations with the rest of the world, and the cracks in the Empire. Topics to be explored might include: Turkey and Russia ( ) - The greatest threat to the Ottomans always came from the north. Putin and Erdogan today. The Crimean War ( ) - Myth and Reality. Charge of the Light Brigade. Florence Nightingale etc. Diplomacy with Britain and France. Did they prolong the Empire? Turkey's "Tulip Period" Reform "a la Ottoman" and the Empire style of architecture which has transformed today's Istanbul, but was only a veneer of serious reform.

5 The rise of Balkan Independence ( ). Why? The Young Turks Movement ( ) The division of the spoils in Sykes-Picot. The "spheres of influence" set at the time determine the form of the Middle East today. Our Final meeting (SESSION TWELVE) will probably take the form of a visit to the ROM to see the Middle Eastern exhibits, followed by a convivial lunch in Yorkville. Please send along your choices of topics for presentation to BOTH Ragip and myself, and copy them to all participants, so that we don't get duplicates. With any luck, we'll be able to have a relatively full syllabus to put on the table at our first meeting in September. And two final notes: You may find it useful to look at This series of lectures from January of this year posts online, lectures and readings for a seniors' group in Guelph. The first three lectures are useful for us. You may also wish to download and print this schedule, but we will ask Frank or Margaret to post it to the Allto website for easy reference. Once we have finalized stuff, we will update the website posting. I (Rick) will be in China throughout the month of June, and since the more remote parts of Guizhou are among the very few spots without internet service, please direct any questions to Ragip. Both of us wish you 1001 Nights of...in this workshop. R and R