OLLI Workshop: History of the Middle East

Leader: Theo Pavlidis (t.pavlidis@ieee.org)

Handout No. 1 - February 6, 2012

Birth and Rise of the Ottoman Empire (Chapter 13 and 14)

The Ottoman Turks became the major state in the Middle East region (and beyond) and their empire lasted until the 20th century. They started humbly (circa 1299) as a Turkish principality. Iin 1326 they captured Bursa from the Byzantines and made it the capital of their state, an event that Gibbon considers as the founding of the Ottoman empire. A few years later they crossed into Europe and by 1400 they controlled most of the Balkans and Asia Minor.

The picture on the right is of the first Ottoman sultan Murad I and underneath it is his official signature (Tuğra). Notice that he has European rather than Asiatic features. [Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Murad I]

The map below is that of the Ottoman Empire at its Peak (circa 1690): The darker the color, the older the possession. Almost black marks the original state before the Byzantines hired Ottoman mercenaries and let them into Europe. Dark gray marks possessions at the end of Mehmed's II reign. [Adapted from Encyclopedia Britannica]

Workshop Resources

The site http://www.theopavlidis.com/MidEast contains the material of the lectures, bibliography, and links to other web resources. It is organized in chapters, roughly corresponding to lectures. When there is a reference to a chapter in the handouts, you access that chapter by going to the web site and clicking on the link to that chapter. The handouts themselves are also posted on this site.

In addition to the historical books posted in the web site, I recommend My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. It is a historical novel that gives a flavor of life in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The story takes place in Istanbul during the reign of Murad III (1574-1595). The book has been translated into 24 languages and Pamuk won the Nobel prize for literature in 2006. The publisher of the English translation is Vintage Books (2002). Last time I checked, the paperback was selling for $10.85 at Amazon.

A Preview of Things to Come - Cover of a book in Turkish printed with Greek characters.

It is a translation of the French novel Les Filles de Bronze by Xavier de Montepin, a very popular writer in the 19th century.

The lines of text marked with black lines have the meaning given below:

  • TUDZDAN KIZLAR - GIRLS OF BRONZE
  • Th. K. PAVLIDIS - Name of the translator, grandfather of Theo Pavlidis
  • PIRIDZI DZILT - FIRST VOLUME.
  • DERI SAADETDE - PLACE (or GATE) OF HAPPINESS, an Ottoman appelation of Constantinople. The line underneath it is the name of the publshing house ANATOΛH that means East or Sunrise in Greek.