The Ottoman Empire and the World Around it

Front Cover
Bloomsbury Publishing, Nov 12, 2004 - History - 304 pages
In Islamic law the world was made up of the 'House of Islam' and the 'House of War' with the Ottoman Sultan - successor to the early Caliphs - as supreme ruler of the Islamic world. However, in this ground-breaking study of the Ottoman Empire in the early modern period, Suraiya Faroqhi demonstrates that there was no 'iron curtain' between the Ottoman and 'other' worlds but rather a long-established network of connections - diplomatic, trading and financial., cultural and religious. These extended beyond regional contacts to the empires of Asia and the burgeoning 'modern' states of Europe - England, France, the Netherlands and Venice. Of course, military conflict was a constant factor in these relationships, but the overriding reality was 'one world' and contact between cultured and pragmatic elites - even 'gentlemen travelling for pleasure' - as well as pilgrimage and close artistic contact with the European Renaissance.

Faroqhi's book is based on a huge study of original and early modern sources, including diplomatic records, travel and geographical writing, as well as personal accounts. Its breadth and originality will make it essential reading for historians of Europe and the Middle East.
 

Contents

1 Introduction
1
expanding and safeguarding the Empire
27
clients and dependants
75
4 The strengths and weaknesses of Ottoman warfare
98
5 Of prisoners slaves and the charity of strangers
119
6 Trade and foreigners
137
7 Relating to pilgrims and offering mediation
161
8 Sources of information on the outside world
179
9 Conclusion
211
Bibliography
220
Notes
263
Index
283
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2004)

Suraiya Faroqhi is Professor of Ottoman Studies at the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, and the author of 'Pilgrims and Sultans' and 'Subjects of the Sultan' (both I.B.Tauris).

Bibliographic information