A History of the Ottoman Empire

Douglas A. Howard is Professor of History at Calvin College, Michigan, where he has taught since 1988. He is the author of The History of Turkey (2001), and has published articles on Ottoman military and literary history in journals such as Acta Orientalia, Archivum Ottomanicum, Fides et Historia, the Journal of Asian History, and the Journal of Turkish Studies. He is also a former editor of The Turkish Studies Association Bulletin.

• List of figures; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Ottoman genesis, 1300–97; 2. A blessed dynasty, 1397–1494; 3. A world view, 1494–1591; 4. Ambiguities and certainties, 1591–1688; 5. The global and the local, 1688–1785; 6. Ottomans in other words, 1785–1882; 7. Dissolution, 1882–1924; Bibliography; Index.

'At last - a survey of Ottoman history that covers the entire 600-plus years of the empire's history, written by a true expert with command of both primary and secondary sources, yet designed as an accessible textbook. In lucid, often lively, prose, Douglas Howard treats not only the Ottoman Empire's political history but social, economic, religious, and intellectual developments, as well, incorporating imperial capital and provinces, elites and commoners, dispassionate analysis and telling anecdotes. The maps, illustrations, lists of rulers and 'box' features make this book particularly user-friendly. This is the Ottoman history textbook many of us have been waiting for.' Jane Hathaway, Ohio State University