The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power (edition 2019)

by Colin Imber (Author)

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thcson's review

This book made me wonder on what basis historians select their topics when they set out to write a general history spanning multiple centuries. I suppose the decision must be influenced at least by the available source material and by their own interests. The author of this book shows a lot of fascination for dates and names. In the first chapter of this book he provides an aptly titled "chronology", which is just a long list of sultans and battles with no claim to originality and no semblance of analysis. I suppose this section could be intended for new students who need to establish a secure chronology to keep their source material in order. But for the general reader the names and regnal years of Ottoman rulers are hardly at all relevant for understanding the Ottoman empire, so I skipped this section.

The reason why I bought this book was that it promised an account of how Ottoman government worked. Fortunately, this turned out to be true. Chapters 2-8 provide reasonably good analyses of sultanic reproduction and inheritance, taxation, and the functions of the legal system and other state officials. From a geographical perspective the analysis seems to be a bit uneven, as it discloses far more details about Anatolia and the Balkans than about the Arab provinces. But I presume this has to do with limitations in the source material. Other gaps are also left unfilled, but the author nevertheless manages to discuss a broad spectrum of problems and solutions in Ottoman government in an informative manner, so this book can be recommended to readers interested in how dynastic empires functioned.

Towards the end of the book the author shifts to military subjects, discussing the army and the fleet, their personnel and tactics in some detail. This seems to be purely a result of his own interests - the discussion is not in any way connected to the earlier chapters on government, and it can hardly be of much interest to anyone except military historians. In a short concluding chapter, the author again return to matters of government as he discusses the constraints of sultanic authority. Overall, a little more structure and clarity would have been desirable, but I can still endorse this book to readers who would like to know something about Ottoman government.

thcson | Jun 25, 2019 |

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For decades, readers seeking an introduction to the Ottoman empire have turned to Halil Inalcik’s seminal work [b:The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600|751881|The Ottoman Empire The Classical Age 1300-1600|Halil İnalcık|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328849796s/751881.jpg|738013]. Written by the dean of Ottoman history, it provided an overview of its history and an examination of its components that has stood the test of time. Over the three and a half decades since its publication, however, a wealth of new scholarship has emerged that has refined and developed our knowledge. The fruits of this can be seen in Colin Imber’s study, one that treads much of the same ground as Inalcik but does so with the benefit of an additional generation of study.

The layout of Imber’s book is similar to that of Inalcik’s (which Imber helped translate); an initial section chronicling the political and military history of the period followed by chapters providing an analytical overview of various aspects of the empire. But whereas Inalcik’s book provided a broad ranging survey that included its cultural and religious elements, Imber focuses more narrowly on the institutions of state: the palace, the bureaucracy, and the military. This allows him to provide a more detailed examination of the military state, one that describes its development and shows how it both conquered and governed the lands of three continents.

Clearly written and well grounded in the literature of the field, Imber’s book is a detailed and up-to-date account of the factors underpinning Ottoman power in the first centuries of its existence. Anyone seeking an introduction to the Ottoman empire would do well to start with it. With its concentration on imperial institutions and its closer examination of such things as the Ottoman navy (which has received far more scholarly attention in recent decades than it had when Inalcik wrote his book), it complements rather than replaces Inalcik’s longstanding survey, providing readers with a good foundation for exploring in more detail the last and greatest of the Muslim empires. (

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MacDad | Mar 27, 2020 |

thcson | Jun 25, 2019 |

A good all-around survey of the Ottoman empire, from its origins as a nomadic horde to its late seventeenth century apogee. Organized on a thematic basis, the author gives you a survey history of events, before considering how the various structures of the state (the dynasty, administrative bodies, military, etc.) evolved over time. (

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Shrike58 | Nov 12, 2008 |

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