CEUS-U 320/520 & NELC-N 303/695

Ottoman History II: From Grandeur to Collapse: Ottoman State and Society in the ‘Post-Classical’ Age (1600-1920)

Instructor: H. Erdem Cipa

Commencing with an overview of the Ottoman ‘Classical Age” (1300-1600), this course will trace the history of the Ottoman Empire from its grandeur under Suleyman the Magnificent to its collapse in the first quarter of the 20th century, touching upon different themes such as:

• crisis and the notion of decline in the sixteenth century;

• Ottomans’ struggle to maintain “superpower” status up to the end of

the 18th century;

• changes in land tenure and military institutions;

• the Ottoman economy &/vs. “world economy”;

• social fabric, family life, gender relations;

• social unrest & religious movements;

• “constitutional” struggles;

• decentralization and the Porte’s response;

• Ottoman response to the new world order (Tanzimat);

• reform and disintegration;

• the transformation towards nation-states and national cultures