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University of California Press

About the Book

Cemal Kafadar offers a much more subtle and complex interpretation of the early Ottoman period than that provided by other historians. His careful analysis of medieval as well as modern historiography from the perspective of a cultural historian demonstrates how ethnic, tribal, linguistic, religious, and political affiliations were all at play in the struggle for power in Anatolia and the Balkans during the late Middle Ages.

This highly original look at the rise of the Ottoman empire—the longest-lived political entity in human history—shows the transformation of a tiny frontier enterprise into a centralized imperial state that saw itself as both leader of the world's Muslims and heir to the Eastern Roman Empire.

About the Author

Cemal Kafadar is Associate Professor of History at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

   PREFACE                                             

   CHRONOLOGY                                         

Introduction                                            

   Background and Overview                              
   Identity and Influence in the History of Nations    


The Moderns                                            

   The Rise of the Ottoman State in Modern
     Historiography                                    
   The Wittek Thesis and Its Critics                   

   2
The Sources                                            

   Gaza and Gazis in the Frontier Narratives of
     Medieval Anatolia                                 
   The Chronicles of the House of Osman and Their
     Flavor: Onion or Garlic?                          

   3
The Ottomans: The Construction of the Ottoman State   

   Strategizing for Alliances and Conflicts:
     The Early Beglik                                 
   Into the Limelight and the Rise of Tensions        


     Epilogue: The Creation of an Imperial Political
      Technology and Ideology

      LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS  
      NOTES                 
      SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY  
      INDEX 

Awards

  • 1996 M. Fuat Köprülü Award, Turkish Studies Association