Description
Join our panellists for a fascinating exploration of the reasons behind the rapid expansion of the Ottoman Empire, including its military conquests, political organisation and relative religious tolerance, and the challenges and weaknesses that led to its eventual decline.
Replacing the Byzantine Empire as the major power in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Ottoman Empire reached its height under Suleiman the Magnificent in the mid-16th century, when it expanded to cover the Balkans and Hungary, and as far west as the gates of Vienna.
Offering a better understanding of Ottoman history and the lessons that can be learned from the empire’s rise and fall, our special guests include Eugene Rogan, author of The Fall of the Ottomans, Caroline Finkel, author of Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire, and Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs.
About the Authors
Eugene Rogan
Eugene Rogan is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Oxford, where he has taught since 1991. An American citizen, he grew up in Europe and the Middle East, returning to the US for university study in Columbia and Harvard. He is author of The Arabs: A History (2009; 2nd ed. 2017) and The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East (2015). In 2017 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.
Caroline Finkel
Caroline Finkel has lived in Istanbul for many years and travelled widely in Turkey and the former Ottoman lands. She has published articles in academic journals and popular outlets, done TV and radio turns in the UK and Turkey and, Osman’s Dream apart, has written/co-written books on Ottoman military history, Ottoman historical seismology and the Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi. She was a participant in a 40-day ride in western Anatolia following the early stages of Evliya’s 1671 pilgrimage route, and co-director of a historical-archaeological expedition in western Ukraine. Her most recent publication (online) is Hiking Istanbul’s Hinterland.
Marc David Baer
Marc David Baer is an American and British historian specialising in Ottoman history. He conducts research utilising Arabic, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Modern Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, and Persian sources. He has lived extensively in Turkey. His book, The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs was published by Basic Books in 2021. Since 2013 Professor Baer has been Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He completed his PhD in History at the University of Chicago in 2001. He previously taught at Tulane University and the University of California, Irvine.
Join Our Mailing List
By submitting this form you agree to our Privacy Policy and to receive marketing emails, including e-newsletters and event updates from Bradford Literature Festival.