The Ottoman Empire

Overview

From magnificent rise to tragic collapse to stunning rebirth, explore the grand 600-year story of the Ottoman Empire in these 36 illuminating lectures delivered by a master historian.

Course No. 3160

Understanding the Ottoman Empire – from its origins as nomadic raiders to its peak under Suleiman the Magnificent to its collapse after WWI – provides crucial context for today’s Middle East. This course reveals the empire’s complex legacy through its art, politics, and multicultural society.

Course Content

Rise of the Ottomans (1299-1453)

1. Sublime Porte: Visions of the Ottoman Empire (32 min)
   • Introduction to key themes and Orientalist stereotypes

2. Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor (30 min)
   • From Oghuz nomads to Islamic conquerors

3. The Islamization of Asia Minor (30 min)
   • Seljuk architecture, medreses, and whirling dervishes

4. Ottoman Sultans of Bursa (31 min)
   • Orhan to Bayezid I: Building an imperial state

5. Defeat and Recovery, 1402-1451 (31 min)
   • Rebounding after Tamerlane’s devastating victory

Imperial Golden Age (1453-1566)

6. Mehmet the Conqueror (31 min)
   • 1453 conquest of Constantinople and Topkapı Palace

7. Selim the Grim (31 min)
   • Military campaigns that expanded Islamic domains

8. Suleiman the Magnificent (32 min)
   • Zenith of Ottoman power and legal reforms

9. Sultans in Topkapı (32 min)
   • The “Sultanate of Women” and harem politics

Ottoman Society & Institutions

10. The Sultan-Caliph and His Servants (31 min)
    • Dual religious/secular leadership structure

11. Timariots, Peasants, and Pastoralists (31 min)
    • Rural economy across 1 million square miles

12. Trade, Money, and Cities (31 min)
    • Silk Road commerce and European market penetration

13. Arabs under the Ottoman Caliph (31 min)
    • 300 years of administration in Arab provinces

14. Christians and Jews under the Porte (31 min)
    • The millet system and dhimmi protections

15. Ottoman Constantinople (33 min)
    • Daily life in the empire’s magnificent capital

Wars and Decline (1566-1798)

16. The Sultan at War (31 min)
    • Military organization from Murad II to Mehmet IV

17. Challenge of Safavid Iran (31 min)
    • Five major wars with Shi’ite rivals

18. War in the West (31 min)
    • Battles with Habsburgs in Central Europe

19. War in the Mediterranean (32 min)
    • Siege of Malta, Battle of Lepanto

20. Köprülü Viziers (31 min)
    • Grand Viziers who stabilized the empire

Reform and Collapse (1798-1922)

• Napoleon Invades Egypt (31 min)
  • First encounter with Western modernity

22. Muhammad Ali and Balkan Nationalists (31 min)
    • Egyptian reforms and separatist movements

23. Tanzimat Reforms (31 min)
    • 19th century modernization efforts

24. The Sick Man of Europe (34 min)
    • Crimean and Russo-Turkish War defeats

25. Abdul Hamid II (32 min)
    • Suspended constitution and German alliance

26. Young Turk Revolution (32 min)
    • 1908 constitutional restoration

End of Empire (1911-1923)

27. Balkan Wars (33 min)
    • Catastrophic losses to Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria

28. Road to WWI (31 min)
    • Ottoman-German alliance and war entry

29. Total War 1914-1916 (31 min)
    • Caucasus, Suez, and Gallipoli campaigns

• Collapse 1916-1918 (32 min)
  • Final defeat and armistice

Legacy and Rebirth

31. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (32 min)
    • Father of modern Turkey

32. Armenian Tragedy (32 min)
    • Examining the controversial events of 1915-1921

33. Emergence of Turkey (32 min)
    • Secular reforms and Western orientation

34. Ottoman Legacy (32 min)
    • How the empire still shapes the Middle East