The Ottoman Empire

Course Overview

Course No. 3160

Trace the epic 600-year saga of one of history’s most influential empires – from its nomadic origins to its dramatic collapse and modern rebirth.

This 36-lecture course examines:

• The empire’s golden age under Suleiman the Magnificent
• Key military campaigns from Vienna to the Mediterranean
• Cultural achievements in art, architecture and literature
• The “Sick Man of Europe” decline and World War I collapse
• Atatürk’s revolutionary creation of modern Turkey

Video Lectures

01: Sublime Porte: Visions of the Ottoman Empire (32 min)

Introduce key themes and correct Orientalist misconceptions about this vast empire.

02: Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor (30 min)

Trace Ottoman roots to Central Asian nomads transformed by Islam.

03: The Islamization of Asia Minor (30 min)

Explore Seljuk architectural and religious innovations like whirling dervishes.

04: Ottoman Sultans of Bursa (31 min)

Meet the early rulers who built the empire’s foundations.

05: Defeat and Recovery, 1402-1451 (31 min)

Analyze recovery after Tamerlane’s devastating victory at Angora.

06: Mehmet the Conqueror, 1451-1481 (31 min)

Witness the 1453 conquest of Constantinople and Topkapı Palace’s construction.

07: Selim the Grim and the Conquest of Cairo (31 min)

Follow campaigns that made Ottomans leaders of the Islamic world.

08: Suleiman the Magnificent, 1520-1566 (32 min)

Experience the empire’s zenith under its greatest ruler.

09: Sultans in Topkapı, 1566-1648 (32 min)

Examine the “Sultanate of Women” period of harem influence.

10: The Sultan-Caliph and His Servants (31 min)

Understand the dual religious and political leadership structure.

11: Timariots, Peasants, and Pastoralists (31 min)

Discover rural economic foundations across 1 million square miles.

12: Trade, Money, and Cities (31 min)

Map trade routes from the Silk Road to British market penetration.

13: Arabs under the Ottoman Caliph (31 min)

Analyze 300 years of successful Arab province administration.

14: Christians and Jews under the Porte (31 min)

Explore the dhimmi system protecting religious minorities.

15: Sunni Islam and Ottoman Civilization (31 min)

Appreciate literary, artistic and intellectual achievements.

16: Ottoman Constantinople (33 min)

Tour the empire’s magnificent capital through European ambassadors’ eyes.

17: The Sultan at War: The Ottoman Army (31 min)

Assess military strengths and financing from Murad II to Mehmet IV.

18: Sultan and Shah: Challenge of Safavid Iran (31 min)

Track five major wars against ideological rivals 1514-1722.

19: Sultan and Emperor: War in the West (31 min)

Examine indecisive Central European campaigns and the Long Turkish War.

20: Sultan and Venice: War in the Mediterranean (32 min)

Relive naval clashes from Malta to Lepanto against Christian powers.

21: Köprülü Viziers and Imperial Revival (31 min)

Discover how bureaucratic reforms rescued the 17th century empire.

22: The Empire at Bay, 1699-1798 (32 min)

Mark the decline beginning with the 1699 Treaty of Karlowitz.

23: Napoleon Invades Ottoman Egypt (31 min)

Witness France’s 1798 occupation introducing modernity to the region.

24: Crisis: Muhammad Ali and Balkan Nationalists (31 min)

Track Egypt’s transformation and Serbian/Greek revolts.

25: Tanzimat and Modernization, 1839-1876 (31 min)

Analyze reorganization efforts that widened social divisions.

26: Defeat and Retreat: The Sick Man of Europe (34 min)

Assess the catastrophic Russo-Turkish War’s impact.

27: The Sultan Returns: Abdul Hamid II, 1876-1908 (32 min)

Follow constitutional reforms and the German alliance.

28: Constitutional Reform, 1908-1913 (32 min)

Examine the CUP’s shadow government and unintended dictatorship model.

29: War in Libya and the Balkans, 1911-1913 (33 min)

Relive stunning defeats that presaged World War I entry.

30: The Road to World War I (31 min)

Understand the empire’s fateful 1914 alliance with Germany.

31: The Empire at Total War, 1914-1916 (31 min)

Track offensives from the Caucasus to the Dardanelles.

32: Ottoman Collapse, 1916-1918 (32 min)

Witness the army’s sudden disintegration after Russian Revolution impacts.

33: Mustafa Kemal, Atatürk (32 min)

Meet the revolutionary leader who forged modern Turkey.

34: Casualties of War and Ethnic Cleansing (32 min)

Reflect on the Armenian tragedy’s historical significance.

35: The Emergence of the Turkish Republic (32 min)

Analyze Kemal’s radical Westernization reforms.

36: Nation-States, Islam, and the Ottoman Legacy (32 min)

Consider how the empire still influences Middle Eastern geopolitics.