The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Time and time again from the seventeenth century onward observers predicted the collapse of the Ottoman Empire; yet it outlived all its rivals. As late as 1910 it straddled three continents and was still recognised as an imperial dynasty during the peace-making that followed the Great War. Alan Palmer offers a fascinating overview of the Ottoman Empire´s decline, from the failure to take Vienna in 1683 to the abolition of the Sultanate in 1922 by Mustafa Kemal. It deals with constantly recurring problems - vying secular and religious authority; acceptance or rejection of Western ideas; greedy neighbours; population movements; and the strength or weakness of successive sultans. The twenty-first century has put the problems that faced the later sultans back upon the world agenda. Places such as Basra and Mosul have again made headlines; likewise Libya and the Lebanon, Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. As Alan Palmer shows, the Ottoman past retains a deep and troubling relevance for all of us. ´A scholarly, readable and balanced history.´ Independent

Maße: 23.4 x15.3 x2.4 cm