History of the Ottoman Empire

History of the Ottoman Empire

Please answer the questions with reference to the assigned readings. The point of this is to get you to engage with and integrate the readings, both the primary and secondary sources. Please be sure that you use at least two to three readings for your answer to each question. Please be sure to reference readings correctly, whether you cite them directly or summarize their contents. You can use a basic parenthetical format (last name, pg. #) to reference the readings e.g. (Kafadar, 76). There is no need to incorporate outside readings and, in fact, they might mislead you. Also, there is no need to cite the lectures formally.

Answers should be written with normal margins in a normal font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri) in 12 pt. size, double-spaced.

Please answer two of the following four questions. The suggested length for each question is 4-6 pages.

1) During his long reign (1520-1566), Sultan Suleyman experimented with and adapted his persona as a ruler. What were these different personas, what accounts for their usage, and how were they expressed (i.e., what evidence do we have for this change)?

2) How did slavery function in the early modern Ottoman Empire (1400-1800)? What were the different forms of slavery present in the Ottoman Empire between 1400-1800? How does the Ottoman experience of slavery compare to the system of slavery that arose in the Americas between 1600 and 1850? Does the experience of Osman of Timisoara as a slave to various Habsburg soldiers fit into these models of slavery?

3) The Ottoman Empire during the seventeenth century was marked by the growth of cities. What signs do we have of this new urbanity (i.e., socially, environmentally, religiously, politically, culturally, etc.)?

4) What structural challenges did the Ottoman Empire face in the seventeenth century (i.e., circa 1580-1720), and how did its institutions respond and evolve to these challenges?