This is a nonfiction book about the Ottoman Empire, from it’s sprouting under Osman to it’s withering under Ataturk. This was a more ‘colorful’ history book as opposed to being chronologically focused and linear. It delved deep into trivia and the characters who shaped history. On it’s own, this won’t be enough to give a good picture of what was going on. This book was written in a broadly non-linear way: overall the start of the book is about the founding of the empire and the end of the book is about it’s destruction, however inbetween and on a paragraph-by-paragraph level it would jump between the centuries to go on side-tangents. As a result, I had a hard time keeping a handle on what was going on in this audiobook. I read this in audio, and I think that less-structured format might have been part of the problem.
That said, I loved this book. It provided color to history, going into trivia and nuance. It would tell little tales, of how everyday culture functioned. For examples, some of the janissaries would get tattoos on their face marking their regiment as a sign of devotion. Or how Sulieman died mid-campaign, so to win the campaign his viziers strung him up on strings and marionetted the corpse to make him seem alive long enough to win a battle. Or how Prince Cem was ransomed by trading the Sword of Muhammed to the Mamluk Sultanate. Or how Topkapi Palace would rule the late Ottoman Empire by cabling through telegram messages to their provinces. Or how… or how… or how…
You get the idea. This was PACKED full of juicy details which bring history to life. The prior books on this subject I’ve read before talk about the big picture in more understandable details, but neglect the fun meat on the bone. I’m not sure how much of these anecdotes are accurate, but they’re fun!
This book was written in a lyrical, poetic way. Halfway through reading this, I had to doublecheck to make sure this was a modern work, because this book was so evocative that I thought it might be something written years ago by a historian looking to scandalize Victorian women with half-true stories. But no, this was published in 1999. This book was pleasant to read, it had a nice authorial voice.
If you’re curious about Ottoman history, I suggest you read this in addition to a more grounded story of events and dates. (One last thing, this didn’t cover the Armenian Genocide)
John Mendez- Book Reviews and More 