The Ottoman Empire

By: Kenneth W. Harl, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kenneth W. Harl

Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

By understanding the dramatic story of the Ottoman Empire - from its early years as a collection of raiders and conquerors to its undeniable power in the 15th and 16th centuries to its catastrophic collapse in the wreckage of the First World War - one can better grasp the current complexities of the Middle East.

Over the course of these 36 enlightening lectures, investigate over 600 years of history that covers the nature of Ottoman identity, the achievements of the Sultan's court, and stories of confrontation and cooperation with the West.

Befitting a story of such epic scope and grandeur, every lecture is a treasure trove of historical insights into the people, events, themes, and locales responsible for shaping the story of this often-overlooked empire. You'll cover everything from Rumi, the whirling dervishes, and the importance of the sultan's grand viziers to the wars of Sultan Suleiman I, the shadowy politics of the Committee of Union and Progress, and the birth of the Turkish Republic under Kemal Atatürk.

Welcome to a fascinating story of the triumph and tragedy, war and peace, intellectual progress and civil insurrection of a great empire that, for all its glory and grandeur, has left an important legacy that will shape the future of the Balkan nation-states, the Turkish Republic, and the Arab world - and those of us in the West as well.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

great stuff

harl is always dynamite, would listen to him talk about anything. great info as well, crazy how little I knew of the Ottomans from a western education. so glad I listened to this.

incredible lecture

Wish it went on forever. I listened while working out and I am going to miss it.

lovely

great audio book on Turkish ottoman history. seems balanced. bit loooong though. some boring bits

Masterful historic overview

Professor Harl does a wonderful job of presenting the vast scope of Ottoman history. Not an easy task, to say the least, and not a job that anyone can undertake without infuriating someone.

A great one

A very interesting course presented in simple unbiased way not like other books , really enjoy it

Dodges Armenian Genocide Question

Overall very interesting. However goes to great lengths to explain why the Armenian Genocide isn't really a genocide (in lecturer's view). Was frustrating because while he said that at least 500,000 Armenians died during this period (up to 1,250,000 estimated), he offered up refutations that essentially said that this sort of behavior was commonplace for the time (which may be true but doesn't make it not a genocide) and that there isn't sufficient evidence on whether the central government gave orders that led to the killings. I find the later argument to be insulting given the scale of the tragedy. Intent doesn't matter, impact does. You can say that the Ottoman Empire didn't directly instigate the genocide (which may or may not be true), but to say it didn't happen because the government wasn't behind it ignores the lived experience of so many people. Frustrating because he claims to be impartial (which doesn't really mean anything).

Amazing Course on Ottoman History

I absolutely loved this series. I treated it as a course in University and got a lot of useful information from it.

The presentation skills were on point, the audio quality was great too !

What is more interesting is that the authors seek the historical truth devoid of politics of our era unlike many historians sponsored by interest groups.

I recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in the Ottoman/Turkish History

A nice overview of ottoman history.

This is a straight forward narrative of Ottoman history. I considered an appropiate introduction to the subject. It lacks deeper analysis of alternative interpretations, but that could be left to another more involved book.

The genocide of the XX century is discused in its context.

Review of the Ottoman Empire Course

Professor Harl’s depth and understanding of the subject is unparalleled. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in the history of Turkic peoples, Asia Minor or the Early Modern Era.

So much history I didn't know about!

Not too much attention is given to the history of the Ottoman Empire, but it is essential for understanding the modern world, especially the Islamic world.
The lecturer is great - super engaging.