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

A solid spoken-word history course

I recommend listening with a map / world atlas handy - lots of country & region names are presented.

I found that the narrative bogged down during WWI - I was overwhelmed by the lists of battles, and lost track of the big picture. Overall, though, I enjoyed both the course structure and narration. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of technological developments in military & architecture.

Wars, power, and Mideast

Engaging story of the history of the Ottoman Empire, and its influence on the present day power struggles and strife in the Middle East. While I would have preferred to hear about art, architecture, textiles, and music, most chapters were about wars and successions. Then again, perhaps the centuries of Ottoman power struggles are what is significant about Ottoman contributions to the world.

Great to hear a non-Eurocentric view

I love when Kenneth W. Harl throws shade on Thucydides "writing about what you're not good at." to criticize armchair experts. Historical context is given over multiple disciplines; political, religious, cultural, military, economic, etc.

I will make one major correction; he says Australia and New Zealand celebrate the ANZAC invasion of Gallipoli as a major success. We commemorate it yearly as a tragic loss of life and senseless violence, definitely not a celebration.

Very respectful and thorough explanation of the Ottoman-Armenian catastrophe.

valuable info missing the clarity of a book

The series gives you a valuable summary about the Ottoman Empire. however, you would wish it was a book narrated by a professional narrator. it lacks the order and clarity of a book.

great info bad speaker

The info was well organized as a broad overview then specific topics within that framework.

The narrator however was terrible. Ugh's, Aaaahhh's, and ummm's were so common they became distracting. The speaker also couldn't say just one very, everything was very very this or very very that. To his credit he is a professor and not a voice actor but that doesn't make the verbal ticks any less distracting.

loved it

An expert review of the ottoman empire from the 12th century to the end of ww1. It's a lecture format so if you're good with that, you'll really enjoy this book.

Comprehensive, fast-paced Ottoman History

An extraordinary, engaging survey of the vast Ottoman empire and civilization from a sympathetic but critical & learned perspective.

Love it

Great well done interesting and extreemly important for every one to know 👌well done waiting for more

Another A++ series from Prof. Harl!!!

I’d give it 7 of 5 stars if possible. It is superbly organized. It’s terrific to see history unfold from the Ottoman viewpoint. I think it corrects for conceptions of the modern Muslim-majority nation state that is too frequently projected into the past. The course is very helpful in thinking about the Balkans and the lead up to WW1.

I appreciate Prof. Harl most when he’s focused on Antiquity through the Middle Ages, where his style is to tell us what the literary sources say – what the archaeological record (so far) tells us – the relevant ancient anecdotes and excerpts (from Herodotus, Plutarch, Livy) that make history interesting – a few jokes of his own – and then maybe a few comments on the current “state of scholarly debate,” or where he has a bias with which other history profs may disagree.

To contrast, some very good lecturers get too bogged down in what various historical “schools of thought” say about a subject (Fagan, others). Others get too cute in trying to weave a continuous narrative and leave out too many details (Fears, Garland). A few bad apples start with a sociological point of view, and try to read that back into time by cherry picking incidents that support it (Dise).

Harl’s lectures are authentic and flow naturally, without any gimmicks. His mastery of the material is obvious. I have listened to all 11 of his courses, most more than once, and he’s simply the best. I would love to see him do a deep dive on the Iranian plateau – Persians though Seleucids, Parthians, Abbasids, etc. That has yet to be covered in detail by a lecturer of Prof. Harl’s caliber.

professor harl is the best!

this is the second course I've listened to by professor Harl, and I think he is just great. he really presents the information in an accessable way, and throws some humor in with some of the dense parts. he is not a monotone talker, or a droner...it really feels like there's a smart guy on your couch telling you a great story. I can't wait for more of his courses.