Synopses & Reviews
In a state-of-the art introduction to Ottoman history, Suraiya Faroqhi explores the documentary sources and explains how to interpret them to students in the field and in related disciplines. By considering both archival and narrative sources, she demonstrates why they were prepared, encouraging her readers to adopt a critical approach to their findings. While the book is essentially a guide to a complex discipline for initiates into the field, the experienced Ottomanist will find much that is original and provocative in its sophisticated interpretation.
Review
"...an excellent choice for undergraduate classes in such subjects as cultural studies, historiography, and historical sociology. In any field of history, the appearance of such an innovative primer on method would be regarded as a signal pedagogical event. For Ottoman studies, suspended between philology and post-colonial theory, the production of a text of such charm, candor, and utility is nothing short of miraculous." MESA Bulletin
Table of Contents
List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. Entering the field; 3. Locating Ottoman sources; 4. Rural life as reflected in archival sources: selected examples; 5. European sources on Ottoman history: the travellers; 6. On the rules of writing (and reading) Ottoman historical works; 7. Perceptions of empire: viewing the Ottoman Empire throught general histories; 8. Conclusion; References; Index.