The nature of the early Ottoman state / Heath W. Lowry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lowry, Heath W., 1942-

Series:

SUNY series in the social and economic history of the Middle East

SUNY series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Turkey--History.

Turkey.

Turkey--Civilization.

Turkey--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 197 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Drawing on surviving documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Nature of the Early Ottoman State provides a revisionist approach to the study of the formative years of the Ottoman Empire. Challenging the predominant view that a desire to spread Islam accounted for Ottoman success during the fourteenth-century advance into Southeastern Europe, Lowry argues that the primary motivation was a desire for booty and slaves. The early Ottomans were a plundering confederacy, open to anyone (Muslim or Christian) who could meaningfully contribute to this goal. It was this lack of a strict religious orthodoxy, and a willingness to preserve local customs and practices, that allowed the Ottomans to gain and maintain support. Later accounts were written to buttress what had become the self-image of the dynasty following its incorporation of the heartland of the Islamic world in the sixteenth century.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Debate to Date

Wittek Revisited

What Could the Terms Gaza and Gazi Have Meant to the Early Ottomans?

Toward a New Explanation

Christian Peasant Life in the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Empire

His Utilization of Ahmedi’s İskendernâme The Last Phase of Ottoman Syncretism—The Subsumption of Members of the Byzanto-Balkan Aristocracy into the Ottoman Ruling Elite

The Nature of the Early Ottoman State

Wittek’s Reading of the Titles Conferred on Orhan in the 1337 Bursa Inscription Compared with the Actual Titles Recorded

Titles Used by the Ottoman Dynasty in the Fourteenth and Early-Fifteenth Century

Wives and Mothers of the Ottoman Dynasty in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century

Provincial Governorships Held by Princes of the Ottoman Dynasty in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century

Notes

Bibliography

Index

SUNY Series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-189) and index.

ISBN:

0-7914-8726-1

1-4175-2407-3

OCLC:

61367692