Armies of the Ottoman Turks, 1300-1774 (Men at Arms Series, 140) [Paperback]

David Nicolle (Author), Angus McBride (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Men-at-Arms | Publication Date: July 28, 1983

The birth of the Ottoman state is shrouded in legend. Whatever the truth of its origins, the Ottomans formed an Empire which almost succeeded in bringing Christian Europe to its knees. During the last decades of the 13th century, the ambitious Osman Bey's tiny mountain state took eight frontier castles plus the Turkish town of Eskisehir. In 1299 Osman seized Yenisehir after working up the Kara Su valley. With this as its first real capital, the Ottoman state emerged into history poised above the fertile shores of the Sea of Marmara.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Packed with specially commissioned artwork, maps and diagrams, the Men-at-Arms series is an unrivalled illustrated reference on the history, organisation, uniforms and equipment of the world's military forces, past and present.

About the Author

David Nicolle PhD was born in 1944 and was educated at Highgate School. For eight years he worked in the BBC Arabic Service. In 1971 he went 'back to school', gaining an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies and a PhD from Edinburgh University. For some years he taught art and architectural history at Yarmuk University, Jordan. David has written many Osprey titles, including MAA 140 Armies of the Ottoman Turks, MAA 320 Armies of the Caliphates 862–1098, and Campaign 43 Fornovo 1495.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; First Edition edition (July 28, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850455111
• ISBN-13: 978-0850455113
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.7 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Angus McBride Forever!, February 23, 2008

By 

K. Murphy "Fortune favors the Bold" (The thriving metropolis of Masury, OH) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Armies of the Ottoman Turks, 1300-1774 (Men at Arms Series, 140) (Paperback)

Like all Osprey books this title is an excellent visual source; though the text is also useful it does not go very deep. Buy this book for the pictures! As always, Mr. McBride's artwork is fabulous, richly portraying the beautiful arms and armor of the Ottoman Turks and the skilled warriors that used them.

Again, the text is not worthless or as far as I can tell inaccurate; in fact, I found this book to be one of Nicolle's best. The three-page chronology in the back, along with the examination of the tactics used at various battles are the most useful parts.

In summary, like the similar Osprey titles 'Saladin and the Saracens', 'Armies of the Muslim Conquest', and 'The Armies of Islam 7th-11th Centuries', this book's text would be a great introduction, but the photographs and especially the color plates can be used and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the last and the greatest of the medieval Islamic Turkish states.

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars awful and incorrect, January 27, 2005

By 

Cenk Sumen (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Armies of the Ottoman Turks, 1300-1774 (Men at Arms Series, 140) (Paperback)

This is a misleading work in its entirety, especially the history section. Both the text and the drawings look like they came from WWII era history books. Recent re-evaluations of Ottoman historical records have led to a dramatic change of perspective, by eminent scholars such as Heath Lowry and Rhoads Murphey, on everything from the non-Turkish contributions to the founding of the empire (2 out of the 4 founders were Catalan mercenaries in Byzantine employ), to the reason why "gazi state" is a complete misnomer, and finally the pragmatism and flexibility in military organization that led to such brilliant early successes. These and many other essential factors are missing here. I would strongly recommend not wasting resources on this shoddy relic, and instead sampling more recent scholarly works, including ones by the aforementioned authors, and downloading more accurate and better drawn pictures of Ottoman soldiers for free on the web.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, October 16, 2004

By 

Richard J. Brzostek (New England, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Armies of the Ottoman Turks, 1300-1774 (Men at Arms Series, 140) (Paperback)

"Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300-1774" by David Nicolle briefly reviews the history, armies, weapons, uniforms, and battles of the Ottoman Empire. There are eight striking full-color plates illustrated by Angus McBride that help give the history a visual representation. As with other Osprey Men-at-Arms volumes, there is a lot of information in the 40 pages (including index) and serves as a great introduction to the topic.

As good as an introduction this book is, the author does use some technical terms that may confuse someone new to the subject. However, with a little work consulting a dictionary, one can get through most of this difficulty. "Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300-1774" also includes several maps, most of which are helpful (one of them is hard to read because it is jammed with the names of cities and it is hard to easily tell where the bodies of water and land meet). Furthermore, a chronology of the conquests and losses sums up nearly 500 years of the rise and fall of the Ottoman Turks.

I found this book to be a great resource in learning about the Ottoman Turks. The costumes, arms, and armor of the Ottoman Turks are interesting and elegant. I enjoyed not only learning about their military conquests, but also the images of who they were.