Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization) [Hardcover]

Gábor Ágoston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0521843138 | ISBN-13: 978-0521843133

Gabor Agoston examines the weapons technology and armaments industries of the Ottoman Empire, the only Islamic empire that threatened Europe on its own territory in the Gunpowder Age. Considering topics such as technology transfer, the integration of firearms in the Ottoman army and navy, and saltpeter and gunpowder production, the book demonstrates the success of the Ottoman military machine against its European and Muslim rivals from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...in Guns for the Sultan Gabor Agoston has achieved a work which will no doubt become standard reference for a long time to come." -Christopher Deliso, balkanalysis.com

"Gabor Agoston's newest book is a much-needed addition to English language works dealing withOttoman military affairs...Readers interested in military technology, siege warfare, and Balkan or NEar Eastern history, should consider it for their libraries." - Military History, John P. Dunn, Valdosta State University

"the book merits high praise for its high level of research scholarship, and it will become the definitive work for Otooman military enterprise in the early modern period." - Jonathan Grant, Florida State University

"Physically, Guns for the Sultan is an attractive work, replete with maps, illustrations, tables, and an elegant dust jacket. The author is Associate Professor of History in Georgetown University, and overall this book matches readability with scholarship and usefulness. An impressive achievement." - Tom Lewis, Department of Defence, Australia, H-NET

"Guns for the Sultan is an important contribution to Ottoman military and economic history.... Agostan's work is a first-rate example of the possibilities and advantages or archival research as well as the wealth of important information buried in the files of the Ottoman Prime Minister's Archives." - Amy Singer, Tel Aviv University, Journal of the American Oriental Society

Book Description

Agoston's book is the first to examine the weapons technology and armaments industries of the Ottoman empire, the only Islamic empire that threatened Europe on its own territory in the Gunpowder Age. By considering topics such as technology transfer, the integration of firearms in the Ottoman army and navy, and saltpetre and gunpowder production, the books explains the success of the Ottoman military machine against its European and Muslim rivals from the fifteenth through seventeenth century. It goes on to suggest why Ottoman military capabilities declined in the eighteenth century.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521843138
• ISBN-13: 978-0521843133
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,354,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but ..., June 26, 2005

By 

Marco Morin (Venice, Italy.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization) (Hardcover)

Guns for the Sultan is a very important book that deserves a wide success amongst historians specialized in military affairs. The research performed in Turkish archives is probably the first of this type in quality and quantity and the information given to the reader is absolutely priceless. A real must for anybody seriously interested in military technology. But two caveat are essential.

First. The author is not sufficiently familiar with both European ancient artillery and small arms. Just a few examples. Bronze bombards as large as the great ottoman' ones, and sometimes larger, were regularly produced in Europe during the second half of the XV century (see, for instance, Leonardo, Windsor 12647). None remains, as the cost of bronze was always high while its melting point was low and so it could be recycled conveniently and easily in new models: a number of huge wrought-iron pieces survives probably because it was too expensive to dismantle them.

As far as mortars are concerned it is well known that weapons firing effective bombs with high parabolic trajectories were commonly used only starting with the XVII century. Moreover it is incorrect to state, for example, that a 300 lb mortar shot projectiles weighting 300 lb (150 kg or else): the caliber for this kind of ordnance was nominal as the bombs, hollow and filled with gunpowder, were much lighter.

It is inappropriate to compare the composition of Ottoman bronze cannons with the composition of bronze given by Biringuccio whose information is often superficial and sometimes incorrect. In the evaluation of ancient cannon bronze it is also inappropriate to consider only the percentage of copper and tin as this alloy usually contains other elements, as zinc and silica, that have a significant influence on the final quality of the cast.

Second. The author, as far as the question of Ottoman technological inferiority is concerned, reaches conclusions that are amply contradicted by a number of Venetian state documents. The poor quality of Ottoman ordnance is, as a matter of fact, constantly reported since the second half of the XVI century: captured Turkish guns were amply used to cast new artillery but its bronze had to be purified and good English tin had to be added.

Captured Ottoman gunpowder was considered as "decayed" and used only to reclaim the expensive saltpeter.