Customer Reviews

Ottoman Centuries

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Covering 622 years of history in exactly that many pages is no joke, especially when your subject is as vast as the Ottoman Empire, that began with Osman in the year 1300 and shuffled off the record in 1923, when the man who became known as Ataturk shipped the last sultan into exile. To write about so much history is necessarily to choose certain topics to the detriment of others. Lord Kinross made his choices, and though I will argue with him over this and that, the result is certainly a splendid book, which must be called the classic history of the Ottoman Empire---for lay readers. Here are no compilations of dry statistics, no detailed analyses of agricultural production or shipbuilding techniques to confound the layman. Not a single footnote "mars" the pages, nor are references to other writers more than a handful. Kinross inserts few dates to confuse the reader, though I could have used some more enlightening in this direction. His prose is wonderfully smooth, his passage from one topic to the next, fluid. He brings up the big picture again and again, even providing an excellent summary of his ideas in the epilogue. Maps and interesting engravings pepper the pages. I looked forward to reading this book for years: I was not disappointed. However, certain caveats must be mentioned. First and foremost, this is a history that seems to have been written on English and French sources only. Thus, while I can definitely attest to its readability, I can't be sure of its accuracy. Second, Kinross' choice of subject is strictly limited. He portrays the succession of sultans, from the dynamic first ten, to the usually poor-performing, last twenty-five. He covers the various wars, rebellions, and coups in clear, graphic prose and he concentrates on the administrative patterns of the different periods of the Empire, rightly praising the early network of Christian-born officials that brought the standard of government to a level far beyond anything pertaining in Europe at the time---creating such an atmosphere that for centuries, European peasants preferred to be ruled by the Ottomans than by their own, more grasping, unpredictable rulers. Diplomacy and the many treaties entered into over the years also get intelligent treatment, and an occasional foray is made into economic development. There is still a great deal missing. If you are interested in general Ottoman culture, literature and the arts, religion, or daily life, this is not the book for you, these subjects are hardly touched. Other areas too are strangely neglected---discussion of the Turkish rule in North Africa and Asia is left out in favor of Europe. The building of the Suez Canal is mentioned only in passing. Pan-Turkism rates only a couple small paragraphs and names such as Ziya Gokalp do not appear. World War I, Gallipoli, the fighting in Mesopotamia, etc. are all glossed over with incredible speed. However, as I said before, with such a vast topic to cover, the author had to make some choices and I am just quibbling about them.

I strongly recommend this excellent book to any reader wishing a solid, well-organized, readable history of the Ottoman Empire, one of the most fascinating (and long lasting) formations of human history. And by the way, you WILL learn why Constantinople got the works.

Kinross has written an outstanding survey of the Ottoman Empire. He traces the history of the Empire starting with its great founder Osman, through its' highest glory at the time of its two greatest sons Mehmed The Conqueror and Suleiman The Magnificant and finally to its fall in the early 20th century. The book evolves around the sultans and thus the story is told mostly as the story of the Empire's rulers and their policies or lack thereof. However, by chosing this approach Kinross has managed to accomplish the monumental task of covering 600 years of history in one extremely interesting volume. It is therefore an excellent introduction to the subject and a good starting point for those interested in the Turkish empire. In many ways this book is similar to Norwich's excellent Byzantine Trilogy and fans of Norwich will also like this book.

This was the first book about Ottoman History I ever read. Having now read litterally hundreds of books about the subject, I re-read Kinross and have some comments:

- Kinross has an engaging style, and this book may ignite an interest in Ottoman history in readers, but only for the EARLY history of the empire, which is clearly where Kinross' interests lie. Even then he doesn't seem to be able to distinguish between history and legend, and a rich and dynamic history is reduced to an Oriental soap opera. His account of the decline is depressing, reflective of Victorian bigotry and bias, and innaccurate and condescending to the point of being mildly insulting.

- Kinross uses NO Ottoman or Turkish sources whatsoever, but then he doesn't really use anything written later than the 19th c.

- He brushes over the 19th c, and subscribes to the 19th c British static view of imperial decay - the Ottomans just sat around declining and having things done to it. In reality, the 19th c is one of the most interesting periods of Ottoman history, wherin the empire was forced to respond to th impact of European capitalism and imperialism. Really dynamic and creative reform programs were instituted with the result that the Ottomans at the turn of the 20th c were incalculably stronger than they were at the turn of the 18th. The Tanzimat is given short shrift as an insincere effort to please the powers and is portrayed as the idea of the British Ambassador (!) and the Hamidiyan era is portrayed as a period of retrenchment, fanaticism, and decadence, when in reality Abdul Hamid, albeit with oppressively autocratic means, enormously modernized the empire and created the school system that educated later reformers including Ataturk. Kinross is totally ignorant of intellectual trends in the Ottoman Empire and their interplay with other Muslim lands and the West.

If this is your first Ottoman history book, I would read it up until the death of Suleyman and then drop it. I am not aware of a more modern and accurate general survey of the same type that is not too dry and academic for the casual reader, but I would highly recommend Selim Deringil's "The Well-Protected Domains" to get a feel of the self-perception of the Ottomans in the late 19th c.

In the West unfortunately little is taught about Turkish history: the average person perhaps has only a general idea of the Ottoman Empire, and tragically little understanding of the formation of the subsequent Republic under Ataturk. Kinross's book is the essential skeleton for anyone looking to obtain a more in-depth knowledge of the long-reigning, sprawling Moslem empire, or looking to begin a more intricate study of it. Kinross runs over all of the major events and significant Sultans with shrewd insight into the functioning, or lack thereof, of the different Ottoman regimes.

This is unfortunately perhaps the only work by Kinross, a great authority on Turkish history, still in print and (surprisingly) in mass circulation. Kinross's legendary biography of Ataturk and his studies of the Suez, the Taurus range, etc. have unfortunaly been forgotten; but for anyone who enjoyed this book or is in need of such a perceptive author as Kinross, there's always your Public Library.

Another reader commented on the omission of the Armenian massacres in the book: this is a blantantly erroneous accusation. For the record, Kinross goes well into the topic of the Armenian genocide campaigns by both Abdul-Hamid II and the Young Turks in this book: he gives, at great length, long and gruesome depictions of these horrifying mass-murders. In my experience with reading Kinross, he rarely misses an opportunity to reflect on the tragedy, even wryly pointing out in "Ataturk" the ironies of how it would later heavily burden the Turks on the deserted Eastern front against the Russians in WWI.

Here Lord Kinross has created quite an achievement in historical writing, summing up the 600 years of the Ottoman empire in one concise, easy to read, yet expansive narrative. Kinross shows a clear understanding of large historical, cultural, and political trends that results in a narrative that is sweeping in its scope. Kinross is clearly influenced by Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and even uses that phrase a few times in this book, merely replacing the word "Roman" with "Ottoman." Hence while Kinross is commenting on the minute details of various time periods throughout Ottoman history, he also keeps you appraised of the long-term trends that would result first in the empire's rise to greatness and then its slow downfall. One weakness of this method though, is the frequent use of the "beginning of the end" or "it was all downhill from here" refrains, which was also noticed by another reviewer here on Amazon. In fact, Kinross first brings this up way back at the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, nearly four centuries before the empire finally dissolved, although it's true that the empire had reached its peak at that point. Another possible point of contention with this book is Kinross' coverage of the empire's foreign relations, with most space going to the Europeans to the west and later the Russians to the north. There is very little about the empire's relations with the Persians to the east, and almost nothing about the Arabs and Africans to the south. However this is probably more the result of the differing amounts of documentation and evidence available in each area, rather than any bias on the author's part. Meanwhile Parts VI and VII really drag with minute details on the political wranglings of the European powers in relation to the empire. But those are just some minor weaknesses, which are more than made up for by the strengths described above, as well as Kinross' occasional forays into colorful descriptions of the lifestyles of the royals and their subjects, and coverage of the empire's culture and architecture.

Finally, one reviewer here for some self-serving reason slammed this book for failing to cover the massacres of the Armenians. This is 100% false, as Kinross not only covers three different periods in which the Turks tried to smash the Armenians, but effectively places the blame where it's due. That reactionary critic both failed to read the book and failed to realize that it supports his position. He/she also claims that the fall of the empire is left out, supposedly missing an entire half of the book. Figure that one out.

Sources are exclusively European. Very few Turkish writers are referenced (Halil Inancik, & Kemal Karpat among them), rest is English, and French. So as long as the reader keeps that in mind, it is a worthwhile book to read. I felt Kinross was being unfair at times in his description of the Turkish people, but we can't forget that the book is written from an English perspective. Biases will and do creep in. Despite the subject matter, the book is also surprisingly easy to read. Many beautiful engravings that show the Ottoman life are included. One particular Istanbul engraving from 1839, almost stopped my heart. It was spookily real!

A must for anyone who wants to understand the history and culture of the Turkish state... The Ottoman Centuries clearly describes the rise, decline, reform and ultimate fall of one of history's strongest empires; from it's nomadic origins to the early twentieth century. Beginning as an insignificant principality at the edge of Asia Minor, the Turks expanded in all directions, forming an empire on three continents. This book brings it all to life. All of the important events and leading figures are discussed, without bland explanations and without exaggeration.

Lord Kinross is very successful at historic storytelling.

To take a subject as vast as the empire was during its peak, and to organize it in such a coherent and readable fashion is no easy feat. He covers a lot of ground from politics to art, individual personalities to the "Ottoman Image" in the rest of the world.

But I must add that as a Turk, I was dissappointed with the fact that it had a whole lot of overlap with our dismal history courses in high school. I haven't learned much, I did not really get the perspective I hoped for.

I guess for a beginner, it's a great introductory text, but stay away from "Ottoman Centuries" if you already have a good foundation on Ottoman history.

Kinross effectively reconstructs Ottoman history in the space of several hundred pages and in doing so, gives a good overview of an important civilization without become so overly academic and thus too dense to understand. The book, although a history, is as easily readable as any novel. This perhaps is its most impressive feat - that even those of us who aren't trained historians can understand and appreciate the people and events involved therein.

My only real criticism of this book is that I would have like to have seen more about the effect of the Crusades on the early empire. Although the Ottomans came to power after the Crusader period, I was curious as to the effect of that period on their conception of Christians and Westerners in general.

Otherwise recommended.

Ottoman Empire, spreading into more than six centuries and three continents with seventy odd ethnic groups, is not such an easy task to handle: You will always have some parts missing and/or leave some groups with bitter feelings!

I agree with the opinion that the book is not academic, but does it have to be so? The author makes this very difficult task of history telling into a very readable tome of only 630+ pages. And this in itself is a success.