392 pp, pb, in English - Turkish bilingual.
This new edition of sixteen articles by Halil I ̇nalcık, first compiled in 1978, brings together some of his most seminal studies on the Ottoman state and society. Across three thematic sections, the book addresses a variety of key issues in the empire’s political, social and economic history from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century.
Beginning with the expansion of the empire, İnalcık examines Ottoman methods of conquest and establishment in the newly acquired territories. The selected articles in this first section also tackle the empire’s tax system and its relationship with pre-Ottoman practices, the codification of imperial law and the impact of the rising Ottoman state on Europe. The second section turns to the empire’s economic policies, interregional trade and the paths of capital formation in the Ottoman world. Following the life cycle of the empire, the book concludes with an analysis of how this typical Middle Eastern polity was transformed in the face of economic upheaval and Western military supremacy, with a special focus on its rural subjects. In showcasing the influential historian’s richly documented analyses and socioeconomic approach, this volume pays homage to İnalcık’s immense and outstanding contribution to Ottoman studies.
