The Shortest History Of Turkey (from The Ottoman Empire To The Turkish Republic)

By (author) Fortna Benjamin C.
Short description/annotation:
From the Ottoman Empire to today’s authoritarian regime—discover the story of a nation caught between Islamic traditions and pressures to westernize
Description:
Through more than nine centuries of shifting borders, environmental change, and political evolution, Turkey has been a cultural melting pot and a nation-state bent on ethnic unity. It has seen conquest and reform, appeals to tradition and calls to modernize. It has been a home to Christians, Jews, Muslims, and more, and it has aggressively pursued both secularization and Islamization. Built on the foundations of the Ottoman Empire—the most enduring, and perhaps the most important, Islamic empire in history—Turkey’s long, complex history is beset by political and religious turmoil. But the country’s national story also illuminates a rich culture developed over thousands of years, reflecting culinary diversity, artisan craftsmanship, and architectural achievement. In this concise yet nuanced overview, historian Benjamin Fortna examines Turkey’s complex trajectory from ancient Byzantine civilization to modern republic, through to the present-day leadership by the populist, authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In just 250 pages, Fortna reveals how opposing visions of Turkey have shaped its national identity and its people—and its place in contemporary history. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
Table of contents:
Timeline Introduction: Competing Visions of Turkey PART 1: THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE Ottoman Origins From Principality to Empire Imperial Consolidation Imperial Heights Decentralization PART 2: FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC Internal and External Challenges Reforms Imperial Resistance Opposition and Revolution: The “Young Turks” The Great War The “National” Movement PART 3: THE TURKISH REPUBLIC The Early Republic, or the “Single Party Period” The Democratic Era Return of the Guardian State Towards a Turkish–Islamic Synthesis The Justice and Development Party Era Conclusion: Republican Centennial and Imperial Ghosts Acknowledgments Image credits Index
Review quote:
"[An] astute combination of the entertaining and informed. . . . What comes across most significantly is what a multicultural melting pot Turkey has been and still is."
Review quote:
"Historian Benjamin C. Fortna delivers a compact yet richly informative account of a nation straddling East and West, tradition and modernity. This book achieves an impressive feat: distilling over two millennia of Turkish history into a narrative that is accessible, nuanced and deeply engaging."
Biographical note:
Benjamin C. Fortna is professor of history and director of the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona and formerly professor of the history of the Middle East, SOAS, at the University of London. He received his degrees from Yale, Columbia, and the University of Chicago, and has published numerous books on the Ottoman Empire, the early Turkish Republic, and modern Turkey. He has appeared on the BBC programs Who Do You Think You Are? and The Ottomans: Europe''s Muslim Emperors. He lives in Tucson, AZ.