The Ottoman Empire

By: Kenneth W. Harl, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Kenneth W. Harl

Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

By understanding the dramatic story of the Ottoman Empire - from its early years as a collection of raiders and conquerors to its undeniable power in the 15th and 16th centuries to its catastrophic collapse in the wreckage of the First World War - one can better grasp the current complexities of the Middle East.

Over the course of these 36 enlightening lectures, investigate over 600 years of history that covers the nature of Ottoman identity, the achievements of the Sultan's court, and stories of confrontation and cooperation with the West.

Befitting a story of such epic scope and grandeur, every lecture is a treasure trove of historical insights into the people, events, themes, and locales responsible for shaping the story of this often-overlooked empire. You'll cover everything from Rumi, the whirling dervishes, and the importance of the sultan's grand viziers to the wars of Sultan Suleiman I, the shadowy politics of the Committee of Union and Progress, and the birth of the Turkish Republic under Kemal Atatürk.

Welcome to a fascinating story of the triumph and tragedy, war and peace, intellectual progress and civil insurrection of a great empire that, for all its glory and grandeur, has left an important legacy that will shape the future of the Balkan nation-states, the Turkish Republic, and the Arab world - and those of us in the West as well.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

Important piece of world history

It’s important for US citizens to understand the history of Ottoman Empire which has as much of more influence on our modern world as Greek and Roman empires. This empire was vast in territory and long lasting - 700 years - and played a major role in development of Christianity, Islam and left a legacy in modern arts and science. It also was an important key to World War 1 and the resulting geopolitics of the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe that we face today.

I have listened to three if Ken Harl’s Great Courses so far. Ken Harl is an excellent teacher and has such deep knowledge of Anatolian History you will learn a lot even if you are a history buff. His delivery is engaging and humorous while representing serious scholarship. I found myself needing to relisten to chapters or sections due to the multilayered information and the fast pace of dates, places and names. You might want to slow down speed of playback at times. Even if you are not particularly interested in Turkey today, which has a strong movie industry on Netflix, you will still learn a lot about European history from a different lens. Middle East history is here as well but I feel the need to read more on books on that.

Objective perspective

Great review of ottoman history from western perspective. Those who wants objective view about ottoman history should start from this audio book.

Strong Narrative Weak Explanation

Harl does a great job of telling us what happened over the course of the Ottoman Empire. But I frequently was left wondering why it happened. For example, there wasn’t much time spent on why the empire became vulnerable to the West and eventually declined.

Ottoman History

Excellent summary of the rise and fall of a mighty empire that covered parts of three continents for hundreds of years. Well done series of lectures that put together what happened and why it happened. It helped me understand historical events. I highly recommend it.

Excellent!

I would have paid more attention in high school if history was taught as interestingly and rich as Professor Harl’s lectures!

Wonderful subject , amazing history

A fascinating subject told by an obviously learned academic. That said his lecture style is all over the palace mixing in dates and facts from to many periods at once making it hard to follow. Also professor Harl uses “ummm” when pausing to composing his thoughts continuously to the point of driving the listener mad. But perhaps the subject is so interesting he almost gets away with it .

Worth the Time to Listen

I was a little off put in the beginning when Harl perpetuated the myth that Christian-Muslim friction began with the Crusades. I was a little put off again near the end when his recounting of the Armenian Genocide (it was not that big of deal, and was not really the Ottomans' fault anyway). But I understand that he has a Turkish wife, so has to do those sorts of things.

But this is such an important part of history that is neglected in the West. The story needs to be heard.

Another great story from professor Harl!

Would’ve been great to add 1 chapter on arts (music, theatre, paintings etc). Also, it would have been great to create more of a 3-D structure, correlating the past with present issues.
Also, I would love to hear more courses from professor Harl. For example, on Armenia, Serbia, Georgia. Possibly on ancient regions of Bukhara, Samarkand, Afghanistan. Thank you for pure joy of a good story, giving better understanding of humanity and modern world.

Favorite Professor from The Great Courses

I've listened to and really enjoyed Harl's other lectures (on the Crusades, the Mongols, the Byzantines, etc), as well as many from other professors. I have to say that this guy is far and away the most engaging for me, both in terms of sheer knowledge on the subject and the way he presents it. He manages to bombard you with a massive amount of information without making it feel overwhelming or monotone. I'll admit I was excited to see this course pop up under his name, and it did not disappoint.

It is good

It was a good overview of the Ottoman Empire. The authors is enthusiastic about the empire and its significance.