CENTRE FOR ARAB AND ISLAMIC STUDIES MEAS 2002/MEAS 8010 Turkish History: Ottoman State to Modern Turkey

Essay Requirement

 

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You will choose one of the following topics for the essay requirement of the course. If you decide on one of the topics below you can immediately start your research. You are also welcome to come up with your own topic. The only condition is that the topic should be focusing on the first 8 weeks. In addition if you have different topic proposals in your mind, you should consult and confirm the topic with the course convenor before starting to work on your topic.

Note: The questions below may seem to be lengthy but in every topic the underlined parts are supposed to be the main focus..

 

Length: 3,000 words for undergraduates, 4000 words for graduates

Assessment: 50%

Due Date: Monday, April 24, 2017 for undergraduates and Sunday, April 30, 2017 for graduates

Submission: Essays must be submitted electronically on Wattle, using the Turnitin protocol on the course site.

 

Topics

 

  1. The ghazi thesis of Paul Wittek had been the dominant paradigm in explaining the Ottoman foundation till 1980s. Discuss the ghazi thesis and provide an analysis of theories accounting the Ottoman foundation by comparing the ghazi thesis with its critics, alternative theories and predecessors.

 

  1. What do you consider were the main causes of the rapid expansion of the Ottoman State particularly in Balkans and to the inside of Europe? Discuss the Ottoman and Balkan positions together with a historical account of the early Balkan expansion of the Empire. Was it a geo-strategical or religiously based decision to prioritize the Balkans?

 

  1. “The struggles for the throne which filled the first centuries of Ottoman history might be interpreted as the clash between the traditional “family ownership” concept and the more rational concept of state and sovereignty” Discuss the methods of maintaining dynastical legitimacy in Ottoman state and its transformation from the Central Asian Turco/Mongolic model of family-ownership of the state to the sultanic legitimation based on the concept of “nizam-ı alem” (public order). How the concepts/practices such as fratricide, fortune, divine intervention, Islamic legitimacy and earthly legality related to sovereignty and legitimacy-building in Ottoman Empire?

 

  1. As the only major war lost by Ottomans in the first three centuries of the Empire, Ankara Battle of 1402 represented a long and masterful diplomacy prior to the battle among the combatants, perfect masterpiece in the battle day and a long civil strife in collapsed Ottoman Anatolia after the War. Discuss the phases of the Ottoman-Timurid relations before, during and after the Battle with reference to the results.

 

  1. “The centralized Ottoman administration and religious zeal played a great role in the reunification of Ottoman State during the period of Interregnum.” Analyze the causes and results Ottoman civil wars and rebellions during the period of Interregnum.

 

  1. The Janissary Hearth was producing the most elite group of soldiers which have been the backbone of the Ottoman army from the very early years of the Empire to 1826. Highly respected for their military prowess during the expansion period of Ottoman Empire, the Janissaries also turned out to be a vicious power against several sultans in the inner-Palace politics. Discuss the Janissary phenomenon with regard the reasons of foundation, structure, lifestyle in war and peace and role in Ottoman politics.

 

  1. Conquest/Fall of Constantinople/Istanbul in 1453 was one of the greatest moments in the Ottoman period of expansion. What was the significance of the conquest for the Ottomans and the Europe? Discuss the Ottoman and Byzantine politics before, during and after the Istanbul Siege.

 

  1. What were the reasons of the tension between the Devshirme and the Turkish nobility/nomadic warriors? Discuss with respect to both Ottoman efforts of centralization, sedentarization, taxation and also religious heterodoxy.

 

  1. Discuss the Western and Eastern policy of Ottoman Empire under Mehmed, the conqueror. Provide a critical historical overview of the era while analysing the upgrade from the idea of the “Ottoman State” to the “Ottoman Empire”.

 

  1. The eastern campaign of Selim I had both religious and political reasons. Discuss the Shiite-Sunni rivalry between Ottomans and Safavid Iran and impact of acquiring the title of Caliph for the Ottoman sultans with an account of the historical developments during the reign of Selim I.

 

  1. Suleyman, the magnificent is “believed to have embodied in his person the most accomplished image of the Middle Eastern ruler and matched the Quranic image of the perfect ruler Salomon.” Discuss the politics, ideology, military, bureaucracy, symbolism, state-religion relations and foreign affairs in the Suleyman’s reign between 1520 and 1566.

 

  1. What were the reasons of the stagnation in the Ottoman realm starting from late16th century? You can discuss persistent rebellion in the Ottoman heartland of Anatolia, corruption, inability to adapt to the discovery of the new trade routes, reaching to the utmost limits of the military expansion, flow of silver and gold from Americas to the Old World, decay in the central Ottoman institutions such as Janissaries and timar system and also other possible reasons. Discuss the reasons of the stagnation and traditional reform efforts before Koprülü Era, particularly in the eras of Osman II and Murad IV.