The Nature of the Early Ottoman State
date of publication: 2003-03-17
ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-5636-1
ISBN-10: 0-7914-5636-6
"Drawing on surviving documents from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Nature of the Early Ottoman State provides a revisionist approach to the study of the formative years of the Ottoman Empire. Challenging the predominant view that a desire to spread Islam accounted for Ottoman success during the fourteenth-century advance into Southeastern Europe, Lowry argues that the primary motivation was a desire for booty and slaves.
The early Ottomans were a plundering confederacy, open to anyone (Muslim or Christian) who could meaningfully contribute to this goal. It was this lack of a strict religious orthodoxy, and a willingness to preserve local customs and practices, that allowed the Ottomans to gain and maintain support. Later accounts were written to buttress what had become the self-image of the dynasty following its incorporation of the heartland of the Islamic world in the sixteenth century."--BOOK JACKET. Source: OpenLibrary
Edition
- isbn:9780791456361 - inv:b9e52f756d42b8a7b82c35c84733fa4d
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