The Ottoman Empire – From Conquest to Collapse
Explore the reasons behind the rapid expansion of the Ottoman Empire, including its military conquests, political organisation, and relative religious tolerance, as well as the challenges and weaknesses that led to its eventual decline.
Special guests include renowned Ottoman empire authors, Eugene Rogan, Caroline Finkel and Marc David Baer. They offer insights into one of the most influential empires in history and the lessons that can be learned from the empire’s rise and fall.
About the Speakers
Eugene Rogan
Eugene Rogan is Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of Oxford, where he has taught since 1991. An American citizen, he grew up in Europe and the Middle East, returning to the US for university study in Columbia and Harvard. He is author of The Arabs: A History (2009; 2nd ed. 2017) and The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East (2015). In 2017 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.
Caroline Finkel
Caroline Finkel has lived in Istanbul for many years and travelled widely in Turkey and the former Ottoman lands. She has published articles in academic journals and popular outlets, done TV and radio turns in the UK and Turkey and, Osman’s Dream apart, has written/co-written books on Ottoman military history, Ottoman historical seismology and the Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi. She was a participant in a 40-day ride in western Anatolia following the early stages of Evliya’s 1671 pilgrimage route, and co-director of a historical-archaeological expedition in western Ukraine. Her most recent publication (online) is Hiking Istanbul’s Hinterland.
Marc David Baer
Marc David Baer is Head of Department and Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. An American and British historian, he is an expert on Muslim-Jewish relations and the Ottoman Empire. His latest book is The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs (Basic 2021), which was short-listed for the Wolfson Prize in History and has been translated into a dozen languages.
Join Our Mailing List
By submitting this form you agree to our Privacy Policy and to receive marketing emails, including e-newsletters and event updates from Bradford Literature Festival.