A Visual History of the Ottoman Empire

After posting yesterday’s essay on Sirkeci Station, I completed the past month’s focus on the Ottoman Empire. I had described this focus as a series of “snapshots” that could help students visualize how the empire evolved over 600 years. I also discussed how I had been influenced by Marc David Baer’s excellent The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs and wanted these images to help students understand how the empire “was not simply Turkish. Nor was it made up only of Muslims. It was not a Turkish empire. Like the Roman Empire, it was a multiethnic, multilingual, multiracial, multireligious empire that stretched across Europe, Africa, and Asia.” I had initially intended to discuss five images, but I added one image. This post brings together these six images in chronological order. Clicking on each image will take you to the original post. I hope teachers find these resources helpful.

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