2/19/2010

I am finding that the Ottomans were great rulers. When reading the books, listening to the lectures, or watching videos, I always draw the same conclusion, that the Ottoman Empire was a great one. I have become increasingly interested in its downfall, however. Since they have ruled for hundreds and hundreds of years, I became fascinated about how such a mighty horse could take a great fall. I am tired of reading and listening to the fall of Constantinople, I now want to know about the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Thats why I cannot wait to dive into the Janissary Tree because it talks about the fall of the Empire in advance of it happening. There must have been some internal problems. Religion may be a problem. Since Islam has certain rules, and muslims have certain perspectives on modernity, maybe civilization was advancing too much for the Ottomans to handle, and their old world ways could no longer hold. I personally do see Islam as an impedement to modernity because there are certain rules against it. The European perspective seems to focus a lot on Islam. At any rate, I cannot wait to learn about how it collapsed, and also if the collapse of the janissaries led to the collapse of the sultan, and eventually the empire.