Thursday 2/25/2010

Once again, this class is pretty interesting. I find it difficult to render the demise of the Ottoman empire, to be demise or transformation. Either way, the Ottoman Empire still became weaker due to the change. The perspective on women is interesting because some suggest that the demise was due to the women. When future sultans were raised in the herem and stayed there, their mothers became close to them, and often times assumed power and authority over his rule. That didn't happen until the role of the Sultan, duities, and activities became tainted by laziness and so forth. If transformation were to be the correct term, the Ottoman Empire still didn't modernize like the West, and it was criticized because of that. I think that I will stick with demise not transformation.