The Sultans Helmsman

A novel of the Ottoman Navy and Renaissance Italy

The subject of this vast, astonishing and brilliantly readable work of history is the bizarre story of the Ottoman Empire, seen through the lives and actions of its sultans, with their absolute power and terrifying cruelty, their love of pomp and magnificence and their overwhelming venality and corruption. The author describes the men, the events, the daily life, the strange customs of Turkey's court, from her emergence as a great power in the sixteenth century to the death of Kemal Ataturk, who overthrew the Sultanate to establish a new and more modern form of tyranny. This book is a unique and fascinating record of four centuries of glory, debauchery, splendor and cruelty. --from inside jacket flap.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1857. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

The First World War quickly escalated from a European war into a global conflict that would cause fundamental changes in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Its end signalled the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, which had controlled most of the Arab Middle East. Over the wartime period, millions of people across the Empire died as a result of warfare, epidemics, famines and massacres. However, for the Ottoman leaders their entry into the war was not just a response to a life-or-death struggle, but rather presented them with an opportunity to transform the empire into a new type of state. Syria in World War I brings together leading scholars working with original Turkish, Arabic, Armenian and German sources, to present a comprehensive examination of this key period in Syria’s history. Together, the chapters demonstrate how the war represented a radical break from the past for the Syrian lands, which underwent crucial political, economic, social and cultural transformations. It contextualises various facets of the then Unionist ruler of Syria, Djemal Pasha, as well as exploring the impact of the Ottoman leaders’ divergent policies on the Syrian lands and people, which would undergo a series of political, economic and ecological catastrophes whose traces are still evident in the region’s collective memory. Introducing a significant body of new information and considerably expanding the parameters of current debates, Syria in World War I is of key interest to students and scholars of Middle East History, as well as History of the Late Ottoman Empire and World War I History.

This highly-praised and authoritative account surveys the history of the Ottoman Empire from its obscure origins in the 14th century, through its rise to world-power status in the 16th century, to the troubled times of the 17th century. Going beyond a simple narrative of Ottoman achievements and key events, Colin Imber uses original sources and research, as well as the rapidly growing body of modern scholarship on the subject, to show how the Sultans governed their realms and the limits on their authority. A helpful chronological introduction provides the context, while separate chapters deal with the inner politics of the dynasty, the court and central government, the provinces, the law courts and legal system, and the army and fleet. Revised, updated and expanded, this new edition now also features a separate chapter on the Arab provinces and incorporates the most recent developments in the field throughout. New to this Edition: - An increased focus on religion, and on non-Muslim communities - More on the provinces and culture - An expanded taxation chapter, with more on charitable trusts, trade and the economy - Updated references throughout

The New York Times bestselling author of The Templar Brotherhood presents the first novel in a thrilling series about the powerful secrets of the Knights Templar—and a conspiracy too shocking to believe... In a quiet English seaside town, antiquarian bookseller Robin Jessop has acquired an odd medieval volume. What appears to be a book isn’t a book at all, but a cleverly disguised safe, in which she finds a single rolled parchment, written in code. For encryption expert David Mallory, the text is impenetrable. Until an invaluable clue opens the door to a mystery, and a conspiracy, stretching back seven centuries, when the most powerful man in Europe declared war on the most powerful clan, the Knights Templar. Now, Jessop and Mallory find themselves on a global hunt for an unsurpassed treasure and this much closer to the keys to secrets that could change history, topple an empire, and bury them both alive. Because they’re not only the hunters. They’re also the hunted.