Histoire de l'Empire Ottoman - 1855

1 strong volume in-4 half morocco and percaline, all edges gilded, vii-528 pages - Slight wear on the spine, boards a little worn, light foxing and scattered mostly on the first pages, 4 ligatures missing, 1 torn, 1 gravity-free tear at the bottom of the first 4 pages (title page) - Pleasant copy.
--------

history: birth, expansion and decline of the Empire;
politics: functioning of the sultanate and international relations;
geography: description of the territories;
religious and social: Muslims, Christians, Greeks, Armenians, etc.;
Franco-Ottoman: importance of relations between France and the Ottoman Empire.

2. Before the Ottomans: the ancient and Byzantine East

3. Osman and the birth of Ottoman power
The narrative then focuses on Osman I, founder of the Ottoman dynasty.

Originally, the Ottomans are only a small power settled in western Anatolia. Their geographical location is however extremely favorable: they lie close to Byzantine territories.

How the first Ottoman rulers use:

war;
alliances;
divisions of neighboring powers;
the settlement of Turkish populations in the conquered territories.
The principality gradually becomes a powerful state.

4. Expansion in the Balkans

The Ottomans notably take Gallipoli, then Andrinople (Edirne), which becomes a major center of their power.

They then advance in the Balkans and gradually subjugate:

Bulgaria;
Serbia;
a part of Greece;
Bosnia;
several other Balkan territories.
Lavallée emphasizes the wars against the European Christian powers.

5. Bayezid I and the Battle of Ankara
The reign of Bayezid I (Bajazet) represents an essential moment for Lavallée.

Bayezid pursues an extremely rapid expansion policy.

But his ambition leads him to confront Timur (Tamerlan).

In 1402, the Ottomans are defeated at the Battle of Ankara.

Bayezid is captured and the Ottoman state then undergoes a serious crisis.

Bayezid’s sons vie for power: this is the period known as the Ottoman interregnum.

6. The reconstruction of the Empire
After this crisis, the Ottomans restore their power.

Sultans such as Mehmed I and Murad II gradually reunify Ottoman territories.

Murad II resumes the offensive in the Balkans.

7. The conquest of Constantinople in 1453
Mehmed II, called by Lavallée “Mahomet II,” ascends the throne and decides to conquer Constantinople.

In 1453, after a famous siege, the Ottomans take the city.

The Byzantine Empire disappears and the Ottoman Empire becomes a great imperial power.

Constantinople becomes the political center of the Ottoman state.

8. Expansion after Constantinople
After 1453, the Ottomans continue their expansion.

They consolidate their control over:

Anatolia;
the Balkans;
the Black Sea;
a part of the Mediterranean.
Lavallée also describes the conflicting relations with Venice, which was then one of the major commercial and maritime powers in the Mediterranean.

The Empire gradually becomes a European as well as an Asian power.

9. Suleiman the Magnificent: the apex
The reign of Suleiman I (1520-1566) occupies a central place in the history told by Lavallée.

Under Suleiman, the Empire reaches exceptional power.

He leads campaigns in:

Hungary;
Austria;
Iraq;
Syria;
the Mediterranean.
The Ottomans take Belgrade and Buda, threaten Vienna and develop a powerful fleet.

It is also during this period that the Empire becomes a major diplomatic power in Europe.

10. The relations between France and the Ottomans

11. The Ottoman political system
Lavallée does not merely recount wars.

How the Empire operates:

to the sultan;
to the Grand Vizier;
to the Divan;
to the janissaries;
to the sipahis;
to the ulemas;
to the mufti;
to pashas and governors.

12. Religions and populations

Turks;
Arabs;
Greeks;
Armenians;
Slavs;
Albanians;
populations of Jews;
diverse Christian and Muslim populations.
This diversity is essential to understand the political difficulties of the Empire in the 19th century.

13. The beginning of decline

weakening of the sultan’s authority;
corruption and administrative rivalries;
janissary interventions;
financial difficulties;
provincial revolts;
military problems;
increasing competition from European powers.
The Empire nevertheless continued to exist for several centuries.

14. The 17th and 18th centuries

austria;
Russia;
Venice;
Poland.
Russia progressively becomes one of the Empire’s main adversaries.

15. The reforms of the Empire
In the 19th century, the Ottomans become aware of their military and administrative lag.

16. Nationalisms and the Christian question

The Christian peoples of the Balkans progressively demand more autonomy and then independence.
The Greek question plays an important role.
Other Balkan peoples subsequently follow similar trajectories.
The Empire gradually loses European territories.

17. Russia and the “East Question”
Russia appears as one of the main adversaries of the Ottoman Empire.
Because the disappearance or weakening of the Ottoman Empire could completely alter the European balance.
That is what is called the East Question.
France, Britain, Austria and Russia each have different interests in the region.

18. The Crimean War
The book is particularly interesting because it was published in 1855, during the Crimean War.
The war pitted Russia against the Ottoman Empire, supported by France, Great Britain and the Kingdom of Sardinia.

19. The description of Turkey
The last part of the work is no longer limited to political history.

The Ottoman Empire was born as a conquering military power, reached its peak with the great sultans of the 15th and 16th centuries, then gradually weakened under the impact of internal problems and the rise of European powers.