‘The Afterlife of Ottoman Europe’ Review: Nostalgia for the Sultan

‘The Afterlife of Ottoman Europe’ Review: Nostalgia for the Sultan Autonomous Office Chair

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Corrupt, decadent, backward, perennially broke and plagued by rebellions, the Ottoman Empire shrank and fell inexorably apart over the course of two centuries before finally disappearing in 1922. That, at least, had been the consensus view, especially among the Turks who afterward settled for a republic.

The Afterlife of Ottoman Europe: Muslims in Habsburg Bosnia Herzegovina

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Western historians had little reason to change the narrative. The hows and whys of the empire’s decline slotted neatly into a traditional “clash of civilizations” scenario, not least because physical clashes—as in the Ottomans’ constant wars and repeated defeats—helped determine the conclusion. When the dust settled, the rival empires were gone too, including those of the Russian Romanovs and the Austrian Habsburgs. The West prevailed, broadly speaking, along with its values and free-society principles of governance.

Pretty Office Chair This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.

‘The Afterlife of Ottoman Europe’ Review: Nostalgia for the Sultan - WSJ