Someone here recommended:
Osman's Dream:
The History of the Ottoman Empire
by Caroline Finkel

I bought the book and am working my way through it. It attempts to cover a very long period of history that has not been well understood in the West. It's pretty wordy and informative, but not particularly smooth reading.

I recently purchased:

The Harem : an account of the institution as it existed in the Palace of the Turkish Sultans with a history of the Grand Seraglio from its foundation to modern times.
by Norman Mosley Penzer

This is a well written book that was written in 1936. Nice illustrations and description of Topkapi. It is easy reading, not the usual titilating book, but rather a description of the politics and structure of the Harem.

The main problem I have with it is that the illustrations are black and white drawings or photos, but at the time it was written, color did not exist.

Thanks Alameda

Erik Jan Zürcher - a history of Modern Turkey.


Also available in Turkish and Dutch

The Lords of the Golden Horn, by Noel Barber 1970
This is a book about people; it does not pretend to be a history of the Ottoman Empire. N. Barber tried to show the decline of a mighty and colorful empire through the eyes and actions of the Sultans and their concubines in the harem (who at times wielded immense power) from the time of Suleiman the Magnificent to the death of a leader of a different stamp - Kamal Ataturk.

Thanks for the recommendations. I bought a heavy going book about 12 months ago, but I've mislaid it and can't remember what the title was

Someone might be interested in:

A Short History of Byzantium by John Julius Norwich

This is his abridged version of his three volume work. It's interesting and a useful foundation for anyone who wants to learn about Byzantine history but I find it flawed in key respects.

It's very much a history of Constantinople, especially the Emperors and the Imperial court. Page after page is devoted to court politics and hairsplitting religious disputes but there is never a mention of the basic economy of the empire or military organization or the happenings of anywhere outside the capital, unless there was a battle there or someone went into exile. Plagues,invasions, technological innovations, earthquakes and such are dismissed with a brief mention or ignored entirely.

Still this is a good book to start with, if only because there are so few books on the subject in English. The style is a bit academic and very difficult for anyone not fluent in English. Turkish friends who have excellent spoken English had great difficulty with this book.


Another one I've read is:

The Turks in World History by Carter Vaughn Findley

This is a history of all the Turkic people, from the Xiongnu on the Chinese borderlands about 2500 years ago, through the first Türk empire about 1500 years ago in the same area through the Turkic expansion through Central Asia to Anatolia.

The history of Turkey is a significant part of this book but it covers the history of the other Turkic nations, mostly independent now after the fall of the Soviet Union. There is some useful political background for many countries covering the past 100 - 200 years.

There is not a pure history; sociology is freely sprinkled through its pages, sometimes providing insights, sometimes adding to the confusion of events.

Another book that is valuable because it covers such a neglected topic. Much of its coverage is superficial, as it must be in a book covering such an enormous period of time and space.

I would recommend
'Constantinople: City of the World's Desire 1453-1924'
by Philip Mansel
Here is the link


‘an impeccably researched masterpiece of exquisite historical writing … There can be little doubt that this book will become a classic’ William Dalrymple (The Independent)

‘gripping … quite the best book on the Ottoman Empire I have ever come across’ Robert Carver (The Scotsman)