God's shadow : Sultan Selim, his Ottoman empire, and the making of the modern world

"An explosive global history that redefines the historical origins of the modern world through the life of Sultan Selim I and his Ottoman Empire. Long neglected in accounts of world history, the Ottoman Empire was a hub of flourishing intellectual fervor, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. At the helm of its ascent was the omnipotent Sultan Selim I (1470-1520), who, with the aid of his extraordinarily gifted mother, Gu lbahar, hugely expanded the empire, propelling it onto the world stage. Aware of centuries of European suppression of Islamic history, Alan Mikhail centers Selim's Ottoman Empire and Islam as the very pivots of global history, redefining such world-changing events as Christopher Columbus's voyages-which originated, in fact, as a Catholic jihad that viewed Native Americans as somehow "Moorish"-the Protestant Reformation, the transatlantic slave trade, and the dramatic Ottoman seizure of the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on previously unexamined sources and written in gripping detail, Mikhail's groundbreaking account vividly recaptures Selim's life and world. An historical masterwork, God's Shadow radically reshapes our understanding of a world we thought we knew"-- Publishers Weekly • Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction) Longlisted • Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction New York Times Book Review • Editors' Choice "A stunning work of global history. . . . Alan Mikhail offers a bold and thoroughly convincing new way to think about the origins of the modern world. . . . A tour de force." -Greg Grandin Long neglected in world history, the Ottoman Empire was a hub of intellectual fervor, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. At the height of their authority in the sixteenth century, the Ottomans, with extraordinary military dominance and unparalleled monopolies over trade routes, controlled more territory and ruled over more people than any world power, forcing Europeans out of the Mediterranean and to the New World. Yet, despite its towering influence and centrality to the rise of our modern world, the Ottoman Empire's history has for centuries been distorted, misrepresented, and even suppressed in the West. Now Alan Mikhail presents a vitally needed recasting of Ottoman history, retelling the story of the Ottoman conquest of the world through the dramatic biography of Sultan Selim I (1470-1520). Born to a concubine, and the fourth of his sultan father's ten sons, Selim was never meant to inherit the throne. With personal charisma and military prowess-as well as the guidance of his remarkably gifted mother, Gülbahar-Selim claimed power over the empire in 1512 and, through ruthless ambition, nearly tripled the territory under Ottoman control, building a governing structure that lasted into the twentieth century. At the same time, Selim-known by his subjects as "God's Shadow on Earth"-fostered religious diversity, welcoming Jews among other minority populations into the empire; encouraged learning and philosophy; and penned his own verse. Drawing on previously unexamined sources from multiple languages, and with original maps and stunning illustrations, Mikhail's game-changing account "challenges readers to recalibrate their sense of history" (Leslie Peirce), adroitly using Selim's life to upend prevailing shibboleths about Islamic history and jingoistic "rise of the West" theories that have held sway for decades. Whether recasting Christopher Columbus's voyages to the "Americas" as a bumbling attempt to slay Muslims or showing how the Ottomans allowed slaves to become the elite of society while Christian states at the very same time waged the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, God's Shadow radically reshapes our understanding of the importance of Selim's Ottoman Empire in the history of the modern world "An explosive global history that redefines the historical origins of the modern world through the life of Sultan Selim I and his Ottoman Empire. Long neglected in accounts of world history, the Ottoman Empire was a hub of flourishing intellectual fervor, geopolitical power, and enlightened pluralistic rule. At the helm of its ascent was the omnipotent Sultan Selim I (1470-1520), who, with the aid of his extraordinarily gifted mother, Gülbahar, hugely expanded the empire, propelling it onto the world stage. Aware of centuries of European suppression of Islamic history, Alan Mikhail centers Selim's Ottoman Empire and Islam as the very pivots of global history, redefining such world-changing events as Christopher Columbus's voyages--which originated, in fact, as a Catholic jihad that viewed Native Americans as somehow "Moorish"--the Protestant Reformation, the transatlantic slave trade, and the dramatic Ottoman seizure of the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on previously unexamined sources and written in gripping detail, Mikhail's groundbreaking account vividly recaptures Selim's life and world. An historical masterwork, God's Shadow radically reshapes our understanding of a world we thought we knew"-- Provided by publisher Title Contents List of Maps Introduction Part One Prince (1470–87) 1. Perfume of the World 2. Empire Boys 3. An Ottoman Abroad Part Two Governor (1487–1500) 4. Learning the Family Business 5. Power at the Edge Part Three The Ottoman (1492) 6. Columbus and Islam 7. Columbus’s Crusade 8. New World Islam 9. Christian Jihad 10. The Taino–Muslims of Hispaniola 11. Finding Ottoman Jerusalem Part Four Enemies Near and Far (1500–12) 12. Heresy from the East 13. Enemies Everywhere 14. Summer in Crimea 15. Bound for Istanbul 16. One and Only Sultan Part Five Selim’s World Wars (1512–18) 17. “Their Abode Is Hell” 18. Fraternal Empires 19. Conquering the Navel 20. Conquering the World Part Six Final Frontiers (1518–20) 21. Empire Everywhere 22. Fulcrum of the Atlantic 23. Eternity Part Seven Descendants (After 1520) 24. Selim’s Reformations 25. American Selim Coda: Shadows Over Turkey Illustrations Acknowledgments Chronology: Selim and his World Notes Illustration Credits Index About the Author Also by Alan Mikhail Copyright An "arresting" (New York Times Book Review) revisionist history demonstrating how Islam and the Ottoman Empire made our modern world. The history of the Ottoman Empire--once the most powerful state on earth, ruling over more territory and people than any other world power--has for centuries been distorted, misrepresented, and suppressed in the West. With this "original and wide-ranging" (Wall Street Journal) global history, Alan Mikhail vitally recasts the Ottoman conquest of the world through the dramatic biography of Sultan Selim I (1470-1520). Drawing on previously unexamined sources, and upending prevailing shibboleths about Islamic history and jingoistic "rise of the West" theories, Mikhail's game-changing account radically transforms our understanding of the importance of Selim's Ottoman Empire in the annals of the modern world