Los jenízaros y los sipahis: La historia de la infantería y la caballería de élite que impulsaron la expansión del Imperio Otomano (Spanish Edition)

"Encontraron a los turcos que se acercaban hasta debajo de las murallas y buscaban batalla, sobre todo los jenízaros... y cuando mataban a uno o dos de ellos, en seguida venían más turcos y se llevaban a los muertos... sin importarles lo cerca que estuvieran de las murallas de la ciudad. Nuestros hombres les disparaban con pistolas y ballestas, apuntando al turco que se llevaba a su compatriota muerto, y ambos caían al suelo muertos, y luego venían otros turcos y se los llevaban, ninguno temiendo la muerte, sino dispuestos a dejar que mataran a diez de ellos antes que sufrir la vergüenza de dejar un solo cadáver turco junto a las murallas." - Testigo ocular veneciano de la caída de Constantinopla En términos geopolíticos, quizá el acontecimiento más importante de la Edad Media fue el asedio otomano de Constantinopla en 1453. thLa ciudad había sido capital imperial ya en el siglo IV, cuando Constantino el Grande trasladó allí el centro de poder del Imperio Romano, estableciendo dos mitades casi igual de poderosas del mayor imperio de la Antigüedad. Constantinopla seguiría siendo la capital del Imperio Bizantino incluso después de que la mitad occidental del Imperio Romano se derrumbara a finales del siglo 5th . Naturalmente, el Imperio Otomano también utilizaría Constantinopla como capital de su imperio después de que su conquista acabara efectivamente con el Imperio Bizantino, y gracias a su situación estratégica, ha sido un centro comercial durante años y sigue siéndolo hoy en día bajo el nombre turco de Estambul. El fin del Imperio Bizantino tuvo profundas repercusiones no sólo en Oriente Próximo, sino también en Europa. Constantinopla había desempeñado un papel crucial en las Cruzadas, y la caída de los bizantinos significaba que los otomanos compartían ahora frontera con Europa. El imperio islámico era visto como una amenaza por el continente predominantemente cristiano situado a su oeste, y las distintas naciones europeas tardaron poco en empezar a enfrentarse a los poderosos turcos. De hecho, los otomanos chocarían con rusos, austriacos, venecianos, polacos y otros antes de colapsar como resultado de la Primera Guerra Mundial, cuando formaban parte de las potencias centrales. La conquista otomana de Constantinopla también desempeñó un papel decisivo en el fomento del Renacimiento en Europa Occidental. La influencia del Imperio Bizantino había contribuido a asegurar que fuera el custodio de varios textos antiguos, sobre todo de los antiguos griegos, y cuando cayó Constantinopla, los refugiados bizantinos acudieron en masa al oeste en busca de refugio en Europa. Esos refugiados trajeron libros que ayudaron a despertar un interés por la Antigüedad que impulsó el Renacimiento italiano y puso fin a la Edad Media. Tras la toma de Constantinopla, el Imperio Otomano pasaría los siglos siguientes ampliando su tamaño, poder e influencia, chocando con Europa Oriental y convirtiéndose en uno de los actores geopolíticos más importantes del mundo. Un auge que no empezaría a decaer hasta el siglo XIX. . Entre los responsables de la proyección del poder otomano, pocos merecen tanto crédito como los jenízaros. Creados por Murad I, los jenízaros se convirtieron en una fuerza de infantería de élite leal únicamente al sultán. Su misión era protegerle únicamente a él y en las batallas siempre eran los más cercanos a él, formando un escudo humano. Originalmente estaban formados por esclavos no musulmanes, principalmente muchachos cristianos de Bizancio. Los niños judíos no eran aceptados como soldados y los musulmanes no podían, por ley, ser esclavizados. Murad había instituido un impuesto de una quinta parte sobre todos los esclavos tomados en la guerra, y la idea de tomar sólo a muchachos aptos para la lucha se denominó Devshirme, o impuesto de sangre. Scope and content: "Although scholars have begun to revise the traditional view that the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries marked a decline in the fortunes of the Ottoman Empire, Baki Tezcan's book proposes a radical new approach to this period. While he concurs that decline did take place in certain areas, he constructs a new framework by foregrounding the proto-democratization of the Ottoman polity in this era. Focusing on the background and the aftermath of the regicide of Osman II, he shows how the empire embarked on a period of seismic change in the political, economic, military, and social spheres. It is this period--from roughly 1580 to 1826--that the author labels "the second empire," and that he sees as no less than the transformation of the patrimonial, medieval, dynastic institution into a fledgling limited monarchy. The book is essentially a post-revisionist history of the late Ottoman Empire that will make a major contribution not only to Ottoman scholarship but also to comparable trends in world history"--Provided by publisher The unprecedented political power of the Ottoman imperial harem in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is widely viewed as illegitimate and corrupting. This book examines the sources of royal women's power and assesses the reactions of contemporaries, which ranged from loyal devotion to armed opposition. By examining political action in the context of household networks, Leslie Peirce demonstrates that female power was a logical, indeed an intended, consequence of political structures. Royal women were custodians of sovereign power, training their sons in its use and exercising it directly as regents when necessary. Furthermore, they played central roles in the public culture of sovereignty--royal ceremonial, monumental building, and patronage of artistic production. The Imperial Harem argues that the exercise of political power was tied to definitions of sexuality. Within the dynasty, the hierarchy of female power, like the hierarchy of male power, reflected the broader society's control for social control of the sexually active. The unprecedented political power of the Ottoman imperial harem in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is widely viewed as illegitimate and corrupting. This book examines the sources of royal women's power and assesses the reactions of contemporaries, which ranged from loyal devotion to armed opposition. By examining political action in the context of household networks, the author demonstrates that female power was a logical, indeed an intended, consequence of political structures. Royal women were custodians of sovereign power, training their sons in its use and exercising it directly as regents when necessary. Furthermore, they played central roles in the public culture of sovereignty--royal ceremonial, monumental building, and patronage of artistic production. This text argues that the exercise of political power was tied to definitions of sexuality. Within the dynasty, the hierarchy of female power, like the hierarchy of male power, reflected the broader society's control for social control of the sexually active. "The late Ottoman Empire is usually depicted as terminally ill, 'the sick man of Europe' according to the great powers in the nineteenth century. Justin McCarthy argues strongly that the Ottoman Empire ultimately collapsed not because of any problems 'within' but because of the imperial ambitions of outside powers and the irresistible tide of nationalism. He is not blind to the weaknesses of the empire - particularly its inability to modernize its economy or finances at a sufficient pace - but in light of the baleful developments in the Balkans and Middle East in the twentieth century, it is impossible not to reflect on the opportunities lost as a result of the Ottoman demise. Until the final years of the empire, peoples of different religions lived together who have been unable to live together since. Millions have been displaced, millions more killed, and the conflicts engendered by the passing into history of the Ottoman Empire continue to plague the world today."--Back cover "The late Ottoman Empire is usually depicted as terminally ill, 'the sick man of Europe' according to the great powers in the nineteenth century. Justin McCarthy argues strongly that the Ottoman Empire ultimately collapsed not because of any problems 'within' but because of the imperial ambitions of outside powers and the irresistible tide of nationalism. He is not blind to the weaknesses of the empire - particularly its inability to modernize its economy or finances at a sufficient pace - but in light of the baleful developments in the Balkans and Middle East in the twentieth century, it is impossible not to reflect on the opportunities lost as a result of the Ottoman demise. Until the final years of the empire, peoples of different religions lived together who have been unable to live together since. Millions have been displaced, millions more killed, and the conflicts engendered by the passing into history of the Ottoman Empire continue to plague the world today."--Jacket

This book examines the collapse of the Ottoman Empire which changed the lives of Slavs, Turks, Greeks, Arabs, and Armenians. For six centuries the Ottoman Empire united a diverse array of religious and ethnic groups, but its dissolution into distinct states left a tradition of nationalism and ethnic enmity in much of the Balkans and Middle East which directly links to crises in the region today.

The new map of the Balkans and Middle East, which was largely the product of the victorious Allies after Word War I, made little concession to practical concerns such as access to seaports, or the rights of minorities. In particular the majority of the Muslim population of the Ottoman Balkans would never be integrated into the new states as the "national" character of these states depended, in part, on the elimination of what they considered "outsiders". Only the Turkish Republic was able to thwart the plans of the conquerors by defeating military incursion.

Machine generated contents note: 1 Introduction 2 Reforming the Empire 3 The Balkans 4 Ottoman Asia 5 The Balkan Wars 6 World War I 7 The peace conferences 8 The Turkish War of Independence 9 The Balkans after the wars 10 Mandates in the Arab provinces 11 The Turkish Republic 12 Legacy and consequences Notes Suggested readings Index. This book proposes a radical approach to history of the late Ottoman Empire. Baki Tezcan constructs a new framework by foregrounding the proto-democratization of the Ottoman polity in this era, and shows how the empire embarked on a period of seismic change in the political, economic, military, and social spheres. I. Metin Kunt. A Revision Of The Author's Thesis (doçent) Submitted To The Inter-university Council In Turkey In 1975 And Published In 1978 By Boğaziçi University Press Under Title: Sancaktan Eyalete: 1550-1650 Arasında Osmanlı ümerası Ve Il Idaresi. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. [169]-174. From the beginning of the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent in 1520 until the mid-17th century, high-ranking women of the Ottoman dynasty enjoyed a degree of political power. This text examines the sources of their power and assesses the reactions of their male contemporaries. xxiii 181p hardback, white cloth with bright purple jacket, very good condition, light wear to jacket edges, some wear to jacket and covers, name to endpaper, pages clear and bright like new, excellent pre-owned copy of uncommon title