Unabridged Audiobook
A refreshing look at an old subject. The author pulls back from a detailed description of the events of more than 6 centuries of Ottoman history to assess the various phases of the empire and its many permutations. While he is rather generous about Ottoman tolerance and seems to overlook the atrocities committed by its armies over the years (siege of Famagusta, etc), he is unsparing about the Armenian genocide and the abuses of the CUP during the final years of the empire. Moreover, I am unconvinced about the author's agenda that runs through these pages emphasizing the European nature of the empire, such as its aspiration to be the legatee of Rome. That said, I very much enjoyed this thoughtful and scholarly work.
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