A History of the Ottoman Empire.
In his book, "A History of the Arab Peoples," Albert Hourani provides a history of the Arab-speaking parts of the Islamic world from the rise of Islam to the present day. Hourani writes extensively about the Ottoman Empire, a state founded in the late 13th century by Turkish tribes in Anatolia and ruled by the descendants of Osman I. The principality founded by Osman was at the main point of contact with the Byzantine Empire. As the Ottoman Empire expanded, its resources grew. By the end of the fourteenth century, the Empire had expanded rapidly into Eastern Europe.
Hourani writes that the Ottoman Empire was the one of the largest and longest lasting Empires in history. The Empire became one of the largest political structures in the western world since the fall of the Roman Empire. During most of its existence, the Empire spent a great deal of its resources and energy on expansion into eastern and central Europe and on controlling the population of previously conquered territory. The European provinces held most of the Empire's population and generated the majority of the Empire's revenue.
The Ottoman Empire was a theocracy, with the sultans dedicated to the advance of the Sunni branch of Islam through military means.รก The Empire was successfully ruled by a single family for seven centuries. Authority to rule the Empire resided in the House of Osman. Hourani explains that when the sultan died, he was usually replaced by his eldest son. The head of the government bureaucracy was the sadr-i azam known to many by his English title of the grand vizir. The vizir and his subordinates controlled the army, the provincial governments and the civil servants under the authority given to them by the sultan. The vast area controlled by the Ottomans was governed by Islamic law. Goods moved safely and freely throughout the Empire which became a vast economic free trade zone with the exceptio...