Middle & Near East
Ottoman History Writing and Changing Attitudes Towards the Notion of “Decline”
By , History Department, Binghamton University, State University of New York (August 2003)
Sections: Middle & Near East
Subjects: History and Associated Disciplines, History, Economic History, Political History.
Places: Western Asia, Asia.
Periods: 1000 - 1999, 1800-1899, 1900-1999.
Key Topic: war.
Abstract
The arguments presented below support, I hope, the following set of assertions. First, historical writing on the question of the “decline” of the Ottoman Empire presently is undergoing a sweeping, if incomplete, revision that vitally affects our perceptions not only of this now-defunct imperial system but also of the contemporary Middle East. Secondly, the debate over Ottoman decline only now is escaping from its thorough enmeshment in European norms of what constitutes political and economic development and the very concept of progress itself. Thirdly, from the later 18th century until about twenty years ago, notions of Ottoman “decline” had been a popular and unquestioned item in the intellectual inventory of Western academics and politicians alike. Fourthly, the challenges mounted to the decline paradigm reflect, among Ottomanists, an increasingly sophisticated sense of the past that owes much to the growth of global and comparative history. The collapse of the Soviet empire reinforced, but did not give rise to, these challenges.
DOI: 10.1111/1478-0542.038
This article abstract has been viewed 8272 times.
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