Books
Period
Ottoman Empire
1299–1922 CE
The Ottoman Empire rose from a frontier principality in Anatolia into a major empire spanning southeastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. It controlled Constantinople after 1453 and governed diverse peoples through dynastic, military, religious and administrative systems. Its long history includes conquest, court politics, reform, decline and survival.
It mattered because it shaped Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean for centuries. Ottoman history connects crusading frontiers, Balkan politics, Islamic governance, trade, diplomacy and imperial reform.
Ottoman-set fiction ranges from court intrigue and frontier warfare to detective fiction and imperial decline. Jason Goodwin's Yashim series is the clearest series hook, while Elif Shafak, Orhan Pamuk, Dorothy Dunnett and novels about Byzantium, the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean can connect to Ottoman settings. The wider Ottoman setting includes Istanbul, janissaries, harems, diplomats, merchants, sieges, minorities and the meeting point of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Related people for Ottoman Empire
Abdul Hamid II1842–1918 Ahmed I1590–1617 Alexander VI1431–1503 Andrea Doria1466–1560 Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington1769–1852 Bertrand du Guesclin1320–1380 Catherine the Great1729–1796 Charles Arbuthnot1767–1850 Charles George Gordon1833–1885 Charles V1500–1558 Charles V of France1338–1380 Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus1444–1487 Constantine XI Palaiologos1404–1453 Dahir al-Umar1689/90–1775 David of Trebizond1408–1463 Don John of Austria1547–1578 Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devonc. 1527–1556 Edward IV1442–1483 Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth1757–1833 Elizabeth I1533–1603 Franz Joseph I of Austria1830–1916 Galeazzo II Visconti1320–1378 George IV of the United Kingdom1762–1830 George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence1449–1478 Haile Selassie1892–1975 Hayreddin Barbarossac. 1478–1546 Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener1850–1916 Horatio Nelson1758–1805 Hürrem Sultanc. 1505–1558 Ismail Ibn Sharif1645–1727 Ivan the Terrible1530–1584 James II of Cyprus1438–1473 Jean Parisot de Valette1494–1568 John Hunyadic. 1406–1456 John III Sobieski1629–1696 Jomo Kenyatta1893–1978 Joseph Chamberlain1836–1914 Juan de Homedes1477–1553 Kara Mustafa Pasha1634–1683 Leonardo da Vinci1452–1519 Louis XIV1638–1715 Mahmud II1785–1839 Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien1641–1716 Marino Grimani1532–1605 Martin Luther1483–1546 Mary I1516–1558 Mehmed II1432–1481 Menelik II1844–1913 Muhammad Ahmad1844–1885 Najib Nassar1865–1948 Napoleon1769–1821 Napoleon III1808–1873 Nicholas II of Russia1868–1918 Nicholas I of Russia1796–1855 Otto von Bismarck1815–1898 Paul Kruger1825–1904 Philip II of Spain1527–1598 Selim II1524–1574 Suleiman the Magnificent1494–1566 Theodore Roosevelt1858–1919 Thomas Pellow1704–1747 Turgut Reis1485–1565 Tusun Pasha1794–1816 Victoria1819–1901 Vlad III the Impalerc. 1428/31–1476/77 Wilhelm II1859–1941 William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley1520–1598
Non-Fiction
11 Best Non-Fiction Books About the Ottoman Empire
Histories, biographies and reference works are listed separately from the historical novels above.
