Recovering the oft-neglected role of women in Ottoman high society and power politics, this book brings to life the women who made their mark in a male domain. This study of Ottoman life culminates with the nineteenth century and explores the advent of modernity and its impact on women at a time of imperial decline.

Who were janissaries? Why were they an elite? Why did they decline and what was their end? Answering such questions, this book begins by exploring the origins of the janissary corps, with a selection of youths from Christian families in the Balkans. It then introduces the pillars of the Ottoman state which these recruits were to serve.

(view table of contents)

(view table of contents)

This extensively illustrated survey shows, through an analysis of style, history and religious symbolism, the Ottoman architecture to be a creative art, unique to its cultural background