| Description |
The Ottoman Empire is traditionally viewed through a paradigm which stresses its Islamic character. In keeping with this assessment, its advances into southeastern Europe from the mid-14th century onward are usually portrayed as stemming from a desire to expand the frontiers of the Islamic East at the expense of the Christian West. This course will present an alternative explanation, one focusing on the extent to which the early Ottomans absorbed the peoples, practices, and nobilities of the pre-existing Christian peoples of the Balkans. |