The Turks in World History

Rating:
Summary: The Turks: Brief Panoramic Work
Review: This is a masterful work that can be savoured by the professional historian and educated layperson alike. It questions other analysises based on the clash of civilizations or which take for granted that something went wrong, reminding us that failing to adapt to global modernity, or lashing out violently against its manifestations, is not peculiar to any civilization. To put it in a nutshell, Findley looks for continuities and distinctive designs in the history of the Turkic peoples, considering the pre-islamic Turks and their precursors, the entry of the Turks (and the Monguls) into the Islamic world, the great age of indigenous Asian empire building; and finally the modern period. All that in 237 pages divided in the following chapters: One: The pre-islamic Turks and their Precursors; Two: Islam and Empire from the Seljuks through the Mongols; Three: Islamic Empires from Temür to the "Gunpowder Era"; Four: The Turks in the Modern world: Reform and Imperialism; Five: The Turks and Modernity: Republican and Communist; Conclusion: The Turkic Caravan in Retrospect.

Besides, the book is not a difficult reading (content: 5 starts; pleasure of reading: 4 to 3).

Other books I would recommend to read are the following: Donald Quataert, "The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922", and Robert Mantran (ed), "Histoire de l'Empire ottoman".