A Fair History of the 500 year Ottoman Empire

As a Westerner I am trying to get a greater understanding of Islam history and culture. I knew very little about the Ottoman Empire. I learned a lot about the Empire and Islam but as a 'bonus' I also learned a lot about the Balkins, Austria- Hungarian Empire, Egypt , Greece, Armenia,Iran, Greek Orthodox Church, Russia, and modern day Turkey.

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excellent overview, balanced, accurate, engaging.

I found the lectures provided a complete overview, the presenter was articulate and engaging, and I learned a lot. easy to follow. Recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

Terrific!

Really amazing story of a historical period with lots of lasting consequences to date. Kenneth Harl's mastery of the concepts, even those deep within the Islamic and Turkish traditions is really superb. And his narration brings everything to life as if you are watching a great series. I really enjoyed this and I'm kind of sad it's finished!

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Excellent series, good speaker

Professor Harl is a knowledgeable individual with unique insight, but his over-use of 'umm' and 'uh' was a little distracting. Overall an excellent and engaging series, I would recommend.

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2 people found this helpful

Good overview of the Ottoman Empire but somewhat biased

Overall excellent, but there are 2 issues that keep it from that mark.
1. The narrator does not pronounce a lot of things like everyone else. For example: Allies (Britain and France were allies in WWII) he pronounces (a lies) with emphasis on lies and it changes. Many more examples.
2. He’s a bit of an Ottoman fanboy and I see a strong ‘pro Ottoman’ bias. Slavery was a huge part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. The Ottomans compete to be the number 1 slave nation in history. Families were broken with no consideration, forced contribution of children to the Janissary Corp. Never to be seen again by the family.
He treats the Millets like it was done as a favour for the ethnic religious groups when it was simply the most efficient way to get result from non-Muslim populations. That being said it’s still very good and worth listening too.

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1 person found this helpful

Fascinating

This is a fascinating and thorough overview of the Ottoman Empire. If you are interested in the history of the region and how hit has shaped the current state, this is highly recommended.

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Well presented and very informative, I must say.

Well presented and very informative, I must say. The pace of the narator was also perfec

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Informative But Unable To Hold Attention

Tulane University History Professor Kenneth W. Harl endeavors to lead learners through a 36-lecture exposition of an Empire established after the end of the dark ages and lasting through to the 20th century.
Harl does a very nice job establishing the Empire's identity as an Islamic theocracy, but also discusses economic power, secular successes, and the ever-present militant reality (endless wars) of the kingdom - particularly recurrent battles against Romanians/Hungarians, other Balkan States, Venetians, Habsburgs & Russians.. but constantly pitting the Sunni Sultans in Constantinople/Istanbul against a parade of Shiite Shahs in Iran.
The sheer volume of material continuously reminds learners that there is much more to the story than what Harl can convey in this lecture series (Harl drops references to names & events he assumes listeners know intimately). This is no Beginner Course.
Besides, what IS delivered frankly isn't all that captivating in the first place: I frequently found my mind wandering.

As to presentation: The production values from Teaching Company/The Great Courses on this audiocourse are outstanding. The Syllabus-quality PDF is presented in full color, includes photographs and maps, and contains lecture-by-lecture summaries that make the course material incredibly clear.
Content-appropriate musical bumpers bookend each lecture, volume control is flawless, and the softening of the lecturer's natural sibilance is noticeable.

Well done.

Less fortunately, Professor Harl's diction/pronunciation is subpar, he "Ums and Uhs" his way through the lectures, and can't quite stick with his off-the-cuff teaching style (at times sounding like he's just reading notes). I have definitely heard better from this instructor.

Taken in toto, this 7.5/10-star course is a great listen - but inferior in terms of utility. Academics could likely get something out of this overly ambitious review of a fascinating 800-year political empire built around religion and conflict.. but casual listeners like me (merely fascinated by history) will have trouble struggling through the volume and mining the course for informative gems. If you are able to get it as a 'Plus' offering, 'The Ottoman Empire' is worth the time investment.. but if they ask for a Credit, spend it on something else.

[ATTN PRODUCERS: While it's great, the inclusion of a Timeline would improve the appended PDF immeasurably]

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Great material but terrible speaker.

Holy smokes! This is the second time I’ve listen to one of Dr Harl’s courses and, while what he says is interesting, the way he says it is quite off-putting. His pronunciation—regional preferences, I guess—is distracting; his grammar is questionable; and he “hums” and “uhs” at record levels. It’s really too bad. I love the material but it really is a challenge to get through the narration. I will persevere, but if this kind of thing bothers you, be warned.

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6 people found this helpful

why in such a rush

The book is so rushed it sounds like he is in a race. The book will at times cover 200 years of history in 10 minutes. content is great, just wish it was more indepth

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