1. Foundations of an Empire: The Rise of the Ottomans, 1299–1606
Brief synopsis
This volume traces how a small frontier beylik became a world empire. It follows the Ottomans from Osman and Orhan through Mehmed II and Süleyman I, explaining conquests in the Balkans, the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the building of Istanbul, and the creation of powerful institutions like the Janissaries, the timar system, and the millet framework. Alongside battles and treaties, it opens the doors of mosques, courts, workshops, and homes, showing how law, faith, art, and war worked together—right up to the first clear signs of strain around 1606.
