The long decline of the Ottoman Empire from the 17th through the early 20th century. Dalrymple examines how a once-dominant empire failed to adapt to industrialization, nationalism, and the changing balance of European power.
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Highlights
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The institutions that enable success can become obstacles to adaptation
Ottoman institutions that were innovative in the 15th century became rigid by the 18th. The devshirme, the timar system, and the ulema resisted reforms that threatened their power.
Nationalism dissolved empires that had functioned for centuries
The Ottoman Empire managed religious diversity for 500 years. What it could not manage was nationalism — the 19th-century idea that each ethnic group deserved its own state.