April 1-3

Please read Inalcik and Fisher and one other. Answer one of the following questions: Due Sunday March 30.  Read also Ochsenwald/Fisher, pp. 202-214.

1. How do Inalcik and Fisher agree and disagree on the most important
elements of Suleyman's character?
2. There is a lot of complaint these days about journalists who focus
on personal lives of political figures rather than emphasizing their ideas
and political contributions. Do such criticisms also hit the mark on these
two essays?

• Cornell Fleischer , "Between the Lines: Realities of Scribal Life in the Sixteenth Century," in Colin Heywood and Colin Imber (eds), Studies in Ottoman History in Honour of Professor V. L. Menage. Study guide for Fleischer .
• Halil Inalcik , "Sultan Suleyman: The Man and the Statesman," in Gilles Veinstein (ed), Soliman le magnifique et son temps. Study guide for Inalcik .
• Alan Fisher , "Suleyman and His Sons," in Gilles Veinstein (ed), Soliman le magnifique et son temps. Study guide for Fisher .
• Svat Soucek , "The Ottomans and Their Rivals: Galleys and Galleons, Portolan Charts and Isolarii," from his Piri Reis & Turkish Mapmaking After Columbus: The Khalili Portolan Atlas, Nour Foundation, 1995, pp. 10-33.