Donald Quataert’s book, The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 is a comprehensive history of the Ottoman Empire. Quataert was a professor of history at Binghamton University since 1986. He was a well beloved professor, who was passionate about the history of the Ottoman Empire. Donald Quataert earned his PhD from UCLA in history. He pioneered archival research on the Ottoman Empire. Quataert gives a brief history of the beginnings of the Ottoman Empire the first couple of chapters then he jumps to a slightly more comprehensive history of the Empire from the eighteenth century to its finally days and legacy. Quataert says “This textbook is an effort to make Ottoman history intelligible, and exciting, to the university undergraduate student and …show more content…
Quataert left a bibliography of sources pertaining to each chapter at the end of those chapters. This does not contribute to the history he is giving. It instead allows the reader to do further research on the parts of Ottoman history, that interest them. He offers a plentiful amount of secondary sources for students to use. He offers his previous research he has compiled of primary sources. Quataert was a pioneer with the use of Ottoman primary sources. He focused on the peasants and tried to get the story by “writing history from below.” This approach allows for a point of view, that had not been widely seen of the Ottoman Empire. He does not use individual experiences in the book, but more of generalizations of events. This allows him to keep brevity. Considering my knowledge of the Ottoman Empire, I say this book carries a massive amount of value. My personal knowledge of the Ottoman Empire is very sparse. Quataert’s book has given me a wealth of information. The only thing I had every really known about the Ottomans was the size of their empire and their conquest of Constantinople. The way Quataert organizes the book as a whole is excellent. Also, the breakdown of the chapters is beneficial. The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 is an excellent book for first time learners of the Ottoman