The Beginnings of the Ottoman Empire by Clive Foss

The Beginnings of the Ottoman Empire by Clive Foss illuminates the founding of an empire that went on to rule the Near East, dominate the Mediterranean and shape Europe for centuries — even though its origins have long remained obscure. Drawing on Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Latin sources, as well as coins, buildings and topographic evidence, Foss reconstructs how the early Ottomans emerged and grew.

The book follows the reader through the rugged homeland of Osman, the founder of the Ottomans, placing his achievement in the context of his more powerful neighbours, most notably the once-mighty Byzantine Empire, then in the terminal stages of its decline. It then charts the progress of Osman's son Orhan, up to the fateful moment in 1354 when Ottoman forces crossed into Europe and began the spectacular conquests that made the empire a world power.

Key themes explored in this book include:

• The obscure origins of the Ottoman Empire and how historians recover them
• Osman, his homeland, and the world of his more powerful neighbours
• The declining Byzantine Empire and the frontier world of early Anatolia
• Orhan and the crossing into Europe in 1354
• Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Latin sources, coins, buildings and topography as evidence

Who should read it: Readers interested in Ottoman history, Byzantine history, and the medieval Middle East, as well as anyone curious about how a small frontier principality became one of history's great empires, will find this a clear and richly evidenced account.

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