THE UNKNOWN OTTOMAN
(By Prof. Dr. Ahmed AKGÜNDÜZ – Assoc. Prof. Said ÖZTÜRK)
Having been inspired with the following request of the late Adnan Kahveci in the early days of his office as Minister of Finance during one of his conversations with Prof. Dr. Ahmed Akgündüz:
“My dear teacher! It was only during my education in the United States that I came to understand that I had not been rightly informed during my education life as regards to the Ottoman State and that such information as I had gathered against the Ottomans was unjustified and it was only then that I got aware of the losses of total ignorance of our history. I was very much astonished when I studied the manner of ‘iltizam’ in my post-graduate curricula as a modern economic theory which the United States intended to make use of in tax collection, which we had formerly been told to be the institution which had bankrupted th Ottomans and it was then that I started inquiring into the Ottoman State. The first thing I did was to read the first volume of your works called the Ottoman Codes of Law. Nevertheless, not anyone can read such works. I wish that you could summarize significant questions concerning the Ottoman State in 500 pages to be a summary of those books of yours and call it “THE UNKNOWN OTTOMAN”, so that I could print it in at least 500.000 copies and distribute to anyone curious thereof”.
this work was prepared on the 700th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Ottoman State and presented to our dear readers with the title “BİLİNMEYEN OSMANLI” (THE UNKNOWN OTTOMAN), which was recommended by the late Adnan Kahveci, wherein you will find with their proofs the replies to a great number of issues as regards to the Ottoman History that are either unknown or very little known.
This work, which illuminates and explicates many a disputed matter with respect to the Ottoman State, thus meriting being an indispensable reference in your library, is made up of four chapters:
The first chapter deals with the political history of the Ottoman State; the second with the social life and harem in the Ottoman State; the third with the legal system and state organization of the Ottoman State; and the fourth chapter with the financial legislation, economic and social life in the Ottoman State. Issues are handled fluently in form of questions and answers.
(528 pages) iurpress.nl
