Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East

The Ottoman Empire ranks alongside the Roman and Byzantine as one of the most powerful and long-lasting imperial systems in world history. In existence from the late thirteenth century until 1923 and embracing at its height most of Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, it was certainly the most imposing and arguably the most influential political system over the course of more than a millennium of Islamic history.

Though the Ottoman Empire left an indelible mark on people i...