Gabor Agoston examines the weapons technology and armaments industries of the Ottoman Empire, the only Islamic empire that threatened Europe on its own territory in the Gunpowder Age. Considering topics such as technology transfer, the integration of firearms in the Ottoman army and navy, and saltpeter and gunpowder production, the book demonstrates the success of the Ottoman military machine against its European and Muslim rivals from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries.

Once stretching from Vienna in the north to Iraq and Yemen in the south, the Ottoman Empire has played an integral role in the history of Eurasia and the Middle East. The dynamics and complexity of the present-day Middle East and Balkans cannot be understood without an examination of the history of the Ottoman Empire that ruled these regions for centuries. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire provides a thorough overview of the history and civilization of the Ottomans, with approximately 450 A-to-Z entries focusing on major events, personalities, institutions, and terms. With signed articles by...

The book affords insight into the early success and subsequent failure of an Islamic empire against European adversaries.