1913 Edirne falls to Serbo–Bulgarian forces. Balkan League falls apart over division of spoils. Bulgaria defeated by Greece and Serbia; Turkey regains Edirne.
1914 Turkey enters World War I on German side.
1915 Defence of Gallipoli against Allied landing.
1918 Armistice. CUP junta flees. Allies plan dismemberment of Turkey between Italy, France and Greece.
1918–21 Civil war, then Greek War; Mustafa Kemal secures boundaries of a Turkish state.
1922 Deposition and exile of last sultan.
1923 Turkey proclaimed a republic.
Glossary
aga military commander, leader
akinci mounted raiders
armatole policeman
asper small coin
ayan notable, local leader, in the later empire
baba (lit. father) holy man
bailio Venetian ambassador to the Porte
besa Albanian given bond, or promise of loyalty
bektashi an order of dervishes, linked to janissary corps
bey, beg commander/general
beylik estate of a bey
beylerbey (lit. lord of lords) a provincial governor
chaush equerry
deli mad
derbendci people guarding a mountain pass
dervish member of a sufibrotherhood, following a defined spiritual path
divan (lit. a low couch) council
dragoman interpreter
emir chieftain, greater than bey
fatwa judgement of a mollah, i.e. legal ruling
firman imperial decree
futuwwa Muslim chivalric brotherhood, cross between a guild and a masonry, with emphasis on chivalric conduct
gazi warrior of the faith
Haj annual pilgrimage to Mecca
Hajji someone who has performed the pilgrimage
hammam bath
han inn
harem (lit. forbidden) the private family quarters
hass revenues of a great official
heyduck Balkan irregular, usually in Habsburg service
hospodar ruler of one of the principalities, Moldavia or Wallachia
imam leader of prayer
ixarette signed language, which became court language
janissary (lit. new troop) the empire’s crack infantry corps
kadi Muslim judge
kafes the so-called Cage, or group of harem apartments, reserved for heirs to the sultancy
kanun imperial law
kapudan pasha (lit. captain pasha) Admiral
kisilbas (lit. red-head) Shi’ite heretics known by their distinctive red head-dress khan lord
kapikulu, pl. kapikullari slave(s) of the Porte
kulliye complex of educational and charitable institutions surrounding a mosque
klepht Balkan bandit
Mahdi (lit. the rightly guided one) supposed to rule before the end of the world
Mameluke (lit. slaves) rulers of Egypt
meydan, maidan, atmaidan rough piece of open ground
millet religious community
mufti Islamic juror
mullah Islamic dignity, scholar
nargile pipe
nedrese Islamic college, usually attached to a mosque
otak tent
pasha high civic or military official
pashalik territory under a provincial pasha’s rule
reaya (lit. flock) the non-government subjects of the sultan
sekban military auxiliaries
sancakbey commander of a sancak, or district
saray palace
selamlik men’s apartments
saraglio from saray, palace
sipahi imperial horseman
tanzimat restructuring
tekke dervish lodge or monastery
timar military stipend
timariot horseman holding a timar
tughra imperial cognomen, an elaborate signature
ulema doctors of religious law, the sharia
uskok Dalmatian bandit
vakif charitable endowment
valide Sultan Queen Mother
vizier royal minister
voivode Hungarian governor
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Acknowledgements
The illustrations on pages 58, 104, 108, 127, 191 and 276 are reproduced from Thomas Hope (1769–1831): Pictures From Eighteenth-Century Greece (Athens, 1985), with kind permission of the Benkai Museum and the British Council.
I would like to thank Norman Stone, the K. Blundell Trust, Jenny Uglow and Alastair Langlands, whose dining-room table was sequestered by the Ottomans for a year, like Toulon in 1543.