ottomans
osprey publishing maa140 ottoman turks 1300 1774
the birth of the ottoman state is shrouded in legend whatever the truth of its origins the ottomans formed an empire which almost succeeded in bringing christian europe to its knees during the last decades of the 13th century the ambitious osman beys tiny mountain state took eight frontier castles plus the turkish town of eskisehir in 1299osman seized yenisehir after working up the kara su valley with this as its first real capital the ottoman state emerged into history poised above the fertile shores of the sea of marmara author david nicolle illustrator angus mcbride pages 48 item weight 0 38 lbs contents the gazi state the ottoman army 14th to 16th centuries the struggle for military reform 17th to 18th centuries arms armour fortification and the fleet chronology of ottoman conquests and losses campaigns and battles the plates sku acdd8075