Ottoman Lives Podcast
1) The Outlaw
The Ottoman Empire was a great place to be a criminal. Were you a veteran who couldn't find gainful employment? No problem! Plenty of bandit networks were willing to hire you and they offered great pa...Show More
2) The Holy Man
The Ottoman Empire hosted dozens of ethnic groups and religious groups, meaning you could find any sort of religious leader you wanted: whether an imam, rabbi, priest, or pastor. But in an empire wher...Show More
3) The Concubine
To foreign observers the most exotic aspect of the Ottoman Empire was always the harem. Novelists let their imaginations run wild about what the Sultan did in the concealed parts of his palace with hi...Show More
4) The Harem Eunuch
A eunuch who served in the Ottoman Imperial Harem in was typically born in Ethiopia, captured by a slave trader, castrated, and sold in Egyptian slave markets, then shipped to Istanbul's imperial pal...Show More
5) The Peasant
Peasants made up 90% of the population of the Ottoman Empire, but to the sultan and his court, they were little more than a flock of livestock. In fact, the exact same word was used to describe a subj...Show More
6) The Sultan
The office of the sultan changed dramatically over the six centuries of the Ottoman Empire. The first sultan, Osman, was a medieval nomadic chieftain whose domains existed on the edge of the Byzantine...Show More
7) The Janissary
In this first episode we look at the person of the Janissary, who was part of the most elite fighting force in late medieval Europe and personal bodyguard to the Ottoman Sultan. They were technically ...Show More
8) Prologue to Ottoman Lives
A few announcements about the series before we begin.