Ottoman Europe

Abstract

The expansive territories in South-Eastern and Central Europe that came under Ottoman rule in the 15th and 16th centuries were culturally and religiously diverse. Some of these territories became Ottoman vassal states, and others fell under direct Ottoman rule. Considering the diversity of the Empire’s inhabitants, research on the lands under Ottoman rule belongs only partly to the field of Islamic archaeology. However, in the context of the Ottoman Empire as a whole, it is clear that analysis of the archaeological heritage of the non-Muslim subjects of the Empire has its place in Ottoman archaeological research and, therefore, constitutes a part of Islamic archaeology. The written sources lend background and credibility to archaeological research and investigations of historical monuments. In this sense, archaeological research into the Ottoman period in Europe represents a branch of historical archaeology which is heavily impacted by textual source analysis.