Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Eastern Mediterranean: From Ottoman to Modern Times

At a time when Europe was riven by sectarian war, the expanding Ottoman Empire came to rule over a religiously diverse population in what we now call the Balkans and Middle East. Focusing on the period 1323-1789, this course asks the following questions: Why was "difference" normal in the Ottoman Empire but not elsewhere? How did the Ottomans maintain relatively low levels of intercommunal violence during the early-modern period? How did Ottoman rule and intracommunal dynamics affect each other? How did perceptions of ethno-religious diversity vary among commentators and over time?