The Ottoman Empire and Iran: An Intertwined History of Islamic Eurasia

A history of the Ottoman Empire and Iran (under the Timurid, Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar dynasties) from the 14th to the early 20th century. The course invites students to think the Ottoman and Iranian experiences as a connected history, bridging separate historiographical traditions of Ottoman and Persianate worlds. Topics include paths of empire building in Eurasia after the Mongols; consolidation of the Sunni-Shii division; border making in early modern Eurasia; Armenians, Kurds and Afghans between Ottoman and Iranian orders; Istanbul and Isfahan; European global hegemony and Islamic Eurasia; two paths of modernization; revolutions ending the empires.