Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire(Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization)

Gabor Agoston's book contributes to an emerging strand of military history, that examines organised violence as a challenge to early modern states, their societies and economies. His is the first to examine the weapons technology and armaments industries of the Ottoman Empire, the only Islamic empire that threatened Europe on its own territory in the age of the Gunpowder Revolution. Based on extensive research in the Turkish archives, the book affords much insight regarding the early success and subsequent failure of an Islamic empire against European adversaries. It demonstrates Ottoman flexibility and the existence of an early modern arms market and information exchange across the cultural divide, as well as Ottoman self-sufficiency in weapons and arms production well into the eighteenth century. Challenging the sweeping statements of Eurocentric and Orientalist scholarship, the book disputes the notion of Islamic conservatism, the Ottomans' supposed technological inferiority and the alleged insufficiencies in production capacity. This is a provocative, intelligent and penetrating analysis, which successfully contends traditional perceptions of Ottoman and Islamic history.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: firearms and armaments industries; 2. Gunpowder technology and the Ottomans; 3. Cannons and muskets; 4. Saltpeter industries; 5. Gunpowder industries; 6. Munitions and ordnance industries; 7. Conclusions: guns and empire; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Gabor Agoston is Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Georgetown University. His previous publications include Hungary in the Seventeenth Century (with Terez Oborni, 2000).

Review :
"...in Guns for the Sultan Gabor Agoston has achieved a work which will no doubt become standard reference for a long time to come." -Christopher Deliso, balkanalysis.com "Gabor Agoston's newest book is a much-needed addition to English language works dealing withOttoman military affairs...Readers interested in military technology, siege warfare, and Balkan or NEar Eastern history, should consider it for their libraries." - Military History, John P. Dunn, Valdosta State University "the book merits high praise for its high level of research scholarship, and it will become the definitive work for Otooman military enterprise in the early modern period." - Jonathan Grant, Florida State University "Physically, Guns for the Sultan is an attractive work, replete with maps, illustrations, tables, and an elegant dust jacket. The author is Associate Professor of History in Georgetown University, and overall this book matches readability with scholarship and usefulness. An impressive achievement." - Tom Lewis, Department of Defence, Australia, H-NET "Guns for the Sultan is an important contribution to Ottoman military and economic history.... Agostan's work is a first-rate example of the possibilities and advantages or archival research as well as the wealth of important information buried in the files of the Ottoman Prime Minister's Archives." - Amy Singer, Tel Aviv University, Journal of the American Oriental Society