I recently went on-line and discovered there are more than 10,000 sites devoted to the Ottomans in one form or another. In this issue Christopher Salander takes a look a few of the more interesting one.

If you have a computer with a web browser, and a connection to the Internet, you can search for web sites that have information on the Ottoman Empire. However, you should realize that information exists for us to read only if some selfless individual typed it in. And much of the information you will find will be the same quality as a short magazine article. Books are still the best source, and probably will be for 20 more years.

Here is a sample of just a few of the sites related to the Ottoman Empire.

www.magweb.com

This Web site is actually a site for wargaming magazines. The search turned up an article written for The Courier.

Excerpt: They were armed with whatever came available, such as spears, swords, clubs, knives, etc. In their heyday, the Sipahi were the elite main striking force of the Ottoman army...

turkishnews.c om

As you might guess, turkishnews.com is a news service. Fortunately, to educate people about Turkey, it has sections on historical figures and events. Also look under who/fatih.

http://turkishnews.com/DiscoverTurkey/who/ hbektas/

Excerpt: Although we do not know the exact dates of Haci Bektas Veli's life and although he reappears in narratives separated by large stretches of time it can be stated with confidence that he was a typical leader of the Turkmen tribal migrants from Central Asia who, in successive cumulative waves, changed the population structure of Asia Minor. Islam had reached Central Asia by the 9th century but...

swarthmore.edu

A professor at Swarthmore College has posted his lecture notes onto the Internet. It is more academic, but could contain gems of information. Examine other lecture numbers in this series.

http://www.swarthmore.edu/Library/ssoward1/lecture3.html

Excerpt: Second, the defense and expansion of the ruler's power, wealth and possessions. One of the most exotic of the Ottoman institutions used slavery to seek out talent, with potential advantages for both the state and the slave...

odysseas.com

This site is devoted to tourism in Greece, but has a section on history.

http://odysseas.com/historv14. html

Excerpt: Soon a new power was threatening in the east: the Turkish Ottoman Empire, founded in central Asia in the late 13th century. Western Europe was too embroiled in the Hundred Years War to come to the rescue, and in 1453 Constantinople fell to the Turks under Mohammed II the Conqueror...

Academic Sites

These next three are also professors, notes, from the Univ. of Tennessee, Lulea Univ. (Sweden), and Univ. of Aubum. Have fun reading.

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~basoglu/history/govern.html

Excerpt: The one noteworthy difference is that the bondage terminates at a definite age. .. The Mufti was definitely constituted by Suleiman the head of the Ulema; and as such outranked all officials of government...

http://jota.sm.luth.se/~d92-amh/shaikh.html

Excerpt: Although Bedr Khan was a typical feudal tribal leader, Bedr Khan at times expressed himself in terms of Kurdish nationhood. Foremost in this endeavour were several of the numerous sons of Bedr Khan, who in 1897 began publishing a Kurdish newspaper, Kurdistan...

http://www.auburn.edu/~deanbri/home/history/ottoman.html

Excerpt: The Ottoman started empire building early on and conquered the Byzantine empire under Mehmet the Conquerer. They ruled different parts of the empire in different ways making it hard to describe...

Napoleon Page

Did you know that Napoleon almost went to work for the Sultan?

http://cyberschool.4j.lane.edu/About/History/1995-1996/GlobalHistory/GlobalHistoryMaterials/Cybertexts/Napo. HTML

Excerpt: He was given 1/2 pay and Napoleon seriously considered working for the Sultan of Turkey where his military genius would be "appreciated." On November 9 and 10 of 1799 Napoleon carried out a "Coup d Etat" and he and two other men set up a government called the "Consulate"...

Other Web Sites Of Interest

The Balkans since 1453:

http://suc.org/culture/history/berlin78 / balkans_book.html

Turkish tourism - Istanbul: Glories of the Ottomans

http://sunflower.singnet.com.sg/~tanwc/turkey3.htm

City of Alexandria page

http://pharos.bu.edutEgypt/Alexandri a/ History/modern.html

An art page - Untitled

http://www.artmag.com/galeries/israel/jafphco/aisjaco6.html

Turks in History

http://www,cs,ytj,edy/~basoglu/history/tihist.html

Molds and Accessories for creating miniatures

http://www.pacificrim.net/~castings/

Delaware Toy and Miniatures

Museum http://www.ssnet.com/~toys/

Intemet Miniaturist Home Page - Military

http://byzantium.mckusick.com/randy/figures/im.html

The Miniatures Page

http://www.cabm.rutgers.edu/~hooper/miniatures/bill/tmp.html

News Groups on the Net

rec.games.miniatures.historical soc.history
soc.history.moderated
soc.history.war.misc.
soc.history.what.if
soc.culture.Egyptian
soc.culture.Turkish

Personal pages of John Sloan

http://home@aol.com/tcherjohn
http://home@aol.com/borod 1812
http://home@aol.com/artymuseum
http://home@aol.com/ruscastle