Heath W. Lowry is Atatürk Professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies at Princeton University and the author of Studies in Defterology: Ottoman Society in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.

"By combining his attentive re-reading of Ottoman primary sources with his interpretation of various European narrative sources on the early Ottoman period, Lowry manages not only to uncover critical errors in the reading of some primary sources but also to suggest possible reinterpretations of some others." — MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies"Lowry meticulously reexamines the historiography of the origins of the Ottoman Empire, bringing to light a number of unsettling errors in the reading of critical primary sources and offering new interpretations based on his reassessments. This book will inevitably be standard reading for those engaged in the field." — Jane Hathaway, author of The Politics of Households in Ottoman Egypt: The Rise of the Qazdaglis

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Debate to Date 2. Wittek Revisited: His Utilization of Ahmedi's Iskendername 3. Wittek Revisited: His Utilization of the 1337 Bursa Inscription 4. What Could the Terms Gaza and Gazi Have Meant to the Early Ottomans? 5. Toward A New Explanation 6. Christian Peasant Life in the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Empire 7. The Last Phase of Ottoman Syncretism—The Subsumption of Members of the Byzanto-Balkan Aristocracy into the Ottoman Ruling Elite 8. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Notes Bibliography Index

Heath W. Lowry is Atatürk Professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies at Princeton University and the author of Studies in Defterology: Ottoman Society in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.

"By combining his attentive re-reading of Ottoman primary sources with his interpretation of various European narrative sources on the early Ottoman period, Lowry manages not only to uncover critical errors in the reading of some primary sources but also to suggest possible reinterpretations of some others." — MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies"Lowry meticulously reexamines the historiography of the origins of the Ottoman Empire, bringing to light a number of unsettling errors in the reading of critical primary sources and offering new interpretations based on his reassessments. This book will inevitably be standard reading for those engaged in the field." — Jane Hathaway, author of The Politics of Households in Ottoman Egypt: The Rise of the Qazdaglis

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Debate to Date 2. Wittek Revisited: His Utilization of Ahmedi's Iskendername 3. Wittek Revisited: His Utilization of the 1337 Bursa Inscription 4. What Could the Terms Gaza and Gazi Have Meant to the Early Ottomans? 5. Toward A New Explanation 6. Christian Peasant Life in the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Empire 7. The Last Phase of Ottoman Syncretism—The Subsumption of Members of the Byzanto-Balkan Aristocracy into the Ottoman Ruling Elite 8. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Notes Bibliography Index

Heath W. Lowry is Atatürk Professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish Studies at Princeton University and the author of Studies in Defterology: Ottoman Society in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries.

"By combining his attentive re-reading of Ottoman primary sources with his interpretation of various European narrative sources on the early Ottoman period, Lowry manages not only to uncover critical errors in the reading of some primary sources but also to suggest possible reinterpretations of some others." — MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies"Lowry meticulously reexamines the historiography of the origins of the Ottoman Empire, bringing to light a number of unsettling errors in the reading of critical primary sources and offering new interpretations based on his reassessments. This book will inevitably be standard reading for those engaged in the field." — Jane Hathaway, author of The Politics of Households in Ottoman Egypt: The Rise of the Qazdaglis

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Debate to Date 2. Wittek Revisited: His Utilization of Ahmedi's Iskendername 3. Wittek Revisited: His Utilization of the 1337 Bursa Inscription 4. What Could the Terms Gaza and Gazi Have Meant to the Early Ottomans? 5. Toward A New Explanation 6. Christian Peasant Life in the Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Empire 7. The Last Phase of Ottoman Syncretism—The Subsumption of Members of the Byzanto-Balkan Aristocracy into the Ottoman Ruling Elite 8. The Nature of the Early Ottoman State Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Notes Bibliography Index