Blue Mosque (interior), Istanbul

This image: https://istanbul-tourist-information.com/en/experience-istanbul/places-of-worship-in-istanbul/mosques-in-istanbul/blue-mosque/

Some time just before 1300, so the story goes, the son of a small-time Turkic chieftan experienced a waking dream. The young man, whose name was Osman, felt a mighty tree growing up through his body and sprouting out of his head. Eventually the tree grew so big that its leaves and branches covered the whole world.

Osman’s people were Turkic-speaking warriors, driven out of their Steppes homeland by the advancing Mongol Empire. They found first refuge, then a base in Anatolia. It was from this tiny state that Osman and his successors (the Ottomans, named after him) would create one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen.

Our story ranges over seven centuries, and will include such highlights as the Battle of Kosovo, the Fall of Constantinople, the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Ottoman sieges of Vienna. Along the way, we will delight in the sublime genius of Ottoman architecture, the exquisite beauty of the Tulip Age, and of course follow the long decline of a great power, eventually known as the Sick Man of Europe.

RJW F2403 Online course (via Zoom)

10 weeks, Tuesday 9 January - Tuesday 19 March (incl., with half-term break on 13 February)

£110 (individual registration); £198 (for two people sharing one screen).