HIST350 Transformations (History of Middle East)

I’m working on a History question and need guidance to help me study.

we are going to be looking broadly at some dramatic transformations that took place in the Middle East in the early modern periods. First, let’s expand on our background with a look at the Turks. A very strong argument can be made that the stunning cultural, economic, political, scientific, intellectual, and social achievements of Islamic civilization were “ruined” because of attacks by the Turks as well as devastation by the Mongols and the Crusaders. Like the Russians who suffered in their development because of the Mongol yoke, the Muslims missed the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment, setting up a very different path to development.

Respond to one of the following (250 Words)

What factors caused the downfall of the Ottoman Empire?

“The West” was fascinated by the Ottomans. Everything about their world was enchanting and seemed so different from the stiffing West. The most enchanting was the “harem”. In truth, this was simply the portion of the home reserved for women, but the imagination of the Western traveler cooked up all sorts of images. Western art, especially in the 19th century, was obsessed with “The East” or “The Orient”. Provide some general reaction to the images below. What kind of impact would they have on a person who saw them? http://www.orientalistart.net/

What is it and how can we make sense of it, given our understanding of the two groupings of Islam? Where does it fit in?

Discuss the weakening of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century and how this weakening affected the foreign policies of the other European powers. Further discuss why the Middle East fell so far behind Europe. Was the Ottoman Empire really the “sick man of Europe?” What was it doing to try to reform and how did that lead to more problems?

What caused the Ottoman Empire to fall into deep crisis in the 18th century. Were these problems unique to them?