The principal aim of the course is to study the emergence of the Ottoman polity and society in the context of frontiers as a universal phenomenon. After examining the frontier as an historical concept, the course considers specific frontier situations of particular relevance to Turkish and Islamic history, such as Inner Asia and China, Eurasia and Byzantium, Iran and Turan, the Arab lands and Byzantium, Andalusia and Christian Spain. The specific context of West Anatolia and the Balkans in the 14th century is then studied in terms of topics inherent in the study of frontiers, such as trade and warfare across the frontier, relations between central political authority and frontier lords, and cross-frontier political accomodation.
