This volume examines the rise of Turkish power in Anatolia from the arrival of the first Turks at the end of the eleventh century to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Taking the period as a whole, the volume covers the political, economic, social, intellectual and cultural history of the region as the Byzantine empire crumbled and Anatolia passed into Turkish control to become the heartland of the Ottoman empire. In this way, the authors emphasise the continuities of the era rather than its dislocations, situating Anatolia within its geographic context at the crossroads of Central Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The world which emerges is one of military encounter, but also of cultural cohabitation, intellectual and diplomatic exchange, and political finesse. This is a state-of-the-art work of reference on an understudied period in Turkish history by some of the leading scholars in the field.

"Fleet has edited an invaluable contribution to the history of Anatolia and the early years of the Ottoman state....the volume offers readers very important insights into the political, economic, and social context surrounding the eventual establishment of the Ottoman state and its first one and a half centuries of existence. Written by leading scholars in the field, the chapters go well beyond a narrative history of the region to discussions of historiography, migration patterns, art and architecture, and religious developments."
--Choice