The Ottoman Kafes or the Princely Cage

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Starting in the early 1600s, the Ottoman sultans switched from practicing fratricide to confinement as a means to preserve their rule from their grasping brothers. In this episode, Elizabeth examines how this treatment led a number of eventual sultans to have less than stellar qualifications and less than stellar legacies. 

​Podcaster: Elizabeth

Further Reading

Douglas Scott Brookes, The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem (University of Texas Press, 2010).
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Caroline Finkel, Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire (Hachette UK, 2007).

M. Tayyib Gökbilgin, ‘Ibrāhīm’. In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, edited by P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs, P.J. Bearman (Volumes X, XI, XII), Th. Bianquis (Volumes X, XI, XII), et al. Accessed August 14, 2021. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3433.

G. Goodwin, ‘Ṭopḳapi̊ Sarāyi̊’. In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, edited by P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs, P.J. Bearman (Volumes X, XI, XII), Th. Bianquis (Volumes X, XI, XII), et al. Accessed August 14, 2021. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7587.

John Malcom, The History of Persia, from the Most Early Period to the Present Time: Containing an Account of the Religion, Government, Usages, and Character of the Inhabitants of that Kingdom. Vol. 2. (J. Murray, 1829).

Gabriel Piterberg, ‘Ahmed I’. In Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, edited by Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, and Everett Rowson. Accessed August 15, 2021. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_22989.

Historians of the Ottoman Empire: Dimitrie Cantemir

Link to Topkapi Palace, now a museum

​Music: "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin Macleod (www.incompetech.com)