The study of Ottoman history has resulted in the construction of a number of Ottoman ’pasts’, some of which have been proved recoverable and essentially durable, while others have been seen to owe too much to extraneous preconceptions. In the articles collected here, Dr Heywood has questioned some of the perceived certainties in the field of Ottoman history and historiography, focusing in particular on the work of Paul Wittek and the idea of the 'frontier'. Other studies are based on the abundant surviving documentation, and look at specific topics in 17th-century Ottoman history and in Anglo-Ottoman relations, for example Sir Paul Rycaut’s view of the Ottoman empire, or the organisation of the Ottoman postal service and roads, and the cannon-foundry in Istanbul.
