Wednesday, February 1st, 2017

Defending the Ottoman Capital: The Fortification of Istanbul Strait Against Russian Threat in the Late 18 th Century


The Diyanet Islamic Research Institute hosted Humeyra Bostan on January 21 st , 2017 for a talk on “Defending the Ottoman Capital: The Fortification of Istanbul Strait Against Russian Threat in the Late 18 th Century.

Bostan is a PhD candidate in the History Department of Istanbul Sehir University and currently conducting research at Georgetown University. Her forthcoming dissertation is entitled “The Defense of a Capital amid Technological and Fiscal Challenges: Late Eighteenth Century Fortifications of Istanbul.”

Bostan’s presentation focused on the fortification of the mouth of the Black Sea and Bosphorus in order to help defend Istanbul against the growing Russian threat towards the end of the eighteenth century. Bostan provided an analysis of the military, technological, and architectural reforms of the era experienced by the Ottoman Empire, exploring the importance of Istanbul as a major capital of the Muslim world.


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