Daniel Goffman, author of "The Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe," said Europeans, and historians in general, tend to ignore the contributions of the Ottomans on the continent's various states and societies from about 1300 to 1922.

"I originally wanted to call the book "The Ottoman Empire and the Rest of Europe" because the empire had a role in the development of the continent that has been hidden for centuries," said Goffman, who since 1998 has written three books on relations between the Ottoman Empire and western Europe. His latest book, published by Cambridge University Press, was released in May.

The Ottoman Empire had a great deal in common with Europe, in part, because they were geographic neighbors, he said.

"Even though the Ottomans conquered a great deal of Europe and nearly took over Italy at one point, the two cultures were intertwined economically and politically," Goffman said. "For example, you had thousands of Italians living and working throughout the empire. At the same time, you had Ottomans living in Italy."

The Ottoman Empire was founded in western Asia Minor, carved out of former Byzantine lands in the 14th century. It eventually stretched from today's Turkey into southeastern Europe and across the Arab Middle East. The empire survived for centuries, finally dissolving after it aligned itself with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. The

Ottoman Empire fell apart and Turkey was established as a republic in 1922.

The Ottoman Empire was the largest and most influential Islamic empire in the modern period, and its cultural and military expansion crossed over into Europe in the 14th century. The Ottomans expanded their empire into European territory and established traditions and a culture that last to the current day.

Goffman, who first visited Turkey in 1980 to do research for his doctoral dissertation, said there are several reasons people ignore Ottoman contributions to Europe.

These include an antagonism between Christian and Islamic religious leaders, as well as a history of warfare between the empire and various European states.

"There was a great deal of hatred between the two sides for centuries," he said. "The Ottomans were both a religious and physical threat to Europe. The hostility fueled negativism that is still found today. That antagonism covers what was a very complex and fascinating state."

Goffman said that many misleading perceptions of the Ottoman Empire come from reliance upon historical sources written by English, French and Italian authors. These authors all look at the Ottoman world from the outside.

"I've found a great many stereotypes and biases found in the literature," Goffman said. "When you pick up a textbook or a monograph, you almost certainly will be reading about the Ottoman Empire from an outsider's point of view.

"Other things like this have happened in history," he said. "It is the similar to Native American history being told by the European settlers, or Irish history as filtered through the English."

Goffman hopes his latest book will raise awareness of the Ottoman Empire's role in the development of Europe.

"From a historical standpoint, the empire and Europe were physically intertwined for centuries," he said. "You really can't talk about one without the other."

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Goffman at dgoffman@bsu.edu or (765) 285-8700.)