The Ottomans and the Eastern Mediterranean

With the arrival of the vanguards of Islam to the Levant, the foundations of a long conflict were set. The eastern Mediterranean region became the main arena for conflict for centuries as a centralized battleground between the Islamic and Crusader forces.

During the transition to modern times, a new Islamic power appeared which assumed the supreme position in that struggle after its victory over the Byzantine state. And there followed years replete with major events at all levels, always emerging from the Mediterranean region: the center of the ancient world and its beating heart.

This book sheds light on the global changes which took place as harbingers of the modern era from a regional perspective, focusing on the eastern Mediterranean region, in which the pace of conflicts escalated due to the rise of the Ottomans in the Islamic world, and the imbalance of power. This period of time laid the foundation for the events and struggles of the modern era. The Ottomans in the Near East continued to fight against the intervention of foreign powers until their defeat in the First World War and the subsequent division of Islamic lands between the European colonial powers, a move with consequences from which we continue to suffer today.