Victor-Marie de Launay et al. Usul-i Mi'mari-i ‘Osmani: (The Fundamentals of Ottoman Architecture)/ L'architecture ottomane/ Die ottomanische Baukunst, Istanbul: Imprimerie et lithographie centrales, 1873

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Ottoman Architecture is the first modern history of Ottoman architecture written by Ottomans themselves, yet it is little known outside the field of late Ottoman studies. This magnificently-illustrated volume codifies the empire’s architectural history into a series of preliminary stages culminating in the efflorescence of the Ottoman classical tradition in the 16th century.

At the same time, the text positions this imperial architectural legacy in relation to modernising projects in the late Ottoman Empire; in particular, the ‘Ottoman architectural Renaissance’ sponsored by Sultan Abdulaziz (r. 1861-1876). Moreover, as has been argued in other research, architecture is a prism through which the authors offer a larger analysis of modernity in the Ottoman Empire; an analysis where built heritage serves ‘as an index for various stages in the transformation of the Ottoman state and civilization’.