Guarding the Frontier: Ottoman Border Forts and Garrisons in Europe (Library of Ottoman Studies)

The seventeenth-century Ottoman-Habsburg frontier was the scene of chronic conflict. The defences of both empires were based on a line of fortresses, spanning the border. Mark Stein gives us a fascinating insight into everyday life on the frontier in this turbulent time, by investigating the social, economic and military aspects of Ottoman forts and garrisons in a new comparative approach. Drawing on a wide range of Ottoman and Western archival and narrative sources, Guarding the Frontier assesses the state of early-modern Ottoman military architecture and siegecraft; the Ottomans' ability to besiege, defend, build and repair fortifications in the seventeenth century is carefully dissected, as is the relationship between the central and provisional administrations. With his research into an extensive database compiled from seventeenth-century garrison payment records, Stein has provided an essential addition to the field of Ottoman Studies.