History of the Ottomans: The Turks and Their Empire
TuesdayS October 13 to December 01 10:00 am to 12 noon
ZOOM Session
Presenter: Dr Olivier Courteaux
Course Overview: Nomadic peoples from the steppes of Mongolia, the first Turks were fearless (and the most feared) warriors who ended up dominating the Middle East. Migrating to the West, they built, under the Ottomans, one of the most powerful political entities in History. This unique empire, which spread over three continents, lasted some six hundred years. Following the First World War, defeated and humiliated, the old empire collapsed and made way to a modern nation-state: Turkey. Since its birth in 1923, Turkey has become a regional superpower, oscillating between its alliance with the West (NATO), Central Asia, Russia, and neighboring Arab states. Its current president, Erdogan, who won re-election in 2023, can no longer rely on healthy economic growth. To maintain himself in power, as the ongoing Ukrainian conflict tells us, he never hesitates to play one side against the other.
Committee Contact and Chair: Deb Forsyth-Petrov
Dr Olivier Courteaux An accomplished lecturer, historian and author, Dr. Courteaux received his PhD in History from the University of Paris-Sorbonne and was a faculty member at Royal Military College and at Ryerson University. He is a frequent lecturer for several later life learning programs in Toronto, including those at Glendon College and Ryerson University. He is the author of Canada Between Vichy and Free France, 1940-1945 (2013) and Quatre Journées qui ébranlèrent le Québec on Charles de Gaulle's famous 1967 Vive le Québec Libre (2017). He is currently working on his latest book, Suez, 1869, the last triumph of the Empress Eugenie.