Pax Ottomana

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Pax Ottomana (literally "the Ottoman Peace") is a term used since the 1990s to describe the stability attained on lands taken over by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire, at the height of its power during the 16th and 17th centuries, covered the Balkans and Anatolia, the Middle East and North Africa as well as Caucasia.

It is preferred by Turkish historians and writers who hold a favorable view of Ottoman rule to underline the positive impact of Ottoman rule on the conquered regions. They compare it favourably with instability experienced before the Ottoman conquest and with the period after World War I, when only Anatolia and Eastern Thrace remained under Turkish rule. The wide spread use of the term is an outcome of the end of the Cold War that caused a new wave of instability, especially in the Balkans.

The term is derived from the more common Pax Romana, "the Roman Peace".

[edit] References

• Kemal Cicek (ed.). 2001. Pax Ottomana: Studies in Memoriam Prof. Dr. Nejat Goyunc (1925-2001). Ankara: Haarlem.
• İlber Ortaylı. 2004. Osmanlı Barışı. İstanbul: Timaş.