Profile | Albert Howe Lybyer (1876 – 1949)

The government of the Ottoman Empire in the time of Suleiman the Magnificent

Link: In English from Gutenberg

Albert Howe Lybyer

"The Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent" by Albert Howe Lybyer is a historical account written in the early 20th century. The work examines the structure, institutions, and underlying ideas that shaped the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent in the sixteenth century. Its main topic is the organization and evolution of the political and social systems that enabled the empire to achieve its remarkable cohesion and power, focusing especially on the interplay between tradition, religious law, and the administrative innovations introduced at the time. The opening of the book sets the stage by emphasizing that nations are primarily formed by their shared ideas rather than by blood or race, using the Ottoman Empire as a key example of this principle. Lybyer offers a sweeping historical background, tracing the origins and migrations of the Turks, the merging of diverse cultures, and the transformation of lands and peoples that culminated in the Ottoman state's unique identity. The early sections outline the central dilemma faced by the empire: governing a vast, diverse realm through two main institutions—the Ruling Institution, comprised mainly of Christian-born slaves elevated to positions of power, and the Moslem Institution, responsible for religion, law, and education. Lybyer clearly details these structures, their origins, recruitment methods (especially the devshirme system of taking Christian boys for state service), and the complexities of Ottoman administration, land ownership, and the empire's relationship with its many peoples

Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Döneminde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun Yönetimi | Albert Howe Lybyer

2023 | ISBN:   9786054452828 [Turkish Edition]

He bears the name "Kanuni- Law Giver", but this limitation applied to Suleyman more than to the rulers who experienced similar situations in other countries. Suleyman did not create and implement new laws, but rather reorganized, reorganized and put into order the old laws. Similarly, few peoples in the world were as affected by customs as the Ottoman people. Unless an irresistible authority changed them, things that were done in a certain way would always be done in the same way or in a way that was believed to be the same. The inertia of the people was so evident that the ruling power was not forced to make a change in the established order, and the people only very rarely, under the impulse of inevitable needs, demanded change. Almost all of the women in this harem, which was mostly brought from the Caucasus and included the most beautiful women from various countries, were the daughters of Christians. Hurrem was Russian. It is thought that her greatest rival in her youth was a Circassian. (The harem is also in another sense a part of the administrative institution. The women in the harem reached the age of twenty-five. When they arrived, if they did not attract the sultan's special attention, they were married off to the leading palace sipahis. A small group, not mentioned so far, consisting of the servants of the sultan's palace and harem, was also included in the slave-family.

Mavi Boncuk |

Albert Howe Lybyer (1876 in Putnamville, Indiana – 1949)[1] was a scholar of the history of the Middle East and the Balkans. Lybyer taught medieval and modern European history at Oberlin College from 1909 to 1913 and also held teaching positions at Robert College of Istanbul (1900–1906), Harvard University (1907–1909) and the University of Illinois (1913–1944). He served as a technical advisor to the King–Crane Commission in 1919.[2]

The book The Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent was his most influential work.

He gave manuscript feedback to Barnette Miller for her 1931 book Beyond the Sublime Porte on the Turkish seraglio. He graduated from Princeton University and Harvard University.

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See Also: 

The Ottoman Turks and the Routes of Oriental Trade by Albert Howe Lybyer, Professor in the University of Illinois_ | Reprinted from_ THE ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW, _October_ 1915]

THE LITERATURE OF THE ' GREAT WAR' BY ALBERT HOWE LYBYER 

[1] Lybyer, Albert Howe, Paper, 1876-1949 19.3 cubic feet Albert Lybyer (b. 1876, Putnamville, Indiana; d. 1949) holds a place of importance in the history of the Middle East and the Balkans not only as a scholar but as an observer. After World War I, Lybyer, who was highly regarded for his history of the Ottoman empire, served as a member of the Inquiry into Peace Terms and the American Commission to Negotiate Peace, conducted by Colonel Edward House (August 1918-May 1919). he also acted as a technical advisor to the Interallied Commission on Mandates in Turkey, American Section, otherwise known as the King-Crane Commission (March-September 1919). At this time, he made a 42-day tour of inquiry in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Lybyer had acquired a first-hand knowledge of Turkey as a mathematics instructor (1900-06) at Robert College (now University of Bosphorus), founded by Americans in 1863 in Istanbul. Lybyer's association with the Balkans continued for twenty years through his position as a trustee of the American College in Sofia, Bulgaria (closed 1943). A popular lecturer on historical topics on WILL, the University radio station, Lybyer was a professor (1913-44) and, afterwards, professor emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Illinois.

Lybyer studied at, and preserved his class notes from, Princeton (AB 1896), Princeton Theological Seminary (AM 1899) - including those taken as a student of Woodrow Wilson - and Harvard (Ph.D. 1909). Her personal papers, such as Inquiry reports, personal diaries and interview notes, were drawn upon by Harry N. Howard for his study of the King-Crane Commission. Lybyer's Papers are also noteworthy for his correspondence with Ms. Halide Edib [Adivar] (1884-1964), a major Turkish literary and political figure, and his large collection of glass plate slides and photos from travels in Europe, Anatolian Turkey and other parts of the Middle East in 1912 and 1936, hundreds of which were mounted and identified by Herman H. Kreider, a long-time official of Robert College. Lybyer's unpublished manuscripts include a "Bibliography of Description and Travel in the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1937" (with indexes), compiled with Mary L. Shay; a History of Turkey, 1908-22; as well as a journal of his travels in Europe and the Near East in 1936. In addition, Lybyer's papers reflect his personal interest in the Izaak Walton League, Florida real estate and the 1948 Progressive Party.

[2] King-Crane Commission Digital Archival Collection

Oberlin College Archives