The Limits of Writing History

For six centuries, the Ottoman Sultans held dominion across most of the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe. But by the eve of the First World War in 1914, the empire was already in steep decline. It is at this moment of crisis that the preeminent historian Eugene Rogan begins his bestselling book “The Fall of the Ottomans.” In this podcast, he talks to NNew Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai about those decisive final years. They discuss the Ottoman experience of the Great War, whether the empire’s ultimate collapse was inevitable and how the Middle East of today emerged from the ashes of its defeat. Produced by Joshua Martin