Description

The following book, embody the results of an earnest attempt to set forth the chief characteristics of those heterogeneous nationalities which, in process of time and by virtue of conquest, have fallen under the dominion of Islam. The work deals with the Ottoman and Christian subjects of the Sultan generally, but chiefly with the Turks of Constantinople.In the preparation of this edition of his work the author has endeavoured to bring the contents up to the present date, without, however, entering into too many details, whereby the book, already a bulky one, would have become both tedious and cumbersome. Many friends have aided him in this task by their advice and assistance, amongst them being His Excellency D. G. Metaxas, the Greek Plenipotentiary to our Court, who most kindly read, and in part revised, the chapter on the Greeks in Constantinople.The author has studied his subject with a serious desire to bring before the intelligent reading public of this country such facts and such anecdotes (elucidatory and explanatory) as may enable an impartial reader to form a fair conclusion as to the present conditions and the probable destiny of that great Oriental Empire on whose future action and fate so much of the peace and welfare of Western Europe depends. To attain such a purpose, a knowledge of the life and manners of the Turks and of the Eastern Christians, and of their religious and political views, is indispensable. And the writer of this book offers as an excuse for this bulky volume that his researches on the spot, as well as in every attainable work of authority on a subject so wide, so deep, and so important could not, with justice, be compressed into a smaller space. On the other hand, each chapter of this book could easily be developed into a thick volume by itself, and yet not exhaust its subject.

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