AbstractsHistory

When the period of decline had set in the 17th century Ottoman Empire, at least three interpretations were given for such decline: the first drew its inspiration from Ibn Khaldun's Muqqadima and remarked that the Empire had passed its zenith and was preparing to die; another pointed out that disintegration occurred when the Rule diverted from the injunctions of the Shari'a; the third, which had been attracted to the changes that took place in neighbouring Europe, considered that the Empire ought to borrow from the European such techniques that would cause the process of disintegration to stop and the Empire to regain its lost strength.