Asia Quote by Stephen Kinzer

Turks have long admired the sultan, Mehmet II, for his military triumphs, especially his capture of Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, in 1453.

— Stephen Kinzer

The history of Chechnya is one of imperialism gone terribly wrong. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Chechens were among the few peoples to…

— Stephen Kinzer

“Voltaire also keenly endorsed Catherine of Russia’s plan to ‘preach tolerance with bayonets at the end of their rifles’ in Poland. Exhorting Catherine to…

— Pankaj Mishra

In the 19th century, when Muslims were looking at Europe as an example, they were independent; they were more self-confident. In the early 20th…

— Mustafa Akyol

So in Europe, we had empires. Everyone had them - France and Spain and Britain and Turkey! The Ottoman Empire, full of furniture for…

— Eddie Izzard

“Part of Sykes's motive was rooted in religiosity. A devout Catholic, he regarded a return of the ancient tribe of Israel to the Holy…

— Scott Anderson

Turkey has never been colonized, so it remained as an independent nation after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

— Mustafa Akyol

“At the start of World War I, the Ottoman Empire was often described as a dwindling power, mired by administrative corruption, using inferior technology,…

— Charles River Editors

“Across the city, people quoted a prophecy the Arabs used to tell to glorify the Ottoman Empire: the Turks would leave Palestine only when…

— Tom Segev

“There is no greater motor for architecture than religious fervor. Ancient examples include the Inca, Aztec Egyptian civilizations. In more recent times, Christianity gave…

— Helen Grant Ross

The Ottoman Empire . . . The rulers in Turkey were fortunately so corrupt that they left people alone pretty much - were mostly…

— Noam Chomsky

In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…

— Charles C. Mann