1. Exam
3 questions, 3 hours

2. Main themes Venetian – Ottoman relations: diplomacy, warfare, conflict
Commercial networks between and beyond the two empires: trade
Istanbul and Venice: city, reputation, offering, size, provincialism or cosmopolitan
Foreign communities: ethnic / religious diversities
Colonialism: Venice in the Mediterranean
Gender: roles, where more free?
Conversions: tolerance
Material culture and artistic exchange: influence
The ‘Other’: Orientalism and stereotypes
Creating an imperial image: art, architecture, legitimacy
Imperial models

3. Does Samuel Huntington’s ‘clash of civilisations’ thesis adequately describe the relationship between early modern Venice and the Ottoman Empire?
To what extent was religion a potent divisive force between Venice and the Ottoman Empire?
What were the main similarities and differences between the Venetian and Ottoman empires in the early modern period?
In what ways did war and empire interact in the case of the Republic of Venice?
How appropriate do you find the description of early modern Venice as the ‘bazaar of Europe’?
To what extent does Venice represent a useful case for studying cross-cultural interaction in the early modern period?
What insights can we gain into Venetian culture and identity from the study of the Republic’s colonial experience in the east Mediterranean?
To what extent is Mary Louise Pratt’s notion of ‘contact zones’ appropriate for analysing the Ottoman Empire’s position in the early modern world?
How did the Ottoman state administer the multi- religious and multiethnic diversity of its empire?
Why did Istanbul emerge as a major world capital under the Ottomans?

4. ESSAY TITLES
1. How central was war in defining Venetian-Ottoman relations?
2. Was diplomacy a moderating influence on Venetian-Ottoman relations and, if so, why?
3. How important were foreign resident communities in shaping the culture and identity of the city of Venice?
4. Compare the ways in which the Ottomans and Venetians managed ethnic and religious diversity within their empires.
5. What opportunities did women have to play an active role in either a) Ottoman or b) Venetian public life? Discuss with reference to one case only.
6. What were the main assumptions and stereotypes underlying the Venetian perceptions of the Ottomans?
7. How did official iconography contribute to the construction of Venetian imperial grandeur?
8. How did the Ottoman state use imperial ideology to legitimise its rule?
9. How did Venice manage to place itself at the crossroads of early modern Mediterranean commerce?
10. Why was Istanbul regarded by many contemporaries as the greatest city of the early modern world?
11. How important were art and material culture in connecting the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire?
12. According to Karen Barkey, empire is a “negotiated enterprise”. What is implied by this term and to what extent does it apply to the history of either a) the Ottoman or b) the Venetian empire? Discuss with reference to one case only.