Citation

Veinstein G. Mediterr. Hist. Rev. 2010; 25(1): 53-65.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.)

DOI

10.1080/09518967.2010.494100

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Two assertions concerning the Ottoman Jews in the sixteenth century are very common among historians: first, that they would have played a determinant role in the diffusion of firearms and artillery among the Turks; secondly, that they would have helped the Turks in some of their main conquests in Europe, especially those of Budapest and Constantinople. Both assertions are based on historical sources - either on passages of famous travelogues, or, better still, on official Ottoman documents that are extremely explicit; as a consequence, they are ritually quoted. The aim of this article is to question the validity of these sources and to wonder whether they must be taken at face value. Indeed, we shall suggest that they are more the result of political and ideological preoccupations than a true echo of real facts.