Africa and the Nature of the Ottoman Empire: Challenging the Inertia of Eurocentrism

The object of this paper, based upon a reading of original sources, is to discuss existing narratives on the relationship between the Ottoman Empire and the African continent and to contribute to the elaboration of alternative interpretations, that insist both on the crucial role of the Ottoman provinces of Africa in the definition of the very nature of the Empire and on the depth of the links between the Ottoman realm and the core of the African continent.