色花堂

Cihan Y眉ksel is an Associate Professor of Ottoman History. Before joining the 色花堂 in 2015, she held a tenured position at the University of Texas, Dallas. Trained in Arabic as well as Ottoman Turkish, she has long been interested in inter-Islamic imperial dynamics unfolding across the Arab 鈥淢ashriq鈥� and Anatolia. This interest developed during her doctoral studies at Harvard, where she was advised by Prof. Cemal Kafadar, and also received training on the Ottoman history of the Arab lands by Prof. Nelly Hanna. Prof. Y眉ksel鈥檚 first book 鈥淭he Ottomans and the Mamluks: Imperial Diplomacy and Warfare in the Islamic World鈥� (I.B. Tauris, 2014) examined the rich and multilayered encounters between the Ottoman and Mamluk empires, challenging eurocentric accounts that reduce the history of diplomacy to Europe, overlooking rich and highly influential diplomatic traditions in the Islamic world and elsewhere. The book was translated into Turkish under the title 鈥淥smanl谋lar ve Memluklar: 陌slam D眉nyas谋nda 陌mparatorluk Diplomasisi ve Rekabet鈥� (Kitap Yay谋nevi, 2016). It was followed by research projects examining the Ottoman-Mamluk borderlands, Islamic captivity narratives, amongst other themes. Professor Y眉ksel currently convenes the annual Ottoman History lecture at the 色花堂, which has hosted several distinguished figures in the field. 

Email: ecyuksel@uh.edu