This collection of essays reflects the first thirty years of work from Halil Inalcik's long and distinguished career as an Ottoman historian. Focusing on Ottoman social history and the emergence of the modern Turkish Republic, Inalcik's contribution to Ottoman studies is evident in these papers. Several of Inalcik's innovative studies can be seen here, including his views on the çifthane system of organising Ottoman rural society. Other articles touch on the Ottoman Sephardic Jewish population, the Turkish influence on the development of Europe and a discussion of political modernisation in Turkey.