While I was taking the Early Modern European History class there were two states that really stood out and piqued my interest the most. This was the Ottoman Empire and early modern Europe. If you compare and contrast both the Ottoman Empire and early modern Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries, you will see that there are a number of similarities and differences when looking at the expansion of states. You'll also see many of these contrasts when you look in terms of each state's military and commercial forces. Although the Ottoman Empire existed before the 16th century and continued to exist beyond the 18th century and in great decline until the early 20th century, if you look at the state as a whole, the period from 1500 to 1700 is a period of growth and strength. It is perhaps also known as a golden age for the state, if one compares it to early modern Europe, where the same period marks a change in the way society was thought about and the way people were treated. Prior to my research, there were two interesting articles that caught my attention regarding the states and issues discussed in this essay. The first article is A Survey of the Turkish Empire by Sir William Eton. In the article, Eton talks about his admiration for the glorious army that once belonged to the Ottoman Empire. He describes the Turkish army as "formidable" and organised. The Eton tune quickly changes criticizing their shortcomings and, ultimately, what led to their demise. Eton states that “it is an assembled crowd rather than an assembled army”. This article had a great impact because as I researched the topic, I was able to better understand the role of the army in the Ottoman Empire.Ancoth...... half of the document......ern History Sourcebook:William Eton: Survey of Turkey 1799." FORDHAM.EDU. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1799Ottomans.html (accessed 1 May 2011).Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe , 1450-1789 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 104Ebel, Kathryn A. “Representations of the Frontier in Sixteenth-Century Views of Ottoman Towns.” Imago Mundi 60, no. 1 (January 2008): 1-22 (accessed on April 20, 2011).Jaber, Kamel S. Abu, "The Millet System in the Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Empire." 28 April 2011.) Montreal, QC, CAN: McGill-Queen's University Press.