"The history and culture of a nation are what make it a nation," states Halil İnalcık. "A nation without a history is like an individual who has lost their personality. We hope that those who read this book will learn how the Ottoman Empire held together and governed numerous nations and religions for six hundred years." For six centuries, the Ottomans maintained their sovereignty through a profound understanding of state, law, and justice, sustaining their power by balancing legal codes with moral principles. Western sources frequently praised the fact that any ordinary Ottoman citizen could even sue the ruler, highlighting a unique system of accountability.

Furthermore, bureaucrats had the power to dethrone a sultan if he trampled upon the fundamental principles of the state. The philosophy that transformed the Ottomans into the "Sublime State" and made the concept of the "Eternal State" a lasting mechanism rather than a mere slogan was the constant coexistence of state, law, and justice. These forces functioned as crucial elements of resistance, preserved to ensure the survival and well-being of both religion and the state.

In this work, the groundbreaking historian Halil İnalcık brings together his previously published, specialized research on the Ottoman concept of the state, its legal regime, the application of laws, and the methods of dispensing justice. Readers will discover, through highly original and meticulous scholarship, exactly how the Ottoman Empire successfully managed and unified a diverse mosaic of nationalities and faiths over its long history.