Dr. Yakoob Ahmed is an Ottoman historian with a specialization in late Ottomon history. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London and he currently teaches at Istanbul University in Turkiye. I had a chance to sit down with Dr. Yakoob after I attended a weekend seminar he did in Chicago on Ottoman history. We discussed his origin story, his identity as a "Londoner", how he developed empathy for others, and biases that Western academics operate from..amongst other things. Resources for "Sultans and...