I don’t know if there are any Ottoman history aficionados hanging around Notes but the superlative Ottomanist Cornell Fleischer of the University of Chicago passed away today. He was a brilliant scholar (his Bureaucrat and Intellectual in the Ottoman Empire is a monumental achievement) and a wonderful teacher. I was fortunate to have studied under him and as much as his intellect and expertise what stood out the most was how unfailingly kind and good-natured he was with his students. He will be greatly missed.

Here’s the memorial statement Chicago’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations released earlier today: