Barkey, Karen. Empire of Difference. 2008. Places the history of the Ottomans in comparative perspective.

Casale, Giancarlo. The Ottoman Age of Exploration. 2011. Lively account of Ottoman rivalry with the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean in the sixteenth century.

Dale, Stephen Frederic. The Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India, 1483–1750. 2004. A scholarly biography that draws on and analyzes Babur’s autobiography.

Dale, Stephen Frederic. The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. 2010. A comparative study of the three empires, with much on religion and culture.

Findley, Carter Vaughn. The Turks in World History. 2005. Takes a macro look at the three Islamic empires as part of the history of the Turks.

Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: A History of the Ottoman Empire. 2006. A new interpretation that views the Ottomans from their own perspective.

Inalcik, Halil, and Renda Günsel. Ottoman Civilization. 2002. A huge, beautifully illustrated, government-sponsored overview, with an emphasis on the arts and culture.

Jackson, Peter, and Lawrence Lockhart, eds. The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. 1986. A set of essays by leading scholars on the social and cultural, as well as the political and economic, history of Iran.

Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies, 2d ed. 2002. A comprehensive yet lucid survey.

Mukhia, Harbans. The Mughals of India: A Framework for Understanding. 2004. A short but thoughtful analysis of the Mughal society and state.

Parker, Charles H. Global Interactions in the Early Modern Age, 1400–1800. 2010. Places the Islamic empires in a global context.

Parthasarathi, Prasannan. Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence, 1600–1850. 2011. Focuses on India and how it compared to Britain in producing cotton and coal and making scientific advances.

Peirce, Leslie P. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. 1993. A fresh look at the role of elite women under the Ottomans.

Richards, John F. The Mughal Empire. 1993. A coherent narrative history of the period 1526–1720.

Ruthven, Malise, and Azim Nanji. Historical Atlas of Islam. 2004. Provides numerous maps illustrating the shifting political history of Islamic states.