Apparently well known but actually less so, the Ottoman Empire is represented in the portraits of its 36 rulers. Who were the sultans, and what sort of personalities were those who created the empire? What were their strong sides, what did they look like, and how happen that the all-powerful rulers of South-Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and South-West Asia sometimes became tools in the hands of their subordinates? This is an unprejudiced account of the lives of personalities carrying the burden of power, an actual history of the Ottoman Empire - pathetic and proud, cruel and honest, with its ups and downs, a history in which the fates of many peoples were intertwined. The Bulgarian edition is published in cooperation with Boyut Publishers, Istanbul, and is based on their 4-volume "Osmanli tarihi" encyclopaedia.