Dr. Rhoads Murphey is a Reader in Ottoman Studies at the College of Arts and Law at the University of Birmingham. He was born in Boston, MA, in the United States. Dr Murphey completed his MA and doctoral degree at Chicago University. He has been a member on a number of research committees, including TSA (Turkish Studies Association) between 1989-1991 and TASG (Turkish Area Studies Group). He has been publishing books on his research area of Ottoman Studies since 1978. His latest publication is on Ottoman Historians and Historiography (Istanbul: Eren Yayincilik) which came out this year, 2010.