The Ottoman Empire
1299-1923
At the peak of its military success, the
great Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, stretching
from Budapest to Azerbaijan and taking in Persia, Syria and
the whole of the north African coast. It began, however, from
relatively humble beginnings with Osman Bey, the leader of
a small principality in northwest Anatolia, who gave the Empire
its Turkish name, OsmanlÝ (with Osman). His first military
conquests began in 1299 with the conquest of Bilecik, Yenikent,
IÏnegöl and IÏznik. He resolved to take Bursa, and after
a siege, which lasted some eight years, his son, Orhan, finally
took the city in 1326 and, in 1335, made the city his capital.
His son, Süleyman, conquered Thrace in 1353 and it was
his successor, Murad Hüdavendigar, who continued the
expansion by taking the Balkans into the Empire. In 1362 Murad
captured the city of Edirne, formerly known as Adrianople,
and the following year established it as his capital. In 1453
Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Mehmet the Conqueror) conquered IÏstanbul
thus bringing an end to the Byzantine era. In 1516-17 both
Syria and Egypt fell to the Ottoman army, and with them the
holy cities of Mecca and Medina, making the Ottoman sultan
the most important figure in the Sunni Muslim world. 1520-66
was the golden age of the Ottoman Empire, under the rule of
Süleyman the Magnificent, but from then onwards it began
a slow decline, losing its economic and military superiority
over Europe.
Despite efforts at reform during the 19th century, a number
of nationalist movements broke out in Ottoman territories
and the Empire began to fragment. Its fate was sealed when
it entered the First World War on the side of Germany. Following
the end of the war, the victorious allies shared the Ottoman
lands and Britain, Italy, France and Greece began to invade
its territories. The Ottoman parliament was dissolved on March
16th 1920. The Turkish Grand National Assembly, with Mustafa
Kemal as its President began the struggle for Independence,
and in the process of establishing itself, decided on November
1st 1922 to abolish the sultanate. The last Ottoman Sultan
Mehmet VI (Vahideddin) left IÏstanbul in secret on November
17th 1922 on a British Royal Navy vessel bound for Malta,
and died in exile in 1926.
Ottoman Culture
Although the Ottomans became known in the west for their
opulent lifestyle and military might, the Empire’s real
strength was the fact that it created a well-ordered society,
based on principles of religious and cultural tolerance, caring
for the welfare of the sick and the poor. The arts were cultivated
and IÏstanbul and its other major cities became centres for
trade in fine silks and other valuable commodities.
In the late 15th century, at a time when it was common in
Europe for the mentally ill to be burned at the stake as witches,
asylums in Edirne were using music therapy and the scent of
flowers to treat their patients. The Ottoman Empire united
peoples of many different faiths, nationalities and cultures.
In the 19th century, Istanbul’s population was made
up of Muslim Turks, Orthodox Greeks, Gregorian and Catholic
Armenians, Jews, Levantines as well as numerous foreign merchants.
Even today, IÏstanbul is one of the few places in the world
where you can see churches, synagogues and mosques built within
a short distance of each other.
It was Mehmet the Conqueror (1451-1481) who established his
patronage of the fine arts, setting up an atelier in the new
palace of TopkapÝ, which developed techniques such as calligraphy
and miniature painting. He also encouraged study visits from
foreign artists, which is how Gentile Bellini came to spend
a year in IÏstanbul in 1479, when he painted his famous portrait
of Sultan Mehmet II, which now hangs in the National Gallery
in London. Even before the advent of Islamic belief, Turks
had the tradition of illustrating manuscripts, however, the
art of calligraphy flourished alongside the strict Islamic
belief that it was wrong to depict people or animals, and
was mainly used to illuminate words from the Koran. It was
also used for the elaborate, stylised signature unique to
each of the sultans known as the tugðra. The detailed miniatures,
on the other hand, act as a historic document portraying the
lives of the sultans and their court, showing both historic
and everyday events.At a much later date, Sultan Abdülhamid
II who ruled from 1876-1909, appointed state photographers
and sent albums of their photographs to fellow heads of state
around the world, to show them the progress and achievements
of his empire.
The Ottomans were also great explorers and the famousAdmiral
Piri Reis was a renowned navigator and important cartographer,
who charted and drew remarkably accurate maps of the world,
including the oldest surviving map showing theAmericas, which
dates back to 1513 and is kept in the TopkapÝ Palace Museum.
The Ottoman Court
Building work on TopkapÝ Palace began in 1472 and was completed
six years later, although successive sultans added considerably
to its structure. It was home to the sultan and his court,
and the seat of government until 1853 when the court moved
to the new palace of Dolmabahçe.
The Harem
Although harem was simply the word used to describe the female
living quarters in a residence, to many westerners it conjures
up a romantic image, based largely on the Imperial harem at
TopkapÝ Palace. The most important person in the harem was
the Valide Sultan (Mother of the Sultan), followed by the
Sultanas, sultan’s daughters, his favourites and other
concubines and odalisques (a word which comes from the Turkish
‘odalÝk’ or chamber-maid). Traditionally, there
were up to four kadÝns or favourites, who were the equivalent
of legal wives and thus accorded privileges. Nurbanu, for
example, the favourite of Selim II was given an entourage
of 150 ladies in waiting. In fact, many of those living in
the harem had no contact at all with the sultan but simply
acted as servants to the other members of the household. At
its peak there were 1000 women living in the harem at TopkapÝ
Palace. All of these were slave women, and non-Muslim, brought
from all corners of the Ottoman Empire, avoiding the risk
of betrayal by a wife, who might have interests of her own.
The women of the harem were said to be the most beautiful
in the Empire and the most attractive were trained to entertain
the sultan by dancing, reciting poetry, playing musical instruments
and mastering the erotic arts.
According to Muslim tradition, no man could lay his eyes
on another man’s harem, which lead to the tradition
of the harem being guarded by the black eunuchs, who were
male prisoners of war or slaves fully castrated before puberty,
captured from territories such as Egypt, Abyssinia and the
Sudan. At the height of the Empire as many as 600-800 eunuchs
served in the palace
The Chief Black Eunuch (KÝzlar Agða), was the Ottoman Empire’s
third highest-ranking officer, after the Sultan and the Grand
Vizier. His duties were wide-ranging: overseeing the protection
of their women, the purchase of new concubines, arranging
all royal ceremonies and sentencing those women accused of
crimes.
The Janissaries
Christian subjects were required by the practice of devs¸irme
to give up one of their sons to the serviceofthesultan.After
the boys had converted to Islam they became either civil servants
or soldiers, joining the elite army corps known as the Yeniçeri
or Janissaries. Strict disciplinewas imposed upon them, but
those who were gifted and ambitious could rise through the
ranks, even as far as becoming Grand Vizier – the highest
rank after the sultan.The Janissaries became so powerful,
however, that they protested whenever they felt their privileges
were being threatened, signalled by their overturning of their
soup kettles and often leading to full scale riots. The system
persisted, however, until 1826, when the Janissaries lost
popular support andwere disbanded byMahmut II. The traditional
marching band of the Janissaries, the Mehter TakÝmÝ, has been
revived in recent times and you can see them perform in the
traditional uniform, playing kettle drums, clarinets and cymbals.
Ottoman Architecture
Architectural monuments to the greatness of the Ottoman Empire
stand, not only, throughout Turkey, but also throughout the
many lands which were under its rule. The Ottomans were prolific
builders and some of their finest works are public buildings
such as mosques (cami) and their surrounding külliye
(complex) consisting of buildings providing for the welfare
of the community such as: s¸ifahane (hospital), medrese
(college),imaret (almskitchen),tabhane(guest house) and hamam
(Turkish baths). Palaces, bridges, fountains, tombs and kervansarays
(travellers’inns) are also amongst the fine buildings
which remain to the present day. The Ottomans were fond of
hunting and of spending time outdoors, often with lavish picnics,
and you will findwooden kös¸ks (pavilions or summer
houses) in many parks and woodlands.
Private houses, amongst which are the konak (mansion) and
yalÝ (summer house, especially those on the shores of the
Bosphorus) were traditionally built of wood, with the ground
floor and foundations only being built of stone. Some have
survived to the present day, despite the fire hazard that
their wooden structure posed. Recently, great interest has
been shown in their preservation and many of them have been
renovated and some converted to hotels and pensions. Typically
the upper floors jut out over the street and the windows are
obscured by wooden lattice-work, intended so that the women
of the house could look out without being observed.
The houses were planned around a central gallery room known
as a hayat off which the other rooms opened.The quarterswere
divided into the harem (the private part of the house only
visited by the family and female guests) and the selamlÝk
(where the man of the household received his guests). In grander
houses these two areas would have separate courtyards, sometimes
with fountains and ornamental pools.
Ten unmissable Ottoman sights
 Yes¸il
Cami and Yes¸il Türbe (Green Mosque and tombs)
– Bursa
Commissioned by Mehmet I in 1412, the Green Mosque is Bursa’s
most signifi- cant monument and was the first Ottoman mosque
where tiles were used extensively as interior decoration,
setting an important precedent. The Green Tomb is the tomb
of Mehmet I.
Koza Han – Bursa
Built in 1491 by Beyazit II as part of the market and covered
bazaar area, it has been central to Bursa’s famous silk
trade since that time, trading in silk cocoons as well as
the finished product.
 Selimiye
Mosque - Edirne
Built between 1569 and 1575 by the great architect Mimar
Sinan for Sultan Selim II, Sinan described it and in particular
the dome, which is 31.5 metres in diameter, as his masterpiece.
Sultan Beyazit II Mosque - Edirne
Work began on this mosque in 1484. Designed by the architect
Hayrettin, it has a single dome 21 metres in diameter over
the prayer hall, and nearly a hundred smaller domes over the
buildings of the complex.
Rüstem Pas¸a Kervansaray – Edirne
This grand traveller’s inn was built by Mimar Sinan
for Süleyman the Magnifi- cent’s celebrated GrandVezir
Rüstem Pas¸a and still serves as a hotel today.
 Dolmabahçe
Palace – Istanbul
One of the last great buildings of the Ottoman era, the extravagant
Dolmabahçe Palace, which replaced TopkapÝ as the home
of the sultans, was completed in 1856 on the orders of SultanAbdül
Mecit. It was designed by the most famous architects of the
time, Karabet Balyan and his son Nikogðos.
Süleymaniye Mosque – IÏstanbul
Constructed in 1557, this grand mosque, which Sinan referred
to as his `journeyman’s piece’, came to symbolize
the greatness of Süleyman the magnificent. It is also
notable for its clever ventilation system designed to draw
off the smoke from burning candles.
TopkapÝ Palace – IÏstanbul
Built between 1472 and 1478, it was the home of the sultans
and the centre of Ottoman power for 400 years, during which
time it was a work in progress as successive sultans added
new buildings and made alterations.
 Sultanahmet
Mosque (Blue Mosque) - IÏstanbul
Constructed between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmet I by the
architect Sedefkar Mehmet Agða. It takes its name from the
exquisite blue Iznik tiles which decorate its interior and
is also the only mosque to have 6 minarets.
 Ishak
Pas¸a Palace - Dogðubeyazit
Part of the unique character of this palace is its remote
setting. It was constructed by an Ottoman governor on an important
trading route and is amixture of Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk
styles.
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