The Ottoman Empire

Page |1

Table of Contents Was it a Dream?!

Page 3

By Abdultawwab Alaa

The Lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire

Page 6

By Ahmed El-Baz

They were not just Womanizers!

Page 11

By Amr Hesham

At Constantinople, they ruled in a different way

Page 18

By Habiba Hesham

An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire By Mirna Medhat

Page 23

Is it a Mixture of Eastern and Western Lives? By Mohamed Mostafa

Page 31

The Influence of Previous Cultures on the Ottoman Culture and Entertainment By Omar Medha

Page 36

Page |2

Staff Positions Abdultawwab Alaa Editor-in-Chief

Ahmed El-Baz Content Manager

Amr Hesham Copy Editor, Designer, Print Manager

Habiba Hesham Designer

Mirna Medhat Administrative Director

Mohamed Mostafa Print Manager

Omar Medhat Print Manager

Page |3

Was it a dream?! By Abdultawwab I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the article in the newspaper:’’ NASA invented a time machine that prepares journeys to any era you wish to go to. First 50 who try the machine will be for free, and then the cost of one journey will be 60,000 $’’. Immediately ,I went to NASA’s agency and I was lucky to be the 48’th person , so I will take a journey for free to the era that I always dreamt of living in , The era of the OTTOMAN EMPIRE !. I entered the machine, when the scientists launched it, I felt a terrible headache. My eyes closed, and suddenly I found myself in a whole different world! I found myself in some kind of a desert, a palace in front of me, and 3 soldiers dressed in funny outfits. I couldn’t recognize that they were soldiers except that they were holding rifles. Weapons that looked almost like our modern machine guns. The soldiers took me to the Sultan, and no, it’s impossible. It’s OSMAN I sitting in front of me! Osman I: “Who are you and why are you trespassing the borders of my empire?” I explained the whole story to him. He thought that I was lying, or pretending to be crazy, so he ordered his soldiers to execute me; however, I intercepted him saying: “Can you answer some questions that I want to know about the empire before I die?” Osman I: “If this will be your last wish, okay, go on” Abdeltawab Alaa:” What are the methods of transport and travel in your empire?” Osman I : “A strange question from a man who will die in a minute , but I will answer you,“ he said, “In the Ottoman Empire, transporting goods on animals’ backs are more common than transporting goods on carts. Generally, carts are restricted to travel within a village, but became more common day by day. In the areas where they settled, Circassian and Jewish immigrants re-introduced wheeled transport to us”. (İnalcık, 1994)

Abdeltawab Alaa:” I think that camels have priority in your empire as means of transport, is this true?” Osman I:”No, mules, donkeys, and horses sometimes are preferable to camels for shorter trips because of their greater speed. For example, camels need 5-9 days but mules only 4-5 days to carry a cargo between Aleppo and Latakia. Camels are famed for their ability to carry cargoes of 550 pounds and more for distances of 2432 km per day.” (İnalcık, 1994) Abdeltawab Alaa:”Well, camels can carry cargoes of 550 pounds and more for distances, what about mules and donkeys, how many pounds can they carry, and for how long can they carry the cargoes?”

Page |4

Camels had the priority in land travel

Osman I:” Mules and horses can carry 420 pounds, while donkeys transport about 170 pounds. Camels are more common in the Arab lands.” (İnalcık, 1994) Abdeltawab Alaa:”What about the sea transports?” Osman I: ”As for Sea Transport, Small sailing ships transport most Ottoman goods and passengers and. Sailing vessels with hulls weighing more than 200 tons are unusual in the Mediterranean. The volume of shipping in Ottoman waters during the early years of the century was unimpressive compared to the levels reached nowadays. The sea-lanes to Istanbul certainly are the most heavily traveled in the empire.” (İnalcık, 1994)

Abdeltawab Alaa: “Impressive, Can you tell me more about yourself, as the sultan of the Ottoman Empire?”

Osman I: ’’ You are beginning to annoy me, young man , my empire is named after me ,I’m the first sultan& leader of the Ottoman Turks and founder of the dynasty which established and ruled the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Turks derived their name from me. I proclaimed independence from the Seljuk Turks, upon the collapse of their empire. My full name is Osman Ghazi, my father’s name is Ertuğrul, and my empire came to power after the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. I married Valide Sultan and Mal Hatun” (İnalcık, 1994) Abdeltawab Alaa:” What about the children? How many children do you have, Sultan?” Osman I:” Don’t you think that you want to know things that are none of your business? It’s good that you are going to be executed!” Abdeltawab Alaa:”I’m sorry Sultan, but please answer my questions, they are my last wishes before I’m going to be executed.” Osman I: “Well young man, I have Kashif, Melik and Hamid.” (İnalcık, 1994) Abdeltawab Alaa:”What about Orhan I, Tchioban, and Pazarlu?” (İnalcık, 1994) Osman I:” How did you know about them, young man? You’d better tell me or your questions will be over, and you will be immediately executed.” Abdeltawab Alaa:”I told you sultan, I’m from the future!”

Battle ships

I felt that Osman I began to think of that I said was true, and that he began to believe me as I’m a man from the future. He thought of what I said for a minute and then told me: “proceed with your questions young man”

Page |5

Abdeltawab Alaa:” Don’t you think that the empire is huge for a man like you to rule?” Osman I:”Should I understand that you are doubting my abilities, young man”? Abdeltawab Alaa:”No, I mean that the Ottoman Empire contains 29 provinces and spans three continents as known in our future, controlling much of South Eastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. How do you rule all of this huge Empire?” (İnalcık, 1994) Osman I:”Look young man, as long as you are a great warrior and a brave leader, nothing can stand in your way. As long as you are strong and you rule wisely, your soldiers and people will love you and sacrifice their lives for you; but I will always tell you, “With great powers, comes great responsibilities.” (Parker, 2002) I heard this quote before; it’s from the Spiderman movie.

Osman I:”It’s the time of your execution young man.” The soldiers took me and were about to kill me. I screamed, and then I found my friends at work waking me up and telling me that I was dreaming. A few moments later, a man came to me and told me “I’m a secret agent of NASA, the machine seemed to be crashing, and we returned you at the last minute. You were fainting and we returned you to work secretly. We’ve even took all the copies of the magazine that you read the article about the time machine in. It won’t exist anymore.” I was depressed to see that I will never return to that era again, but I knew now a lot about the Ottoman Empire. Of course no one will believe that I was sitting with the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Osman I. But at least I know that it happened, also I know the origins of the quote “with great powers, comes great responsibilities.” Now I know that peter parker took it from Osman I, and that he was the first to say it.

References İnalcık Halil , Quataert Donald , An economic and social history of the ottoman empire 13001914, New York City, Great Britain Cambridge University press.

Spiderman the movie(2002) , www.imdb.com/title/tt0145487/quotes

Page |7

The lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire By Ahmed El-Baz I am a young man who works at a magazine company that has its huge name in the world of magazines. I want to gain Experience, so I am training there. As usual, I went at 8:30 to my work and I took my cup of hot tea to relax. While I was thinking, my Boss came suddenly and asked me to go to his office and to sit down. I was very excited about it, as I thought that this was going to be the first job for me. He told me that I have to write an article about the Ottoman people in Constantinople, and that the deadline is after two weeks. I felt that I will not have enough time to finish the article; however, I decided not to complain. I smiled to the boss and said, “Sure boss, you will have it on your desk two weeks from now.” I returned to my office and began to panic. I opened my laptop and began to research about the topic, then after a long time of searching; I found a book which was talking exactly about what the boss asked me to write about. I began to read, actually I found so many things that I never knew about. I went on reading, and got a lot of information. The Ottomans were like the Arabs in their lifestyle, music, and philosophy. They were also interested in gold and silver. Origins of the ottoman state It's great for us to understand the rise of great empires such as Rome, the Ming, the British, and the Ottomans. But how can these world shaking events be explained? In summary, the Ottomans grew in the context of Turkish traveling invasions that shattered central Byzantine state control in Asia Minor; in the Middle East, a Mongol invasion brought chaos and increased the people on the frontiers. The Ottomans were very lucky because the geographic location enabled them to control the trade routes to the Balkans (Quataert, 2005, p. 13). The Ottoman Empire was born between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries, it was also called Asia Minor (Quataert, 2005, p. 17).

Page |8

History of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire passed on only what remained of their barbarian past. The Ottomans were Turks to most outsiders (the Balkans and the European were Christians, while the North Africans were Muslims). Terms suggestive of their Turkish ethnicity can be found in ottoman sources. Both the Eastern and the Roman empires had converted to Christianity before falling City Tavern

victim to barbarian conquest. In the Eastern Empire, Christianity was displaced by rival faith. (Quataert, 2005, p. 25). The Turkish invasion of Anatolia in the eleventh century and the ottoman conquest of Constantinople in the fifteenth completed the assault of Islam on the eastern Roman Empire, initiated by the Arabs in the seventh century. Back then, Islam was a religion that was very different from Christianity (Quataert, 2005, p. 16).

The rise of the Ottoman Empire In the second half of the seventeenth/thirteenth century, as the Seljuk state fell apart, a number of beyliks of new kind came into being in the western marches of Anatolia. The emergence of the ottoman state can be understood only in the general history of the marches (Quataert, 2005, p. 16). Osman had become master and the chief of an area that contains from (eskisherhir to the plains of iznik and bursa), and had organized a fairly powerful principality. In 701/1301 the byzantine emperor sent him against Osman a force of 2,000 men under the command of the hataereiareb muzalon charged with the task of release iznik. When Osman knew that there

Page |9 is a trap in this force, he destroyed it at Baphaeon. The people were panicked and started to leave, seeking shelter in the castle of Nicomedia (Quataert, 2005, p. 44). Mehmed bey, son of Ayden, captured pyrgion, made it his own capital by extending his power as far as Smyrna, then he became the most powerful prince in western Anatolia. These successful leaders naturally attracted a great number of ghazis.

Abdulhamid II He was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire. He ruled from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed on 27 April 1909. Known to some as the Great Khan, he is also known in the West as "The Red Sultan” (Quataert, 2005, p. 162).

Turkish family at the park

Mehmed VI He was the 36th and the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922. Being the brother of Mehmed V, he succeeded to the throne as the eldest male member of the House of Osman after the 1916 suicide of Abdulaziz's son, Yusuf Izzettin Efendi, the heir to the throne. He was girded with the Sword of Osman on July 4, 1918, as the thirtysixth padishah. His father was sultan Abdulmecid, (1831 - May 1861), originally named Henriet, a Circassian. (Vernon J, Parry,M and A. Cook, 1976, p. 23)

P a g e | 10 Suleiman Salem was one of the greatest ten ottomans that passed on the Ottoman Empire he was the magnificent; he made the Ottoman Empire at this time a remarkable one and he was a great ruler and a great knight. (Vernon J, Parry,M and A. Cook, 1976, p. 24) Among mehmed11's main concerns was to make Istanbul one of the world's political and economic centres, to turn it into a populous city, to develop it and to adorn it with new buildings. Before the ottoman conquest, Constantinople had been like a head without a body, and in the last days of the Byzantine Empire, it was a poor and largely depopulated city of ruins. After the conquest, Mehmed tried to repopulate the city, from which its old inhabitants had fled. Until the end of his reign, Mehmed continued to resettle the city through the system of forcible settlement and other measures. Greeks, Italians and Jews were brought for settlement to the city from phoccea in western Anatolia, from Argos and elsewhere in the morea, from the island of Thasos, Samothrace, mytilene and Euboea, from Asmara, Trebizond and kaffa in the black sea. Mehmed encouraged Jews to come from as far away as Germany and Italy. (Vernon J, Parry,M and A. Cook, 1976, p. 134)

References Quataert, D. (2005). The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922. New York:

State University of New York. Vernon, J., Parry, M., & Cook, A. (1976). A History of the Ottoman Empire to 1730. London: Cambridge University Press.

P a g e | 12

They were not just womanizers!

associated with the Ottomans! However, the man seemed insulted about my thought. At that time, he told me that he wants to do this website to correct people’s ideas about

By Amr Hesham the Ottomans. He argued that the Ottomans A few days ago while sitting behind my desk waiting for another customer to come and ask me to do him that boring database driven website, I was surprised when a client asked me to do him a website on the Ottomans. At first I thought he wanted an image gallery of the

were great scientists and technological leaders. He backed up his argument by stating the technological advancements that Taqi Al-Din Muhammad Ibn Ma’ruf who excelled at many fields like optics, physics, astronomy, and mechanics (Aslam, 2009).

harem of that age, as this is what is usually The man really amazed me when

invent what can be described as a simple

he said that before Taqi Al-Din, people

telescope (Hill, 1978). At that time I

believed that they saw objects when light

remembered that I have read something

came out of their eyes and hit the object

about that book when I was at school, so I

(Science and Technology in the Ottoman

asked the client to tell me more about it.

Empire, 2009)! However, he let me know

The client told me that according to Aslam

that in Taqi Al-Din’s book: Kitab Nur

(2009), Al-Din’s book consisted of three

hadaqat al-ibsar wa-nur haqiqat al-anzar,

volumes. Volume one talked about the

he discovered that we see an object when

nature of light, possible sources of light,

light falls on the object, and then reflects

rules governing the propagation of light,

into our eyes. As a result, he was able to

how we see things, and the relationship

P a g e | 13

between the light and the formation of the

about Taqi Al-Din. The book mentioned

sight. The man continued elaborating that

other European names to make us believe

volume two mainly talked about the

that Muslims were always useless; those

reflection of light. In this volume, Al-Din

European authors usually conceal the fact

put the basic rules governing the reflection

the Muslims were great, and try instead to

of light, as well as how to make a copper

make us believe that all the technological

instrument to measure the reflection of

advancements are of European origins.

light from mirrors, whether they are plain, convex, or concave. The client continued on that in Al-Din’s third volume, he discussed the refraction of light. He put rules for the refraction of light when it travels in different densities. The man insisted on the fact that this book was translated to Latin, and used as the main text book in many European universities

Taqi Al-Din Muhammad Ibn Ma’ruf

for a long time (Hill, 1978). After the client told me about AlI have to admit that I was surprised

Din’s inventions and discoveries in the

when I learnt that a Muslim scientist was field of optics, I asked how he managed to the one who discovered all these things know all these things when there was no related to light that I studied at school. I internet or huge databases to build his was fascinated back then when I studied knowledge from! The client even surprised optics at high schools; however, neither the me more when he told me that Taqi Al-Din teacher, nor the book mentioned anything was not just an optician, he was a

P a g e | 14

polymath! He went on telling me that Taqi

sexagesmial fractions used by his

Al-din once suggested to Sultan Murad of

contemporaries and predecessors (Science

Istanbul to build an observatory so that Al-

and Technology in the Ottoman Empire,

Din can make more accurate astronomical

2009). The man kept on telling that Al-Din

predictions (Sayili, 2004, p. 11); however,

was able to make a framed sextant that he

a month after its completion, Al-Din

used in his observations. Something that

observed a comet and claimed that it is a

attracted my attention is that Al-Din used

precursor to an Ottoman’s military

the scientific method in his researches. I

campaign success; however, that did not

thought that this method is something new;

happen, so the Sultan so no reason why he

however, I learnt from the man that it dated

should keep the observatory alive (Aslam,

back to old eras. The customer elaborated

2009). The client told me that it was not a

more on how Al-Din used the scientific

wise decision of the Sultan to destroy that

method; he told me that he used a method

observatory, because it may have been the

called “Three points observation” (Science

origin of many astronomic discoveries and

and Technology in the Ottoman Empire,

innovations that might have come;

2009). This method was used by earlier

however, he told me that Aslam (2009)

Muslim scientists to perform astronomical

stated that Al-Din was given three years

calculations; however, Al-Din’s results

before the observatory was destroyed.

were more accurate due to the use of his

During those years, Al-Din was able to

newly-invented astronomical clock (Sayili,

compile an astronomical table that was

2004, p. 11).

more accurate than what his predecessors and contemporaries could make. He also told me that Al-Din used decimal notations in his calculations instead of the

P a g e | 15

system within the watch by putting a peg in the direction of the hand that produced a sound when the pointer hits it. The client also told me that Al-Din’s astronomic advances were due to the astronomic clock Framed Sextant

At that time the customer was taking too much of my time; however, I decided to let him tell me more about the

that allowed him to draw more accurate results than any of his contemporaries. At that time I had already prepared

inventions of Taqi Al-Din, but this time I

the agreement for the customer to sign;

asked him to tell me about something that

however, he told me “do you know who

is still existent today. The customer

was the first one to prototype a rotisserie?”

seemed to think for a while, and then he

I promptly replied by saying that I cannot

told me “The watch!” I asked him what is

afford to listen to anything else because I

wrong with the watch! The man grinned at

had other things to do. I knew he was

me and told me do you know who invented

going to tell me that it was Al-Din, so I

the watch you are keeping behind your

decided to make him sign the contract and

desk? I pretended that I was thinking;

ask him to leave so I can meet another

however, he told me “Taqi Al-Din

customer. A minute later I recognized that

invented it!” I was very eager to know how

the man is taking too much time signing

he did, so I let the client elaborate more on

the contract, so I asked him “Is it taking

that topic. He told me that Aslam (2009)

that long to sign your name?” At that

stated that Taqi Al-Din was the one who

moment he did not reply; instead, it turned

invented the first mechanical watch. Al-

out that he was drawing a model of the

Din also was able to include an alarm

engine rotating the rotisserie instead of

P a g e | 16

signing his name! The model looked a bit

our brains. He wanted to show the whole

strange at the beginning; however, after a

world that the Ottomans were great, that

while I could interpret that it consisted of a

they were not womanizers, that they were

steam powered turbine that caused a

great scientists who have made the

rotating spit to spin (Science and

technological advances that we are

Technology in the Ottoman Empire, 2009).

experiencing today possible. They made contributions to optics, physics, astronomy, and numerous other sciences. I decided to tear up the contract and promised the man that I will make this website for free. He told me that he is always trying to restore

Steam Engine

the power of our ancestors, and to make us proud of ourselves once more in order to be a powerful empire once again.

Actually I took the paper away and understood that he wanted to make us, Muslims, proud of our ancestors. He intended to correct the corrupt ideology that the west has been trying to plant into

P a g e | 17

References Aslam, S. (2009). Muslim Scientists and Thinkers–Taqi al-Din. Retrieved from http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=3710

Hill, D. (1978). The History of Science Society. Isis, 69 (1), 118. Retrieved from JSTOR database.

Sayili, A. (2004). Turkish Contributions to Scientific Work in Islam. Manchester: FSTC Limited. Retrieved from http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/TurkishScience.pdf

Science and Technology in the Ottoman Empire. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/ Science_and_Technology_in_the_Ottoman_Empire

P a g e | 19

At Constantinople, they ruled in a different way By Habiba Hesham

As I was sitting on my chair having

looked at the book and asked him “why this

my cup of coffee and watching the beautiful

book specially?” He said, “This book is

view from my balcony, while doing nothing,

talking about a very great ruler and his

I decided to go to a book store to buy a book

achievements. It is talking about Suleiman

for me to read. I asked the receptionist

the Magnificent…” and he kept telling me

where I could find the nearest book store,

how he was a good man in his life and how

and he guided me. I went and there were so

he ruled Constantinople which is today

many books that I didn’t know what to

Istanbul. He also told me how he made

choose; however, I realised that I have read

Constantinople very powerful at his era. At

many of these books. While I was searching,

that time I began to feel eager to learn more

I found a book about the Ottomans. I stood

about that ruler, so I leafed through the book

there for a moment and thought, “how could

and found it interesting, so I asked the man

I have read no books about the Ottomans in

tell me a about Suleiman. He told me that

my whole life, after hearing so many stories

Suleiman was a powerful sultan who ruled

about them!” So I asked the man who was

for about forty-six years (Greenblatt, 2003,

working there for a small piece of advice

p.3). “He was raised only by his mum,

about which book to choose. I thought he

Hafiza Khatoun, because his father Selim I

would tell me “take this one, it’s about their

was always in field fighting to expand his

life” or something, but actually he didn’t.

land, so he barely knew his father,”

Instead, he suggested a certain book. I

(Greenblatt, 2003, p.5) Said the man. I asked

P a g e | 20

the man, “how did Suleiman II become such

his time, first came to take over the throne,

a great ruler?” He told me, “He was not only

he went to city secretly after the death of his

a great ruler, but also a great knight.” He

father probably by a cancer. (Greenblatt,

continued on telling me a quote which

2003, p.5)

Suleiman learned and followed throughout his life: “To control a state, requires an army. To support troops, requires a great wealth. To obtain this wealth, the people must be prosperous. For the people to be prosperous, the law must be just. If any of

Emperor Suleiman

this is neglected, the state will collapse“(unknown, Suleiman the magnificent and the ottoman empire [Greenblatt, 2003, p.20]). I looked to the man and said, “Okay I will take this.” I bought the book and returned to the hotel, went to my room, took my shoes off, sat on my bed and began to read it. I found out that all the information the guy has given me was true.

He was welcomed by the army and the people. The next day, he announced the death of his father and became the next ruler on throne. He buried his father’s body (when a sultan at that time died, they built after his death a tomb, mosque, hospital and a hostel) and built these four constructions and another constructions such as a school. He was so kind and generous. After a few days

When Suleiman, one of the ten

in Constantinople, he went to the soldiers

greatest rulers of the Ottomans who ruled

and gave them money; he also freed

Constantinople and made it remarkable at

prisoners and made lots of things which

P a g e | 21

showed the people that he was a fair person.

for help but there was no reply. When

The book also talked about his achievements

Suleiman was going to start the war against

in the battlefields and how he was a great

the Hungarians, the Hungarians were facing

leader two the army. When Charles V, the

some problems caused by their nobles, and

holy roman emperor and the king of Spain,

when they faced Suleiman, Suleiman’s army

and Francis I, the king of France, started the

and soldiers surrounded the Hungarians

war against each other, Suleiman took the

army from every side and circled them, and

advantage of this war and went up the

made a great victory. They killed thousands

Danube river valley to take over the

and thousands of Hungarians, and their king

Belgrade city. After a month, he captured

was killed too. It was a huge victory to

the city. The people of Belgrade asked

Suleiman. After a few days, he went and

Charles V for help, but he couldn’t reply

took over two cities: Buda and Pest, which

because he was having his own war. After

are now called Budapest. Back then, he

taking over the Belgrade, he wanted to take

returned back to Constantinople with all

over the island of Rhodes in the

these great victories and achievements

Mediterranean Sea, and it has been a great

(Greenblatt, 2003, p. 12, 13, 14).

achievement because he didn’t capture it by the same plan he used to capture Belgrade, by artillery. Instead, he took over the island of Rhodes by mines which exploded by gunpowder, which was not done in the past that often or barely, but was a successful try. Also the island of Rhodes asked Charles V

Suleiman the Magnificent

P a g e | 22

At that time, I closed the book and

they made him know how to control a huge

asked myself how a great knight and a sultan

empire without failing, for a long time.

he was. Really, “the magnificent” is the

What he made wasn’t easy, but he made it

right word to be given to Suleiman Selim.

well. He knew what he wanted and how to

He really managed his life and wars and

achieve it. He managed to make a

Empire by the quote which the man told me.

remarkable empire, and was successful at

I liked the words; they were true and really,

that too

References Greenblatt, M. (2003). Suleiman the magnificent and the Ottoman Empire. New York: Benchmark Books.

P a g e | 24

AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE By Mirna Medhat

I usually used to read the news paper every day. One day I found a good writer who not only wrote about the economics of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th century, but also about Mehmed II faith. He also wrote about the economic prosperity that took place in the 19th century within the Ottoman Empire, and why the Empire was so successful especially in that time. Actually the article was interesting and I started to concentrate while reading it. In my article I hope to share with my readers the attraction to the Ottomans.

A good economy takes place, when people provide their own needs by themselves. They can perform this by hunting, woodcutting, and knitting for example. On the other hand, an excellent economy is based on commercial activities, but citizens have to pay taxes.

Mehmed II’s personality

(Sansal,2009)

One of the most important economists in the Ottoman Empire is Mehmed II who was born in March 30, 1432 and died in May 3, 1481. Mehmed' personality was a unique combination of power and honesty. When he was a child, he studied science in the school of the princes. He really got a lot of knowledge and learnt how to speak different languages. All of this affected his personality and knowledge positively (Sansal,2009). Mehmed II felt the responsibility of completing the centralist and absolutes Ottoman systems in Anatolia and

P a g e | 25

the Balkans. By taking Constantinople, Mehmed the conqueror felt that he was the most powerful sovereign in the Islamic world, and he challenged the Islamic empire in Iran and Egypt. (Sansal,2009)

Mehmed II

Mehmed was great economists who did a lot of things. Sultan Mehmed was interested in trade and industry, and worked on treatments for all the means and the factors and causes and the knowledge of international markets. He tried to use new ways in transportation other than sea (Inalcik&Quataert,1994). He created new bridges, which helped the movement of trade across the country. The foreign countries forced Mehmed to expand the ports across the Ottomans nation to learn the trade under the ottoman flag, and then the ports became a building which protected them from their enemy. Later on it became a place of factories and industries for weapons, ammunition, castle, and these products became the main interest of the military forces in the country. (Inalcik&Quataert,1994) Finally Mehmed II was one of the finest and greatest leaders of economics in his century. He left a great influence on the ottomans empire life.

P a g e | 26

Economics in 16th and 17th centuries

(Britannica 2009)

In the late 16th and 17th centuries, a lot of economic difficulties aroused because the Dutch and British decided to close the international trade routes through the Middle East. So the growth of the economy in the Middle East turned down (Britannica 2009. As a result, the Ottoman economy faced many problems; the first one was inflation, which was caused when people were forced to buy expensive products from America, and that decreased the balance of trade between the east and the west, so the capital lost most of its revenues. The government was forced to increase taxes; that became a huge problem to the people who could not pay high taxes (Britannica 2009). Actually, employees did not receive their salaries and the unemployment increased. The guilds were unable to provide quality goods at prices low enough to compete with the cheap European manufactured goods that entered the empire without restriction because of the Capitulations agreements, and that was due to functioning under strict price regulations. That caused the Ottoman industry to decline. (Britannica 2009).

The Sultan's Muslims and Jewish subjects were driven out of industry into poverty and despair, and that was all because of Christian subjects who combined with foreign diplomats and merchants, who were protected by the Capitulations. (Britannica 2009). Trade in the market

P a g e | 27

Ottoman Empire

Taxes

(jstor

by Bekir Kemal Atamar 2009)

Rulers in 1600s and 1700s centuries were very tough. They demanded applying higher taxes on people. They not only doubled the taxes, but also tripled it on merchants and entrepreneurs. As a consequence, the economy suffered from high taxes which lead to a great inflation and poverty. (jstor

by Bekir Kemal Atamar 2009)

Taxes were so high, so people began to close their businesses and a lot of employees were driven out of work. That led to unemployment. (jstor

by Bekir Kemal Atamar

2009)

The economy of the Ottoman Empire was hurt also by an unfavorable balance of trade. Wealthy Muslims were purchasing goods from Christians, but little was being exported and the supply of gold was diminishing. As manufactured goods flowed into the Ottoman Empire, local handicraft industries suffered. Manufacturing remained largely a peasant operation -- home industry. Foot-operated treadle reels, hand-operated looms and silk-twisting machines were to be used in the Ottoman Empire into the 1800s. And, for the Ottoman Empire, economic weakness produced military weakness. (jstor Atamar 2009)

by Bekir Kemal

P a g e | 28

Ottoman Empire in the 19th century In the 19 centuries, the Ottoman Empire had a great economical boast. That was not only because it was a political and military capital, but also because of its position at the junction of Europe, Africa and Asia. The 19th century was one of the most successful centuries trade wise in history. The two most important trading countries were Bursa and Istanbul.

THE MOST IMPROTANT PRODUCTS THAT OTTOMANS TRADED 

Silk and other cloth (bbc 2009)



Musk (bbc 2009)



Rhubarb (bbc 2009)



Porcelain from China (bbc 2009)



Spices such as pepper (bbc 2009)



Dyestuffs such as indigo (bbc 2009)

(bbc 2009)

Why was the Empire successful in 19 century?

(bbc 2009)

There were many reasons why the Ottoman Empire was so successful:

P a g e | 29 

Highly centralised (bbc 2009)



Power was always transferred to a single person, and not split between rival

princes (bbc 2009) 

The Ottoman Empire was successfully ruled by a single family for 7 centuries.

(bbc 2009) 

State-run education system (bbc 2009)



Religion was incorporated in the state structure, and the Sultan was regarded

as "the protector of Islam". (bbc 2009) 

State-run judicial system (bbc 2009)



Ruthless in dealing with local leaders (bbc 2009)



Promotion to positions of power largely depended on merit (bbc 2009)



Created alliances across political and racial groups (bbc 2009)



United by Islamic ideology (bbc 2009)



United by Islamic warrior code with ideal of increasing Muslim territory

through Jihad (bbc 2009) 

United by Islamic organisational and administrative structures (bbc 2009)



Highly pragmatic, taking the best ideas from other cultures and making them

their own (bbc 2009) 

Encouraged loyalty from other faith groups (bbc 2009)



Private power and wealth were controlled (bbc 2009)



Very strong military (bbc 2009)



Strong slave-based army (bbc 2009)

P a g e | 30 

Expert in developing gunpowder as a military tool (bbc 2009)



Military ethos pervaded whole administration. (bbc 2009)

Conclusion Finally, the Ottoman Empire suffered from many things. Actually, it was really one of the greatest empires in the history that we will never forget because it left for us many things that we can learn from.

References BBC.Religions-Islam:Ottoman Empire(1301-1922).Retrieved December 02,2009 ,from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/ottomanempire_1.shtml

Inalcik,H. & Quataert,D.(1994). Economic and Social history of the Ottoman Empire.United Kingdom.Cambridge University Press.

Sansal,Burak. Mehmet II the Conqueror-All about Turkey.(1996-2009).Retrieved December 02,2009, from http://www.allaboutturkey.com/mehmet2.htm

Ottoman Empire. (2009). In Britannica. Retrieved December 03, 2009 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/434996/Ottoman-Empire

Ottoman Demographic History (14th-17th Centuries). Some Considerations, by Bekir Kemal Atamar.

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3632409

(jstor

by Bekir Kemal Atamar 2009)

P a g e | 32

Is it a mixture of Western and Eastern lives? By Mohamed Mostafa

A few years ago, I used to teach history for high school students. I loved all students from the bottom of my heart. They were brilliant, hard workers, full of ethics, and full of spirit at the same time. I like how most of these students like to collect information about their past. I believe, with no doubt, this is because they completely know that a person without a past is nothing. One day, I explained to the class the Ottoman Empire’s lifestyle. I explained and demonstrated this lesson with a positive spirit and manner. This was not because this is my job, but because I really like the past and I am proud of it as an Arab. Below, is a summary of the most important details of what I said in the class, followed by a dialogue between a student, who asks for some more specific details, and me. What grabbed the Student's attention and made him ask me for more explanation and demonstration is when I mentioned that "The Ottoman Empire is a mixture of Western and Eastern life."

The Ottoman Empire was located at a strategic and a golden place. It was located at two different continents. The two continents are: Europe and Asia. This led to the diversity of ethic and religious groups during the Ottoman Empire. (2008, p.25) I believe that the Ottoman Empire was not only a Turkish society, but also a mixture of Western and Eastern life. The three components of the ruling class at that time were: the ulema, the bureaucracy, and the army, which consisted of the janissaries and timariot cavalry. 80% of the population was literate and 20% was illiterate. (2008, p.25) The Muslim community was the dominant one and full of Sunnis .The other Muslim population was a mix of Shiites, Alevis ,Druzes, and Nusayris. The Christian community existed too at that time, as well as the Jewish

P a g e | 33 population, but with a small portion. The ethnic group was made up of Albanians, Arabs, Armenians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Kurds, Serbs, and Turks. (2008, p.25)

Ottoman Empire

The middle class and lower-middle class were centered in Istanbul, the capital. Men used to wear jackets, trousers, head wraps, and head caps. Women's clothing was kind of similar to those of men. They used to wear long sleeves trousers, jackets, and scarves that cover their head, so I believe clothing at that time was simple. Furniture was extremely old. Mostly, middle class houses had living rooms, which consisted of a large cushion for the master of the house and the guests in his house. They used to sleep on simple cotton mattress. (2008, p.26) Can you recognize how simple their life is? Decorative art was rare in any of the Muslim houses .Upper class houses consisted of traditional arts, such as ebru, which is the Ottoman's art of making marbled paper(2008,p.28).

Husband and Wife

Student: Excuse me Sir, would you please tell and demonstrate for me what do you mean by "The Ottoman Empire is a mixture of Western and Eastern life." I understand it but just make it clear for me. Like in what way do you mean they are alike? Me: Sure I can tell you. What makes the Ottoman Empire a mixture of Eastern and Western life is it’s strategic location. It lies on two different continents as I mentioned. The continents are Asia, and Europe

P a g e | 34 Student: How unique it became after the diversity of ethics taught from the two other continents Asia and Europe? Me: In both continents, socialization is important in their culture. People were simple and living a typical life. People used to socialize in the coffeehouse to gather and share information. It wasn't only a matter of that, there in the coffeehouse, there was a story teller, who reads books for people there. (Lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire, 2009) Student: Great!.Sorry, but may I ask you another question? Me: Go ahead Student: According to your description of their houses, you demonstrated the rooms and living room, but you did not demonstrate how toilets were for example. Me: Oh! Thanks for reminding me and for being that much alert. People at that time used to take shower in the Turkish bath, which is called Hammam. Turkish bath was unique. It was a luxurious place with high quality of architecture. People there gathered and shared time. They showered, chatted, and socialized there, so it was a great place that played an effective role in their life. (Lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire,2009) Student: I see. Thanks for your time Sir. Me: Do not say that at all. It is my own pleasure to serve you as your Teacher. I’m yours sincerely.

In a nutshell, I believe that the Ottoman Empire at it's time was a piece of art on the earth. Its strategic location made it one of the most successful empires. As we can all see. Life style at the Ottoman Empire time did not change or vary from that time up until today. That is why Istanbul still remains a city of history, socialization, and religion now a days.

P a g e | 35

This is the Hammam. It is this luxurious place, where people spend time showering and socializing .Mostly, People visit it daily.

In this picture, we can see the Story Teller. A Story Teller's job is to tell people in the Coffee House.

References Lifestyle of the Ottoman Empire.(2009,August 15).In wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved November 27, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_of_the_Ottoman_Empire

Sukru,M.(2008) A brief history of the late Ottoman Empire.NJ:Princeton University Press.

Upham,Edward.(1848). History of the Ottoman Empire. 1828.Edinburgh.

P a g e | 37

The Influence of previous cultures on the Ottoman culture & entertainment By Omar Medhat

For thousands of years, we have stood their stunned and left grasping for air whenever we visit Turkey at their magnificent tourists sites that have on them hundreds of creative and artistic designs that were built especially during the 15th & 16th centuries, but still stand to this day. The Ottomans, or the Turks as they are now called, despite their flourishing reign (1453-1918), did not create all of these beautiful sites based just on their own ideas. No the Ottomans were also influenced by other great cultures the came before them such as the byzantine, Chinese and many more. Not just in architecture, but also in other important areas of their culture and entertainment like music, literature and art.

Music Ottoman music at the time was based on influences coming from both the western and the eastern civilizations like the Byzantine, Arabian and Persian cultures. Ottoman music was based on something they called Taksim, which we now call Iambic pentameter and something called the Makkam which is influenced from the Islamic culture. During the era of Sultan Selim the third there were no restrictions regarding who was playing music whether it was the high class and the nobles or even if it was a simple peasant. But they did however classify their music in 5 steps a) According to the type of the music (religious music and secular music) b) According to the means of performance (vocal music, instrumental music) c) According to the field of use (military music, religious music, classical music, folk music, entertainment music)

P a g e | 38

d) According to the space of performance (military music, palace music, mosque music, tekke music, urban music, rural music) e) According to the style of performance (rhythmic, performance, i.e. with usul; and nonrhythmic performance, i.e. without usul). (Discover the Ottoman Music)

The musicians of that ottoman era used many similar instruments we still use today such as the rababa, the udd, the tambourine, the piano and the violin.(The Ottoman Music)

The Tambourine The Udd

The Rababa

During this period there were many great musicians such as:

P a g e | 39

Dede Efendi: was one of the greatest Turkish classical music composers of all time, his music was heard by many sultans and kings including Selim the third who was an admirer of his music. He also taught Haci Arif Bey who was a student of his who would later become his prodigy. He is probably remembered most for his most famous work which is the 7 Mevlevi pieces for Samah.

Dede Efendi most famous work Hacı Arif Bey: who was the most renowned musician of classical music at the time, he was taught by the late Dede Efendi. He was also the head singer in the palace during the reign of Abdul hamid the second. He was very dedicated to his music where sometimes he could write up to 7 songs a day.

Tanburi Cemil Bey: who was known for playing the tambourine, he abandoned his education in order to pursue his dream of being a musician. He achieved doing so at the age of 20

P a g e | 40

where he would later go on to gain success in Turkey for not just playing the tambourine but also other instruments like the cello.

Architecture & Art After the Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine Empire (Discover The Ottomans), the Ottomans underwent a very wealthy and rich era where they were known to be very good constructors and engineers, which is one of the main reasons why we find Turkey today mostly consists of mosques, churches, and mausoleum shaped like domes from the top with Islamic calligraphy on them. This domed structure was created by Seljuks in Anatolia (The Art of the ottomans). As I mentioned before the artistic designs found on many beautiful sites were originally ideas of Byzantine, Italian and Chinese cultures that were first applied then modified by the Ottomans, Some of these designs can be found more specifically on the The Hagia Sophia mosque, The Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul (Discover the Ottoman art)

Hagia Sophia Mosque

P a g e | 41

The Byzantine influence appears in this structure in features such as stone and brick used together or in the use of pendentive dome construction (Discover the Ottoman art)

Süleymaniye Mosque

Selimyie Mosque

P a g e | 42

The designs of the exterior facade and of windows, gates, and roofs to features found in Italian architecture. (Discover the Ottoman art) During this period there were many great architects and designers such as:

Mimar Sinan: was probably the greatest architect of the ottoman, with more than 300 hundred structures credited to him including mosques, universities and bridges(Discover the ottoman art). He is famous for constructing the Süleymaniye Mosque for sultan Suleiman the magnificent, Selimiye Mosque and Sehzade Mosque among other constructions.

Selimyie Mosque

Atik Sinan: known for being one of the many architects under mehmed the second and Mustafa the third. He is well known for being the architect who created Istanbul’s first mosque, which is the Fatih Mosque. He was also partially in charge of making the dome of the Hagia

P a g e | 43

Sophia mosque bigger, but he failed in doing so and as a result he was punished by mehmed the second by having his hand cut off. (Discover the ottomans art) Garabet Amira Balyan and Nigoğayos Balyan: Armenian father and son architects who were famous for creating Ortaköy Mosque and Dolmabahçe Palace. Dolmabahçe Palace was created by Nigoğayos Balyan, this construction was covered by Islamic calligraphy created by then at the time sultan Abdülmecid himself who was a master calligrapher.

Literature During the golden era which the Ottoman Empire underwent, one of many fields they were good at was Literature. There literature was known to be divided into two main schools. The first was poetry and the second was prose (which is a form of free verse writing where one does not have to follow the rhythm and meter used commonly in poetry). During that era, poetry dominated the literature field more than prose; Ottoman poetry during this period was influenced by the Persian culture (Turkish Literature) where they had many aspects and ideas similar. For example, they wrote their poetry about life, death, love, romance, history, theology and travel.(Turkish Literature) In this period there were many revolutionary artists who were known to have distinctive style when it comes to write poetry, such as:

Fuzûlî: an Azerbaijan born poet, thinker, astronomer, mathematician and writer, he was known to be one of the greatest artists in the field of poetry. He is remembered most for his ability to write in Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages which he demonstrated through

P a g e | 44

collections of poems of his work that he translated in these 3 languages, his most famous work is Leylā and Mejnūn( Turkish Literature) In Conclusion, one can say that if it wasn’t for the basic concepts and ideas introduced by previous cultures; the Ottoman Empire wouldn’t have flourished as much as they did if they hadn’t modified these concepts and ideas.

References Discover the Ottoman art. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.theottomans.org/english/art_culture/index.asp

The Art of the Ottomans.(n.d.) Retrieved from

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/otto1/hd_otto1.htm

Turkish Literature. (n.d.) Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/610052/Turkish-literature/274911/Poetry-ofthe-Ottoman-Empire-c-1300-1839

Turkish Culture.(n.d.) Retrieved from

P a g e | 45

http://www.turkishculture.org/pages.php?ChildID=474&ParentID=7&ID=31&ChildID1= 474

The Ottoman Music.(n.d.) Retrieved from

http://www.turkmusikisi.com/osmanli_musikisi/the_ottoman_music.htm