1.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
2.
Turkish people
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Turkish people, or the Turks, also known as Anatolian Turks, are a Turkic ethnic group and nation living mainly in Turkey and speaking Turkish, the most widely spoken Turkic language. They are the largest ethnic group in Turkey, as well as by far the largest ethnic group among the speakers of Turkic languages, ethnic Turkish minorities exist in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, a Turkish diaspora has been established with modern migration, the ethnonym Turk may be first discerned in Herodotus reference to Targitas, first king of the Scythians, furthermore, during the first century AD. Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. The first definite references to the Turks come mainly from Chinese sources in the sixth century, in these sources, Turk appears as Tujue, which referred to the Göktürks. Although Turk refers to Turkish people, it may sometimes refer to the wider language group of Turkic peoples. In the 19th century, the word Türk only referred to Anatolian villagers, the Ottoman ruling class identified themselves as Ottomans, not usually as Turks. In the late 19th century, as the Ottoman upper classes adopted European ideas of nationalism the term Türk took on a more positive connotation. The Turkish-speakers of Anatolia were the most loyal supporters of Ottoman rule, Turkish Jews, Christians, or even Alevis may be considered non-Turks. On the other hand, Kurdish Arab followers of the Sunni branch of Islam who live in eastern Anatolia are sometimes considered Turks, article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a Turk as anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship. Anatolia was first inhabited by hunter-gatherers during the Paleolithic era, most of the Turkic peoples were followers of Tengriism, sharing the cult of the sky god Tengri, although there were also adherents of Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism. However, during the Muslim conquests, the Turks entered the Muslim world proper as servants, during the booty of Arab raids, the Turks began converting to Islam after Muslim conquest of Transoxiana through the efforts of missionaries, Sufis, and merchants. Although initiated by the Arabs, the conversion of the Turks to Islam was filtered through Persian, under the Umayyads, most were domestic servants, whilst under the Abbasids, increasing numbers were trained as soldiers. By the ninth century, Turkish commanders were leading the caliphs’ Turkish troops into battle, as the Abbasid caliphate declined, Turkish officers assumed more military and political power taking over or establishing provincial dynasties with their own corps of Turkish troops. During the 11th century the Seljuk Turks who were admirers of the Persian civilization grew in number and were able to occupy the province of the Abbasid Empire. By 1055, the Seljuk Empire captured Baghdad and began to make their first incursions into the edges of Anatolia, when the Seljuk Turks won the Battle of Manzikert against the Byzantine Empire in 1071, it opened the gates of Anatolia to them. Although ethnically Turkish, the Seljuk Turks appreciated and became the purveyors of the Persian culture rather than the Turkish culture, in dire straits, the Byzantine Empire turned to the West for help setting in motion the pleas that led to the First Crusade. Once the Crusaders took Iznik, the Seljuk Turks established the Sultanate of Rum from their new capital, Konya, by the 12th century the Europeans had begun to call the Anatolian region Turchia or Turkey, meaning the land of the Turks
3.
Military of the Ottoman Empire
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The history of military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The earliest form of the Ottoman military was a cavalry force. This was centralized by Osman I from Turkoman tribesmen inhabiting western Anatolia in the late 13th century and these horsemen became an irregular force of raiders used as shock troops, armed with simple weapons like bows and spears. They were given fiefs called timars in the lands, and were later called timariots. In addition they acquired wealth during campaigns, Orhan I organized a standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. The infantry were called yayas and the cavalry was known as müsellems, the force was made up by foreign mercenaries for the most part, and only a few Turks were content to accept salaries in place of timars. Foreign mercenaries were not required to convert to Islam as long as they obeyed their Ottoman commanders, the Ottomans began using guns sometime at the 15th century. Ottoman Classical Army was the structure established by Mehmed II, during his reorganization of the state. This is the reorganization following Orhan I which organized a standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. This army was the force during rise of the Ottoman Empire, the organization was twofold, central and peripheral. Following a century long reform efforts, this Army was forced to disbandment by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826 by what is known as Auspicious Incident, the main theme of this period is reforming the Janissaries. The Janissary corps were made up of conscripted young Christian boys who became military educated under the Ottoman Empire. During the 15th and 16th Centuries they became known as the most efficient, aside from the Janissary infantry, there was also the Sipahi Cavalry. They were, however, different from the Janissaries in that they had military and administrative duties. Within these agricultural lands, the Sipahi were in charge of collecting the taxes which would serve as their salary, at the same time they were responsible for maintaining peace and order there. They were also expected to be able to serve in the military whenever the Sultan deemed their service necessary, western cavalry military people were imported as advisors but their abilities to enact change on the Classic Army were limited. The Ottoman Empire made numerous efforts to recruit French experts for its modernization, another officer François Baron de Tott was involved in the reform efforts for the Ottoman military. He succeeded in having a new foundry built to make howitzers and he built fortifications on the Bosphorus and started a naval science course that laid the foundation stone for the later Turkish Naval Academy
4.
Istanbul
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Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the countrys economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side, the city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, both hosting a population of around 14.7 million residents. Istanbul is one of the worlds most populous cities and ranks as the worlds 7th-largest city proper, founded under the name of Byzantion on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city developed to become one of the most significant in history. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as a capital for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine, the Latin. Overlooked for the new capital Ankara during the period, the city has since regained much of its prominence. The population of the city has increased tenfold since the 1950s, as migrants from across Anatolia have moved in, arts, music, film, and cultural festivals were established at the end of the 20th century and continue to be hosted by the city today. Infrastructure improvements have produced a complex transportation network, considered a global city, Istanbul has one of the fastest-growing metropolitan economies in the world. It hosts the headquarters of many Turkish companies and media outlets and accounts for more than a quarter of the gross domestic product. Hoping to capitalize on its revitalization and rapid expansion, Istanbul has bid for the Summer Olympics five times in twenty years, the first known name of the city is Byzantium, the name given to it at its foundation by Megarean colonists around 660 BCE. The name is thought to be derived from a personal name, ancient Greek tradition refers to a legendary king of that name as the leader of the Greek colonists. Modern scholars have hypothesized that the name of Byzas was of local Thracian or Illyrian origin. He also attempted to promote the name Nova Roma and its Greek version Νέα Ῥώμη Nea Romē, the use of Constantinople to refer to the city during the Ottoman period is now considered politically incorrect, even if not historically inaccurate, by Turks. By the 19th century, the city had acquired other names used by foreigners or Turks. Europeans used Constantinople to refer to the whole of the city, pera was used to describe the area between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus, but Turks also used the name Beyoğlu. The name İstanbul is commonly held to derive from the Medieval Greek phrase εἰς τὴν Πόλιν and this reflected its status as the only major city in the vicinity. The importance of Constantinople in the Ottoman world was reflected by its Ottoman name Der Saadet meaning the gate to Prosperity in Ottoman. An alternative view is that the name evolved directly from the name Constantinople, with the first, a Turkish folk etymology traces the name to Islam bol plenty of Islam because the city was called Islambol or Islambul as the capital of the Islamic Ottoman Empire
5.
Zincirlikuyu
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Zincirlikuyu is a quarter of the Şişli district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. Part of Esentepe neighborhood, it is situated on a hilltop on the border to Beşiktaş in the east. Undergone redevelopment in recent years, the area is also a bus hub. Zincirlikuyu is a bus interchange of the European site in Istanbul. It is served by more than forty İETT city bus lines, the construction of the connections cost 40 million. As Istanbuls one of the largest burial grounds, the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery, planned in 1935 in a contemporary design in the then outskirt of the city, it reached in the 1950s its full capacity. The cemetery is known for holding the graves of prominent figures from the world of politics, business. The headquarters of the Metropolitan Municipalitys Cemetery Service is located also here, the school complex, consisting of several buildings on a land of 40 daa, was constructed by the court architect Sarkis Balyan in 1884. It was used in the beginnings as a hunting mansion by Yusuf Izzettin Efendi, the son of Sultan Abdülaziz. Following his death, his family resided in the premises, which consisted of three buildings, for women, men and guests and servants, from 1923 until 1939, the complex served as a primary school for orphans. It was then enlarged by new buildings, and converted into a high school for the education of construction masters. In 2000, the schools administration was transferred to the İSOV. Opened in October 2013, the Zorlu Center is a complex of residential development, office space and shopping center with over 200 shops,40 cafés and it includes also the citys largest performing arts center
6.
Fatih
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In 2009, the district of Eminönü, which had been a separate municipality located at the tip of the peninsula, was merged into Fatih because of the small population of Eminönü. Fatih borders the Golden Horn to the north and the Sea of Marmara to the south, while the Western border is demarked by the Theodosian wall, the name Fatih comes from the Ottoman emperor Fatih Sultan Mehmed, and means Conqueror in Turkish, originally from Arabic. The Fatih Mosque built by Mehmed II is in this district and it was on the ruins of the Church of the Holy Apostles, destroyed by earthquakes and years of war, that the Fatih Mosque was built, and around the mosque a large prayer school. The area quickly became a Turkish neighbourhood with a pious character due to the seminary. Some of this piety has endured until today, following the conquest, the Edirnekapı gate in the city walls became the major exit to Thrace, and this rejuvenated the neighbourhoods overlooking the Golden Horn. The last four were named after the founders of various Sufi orders, many other mosques, schools, baths, and fountains in the area were built by military leaders and officials in the Ottoman court. Fires continued to ravage the old city, and the roads that run through the area today are a legacy of all that burning. There are few buildings left in Fatih today, although right up until the 1960s. Nowadays, the district is made up of narrow streets with tightly-packed 5- or 6-floor apartment buildings. At present, Fatih contains areas including Aksaray, Fındıkzade, Çapa, the area has become more and more crowded from the 1960s onwards, and a large portion of the middle-class residents have moved to the Anatolian side and other parts of the city. Fatih was built with some degree of planning by the municipality. Istanbul University which was founded in 1453 is in Fatih, in addition, since 1586, the Orthodox Christian Patriarchate of Constantinople has had its headquarters in the relatively modest Church of St. George in the Fener neighborhood of Fatih. Fatih has many theatres, including the famous Reşat Nuri Sahnesi, the area is well-served with a number of schools, hospitals and public amenities in general. A tramway runs from the docks at Sirkeci, through Sultanahmet, and finally to Aksaray, also, besides the headquarters, some main units of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, including the citys fire department, are based in Fatih. Conservative political parties always do well in this area, küçükçekmece, Başakşehir, Bağcılar, Gaziosmanpaşa, Esenler, Bayrampaşa, Zeytinburnu, and Fatih are home to refugees of Syrian origin. There are 57 neighbourhoods in Fatih as of 2017, Grand Bazaar – as much to look at as to shop in. Spice Bazaar – another Ottoman caravanserai, not as huge as the Grand Bazaar but right on the water, next to Yeni Camii, Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque – in Kadirga District. Today, there are remnants of the sea walls along the Golden Horn and along the Marmara shore
7.
Ottoman dynasty
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The Ottoman dynasty was made up of the members of the imperial House of Osman. According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, the Ottoman dynasty, named after Osman I, ruled the Ottoman Empire from c.1299 to 1922. During much of the Empires history, the sultan was the regent, head of state. The imperial family was deposed from power and the sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922 after the Turkish War of Independence, the Republic of Turkey was declared the following year. The living members of the dynasty were sent into exile as persona non gratae, though some have been allowed to return. In its current form, the family is known as the Osmanoğlu family, before Orhans proclamation of the dynasty, the tribe was known as the Bilecik Söğüt Beylik or Beys but was renamed Osmanlı in honor of Osman. The Ottoman dynasty is known in modern Turkish as Osmanlı Hanedanı, meaning House of Osman, in Ottoman Turkish it was known as Hanedan-ı Âl-i Osman, thus they still formally acknowledged the sovereignty of the Seljuk Empire and its successor, the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. The first Ottoman ruler to claim the title of Sultan was Murad I. The holder of the title Sultan was in Arabic-Islamic dynasties originally the power behind the throne of the Caliph in Bagdad, the Ottoman sultans also claimed the title of Caliph starting with Murad I, who transformed the Ottoman state into a transcontinental empire. With the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II Fatih claimed the title Kaysar-i-Rûm Emperor of Rome and he appointed the Patriarch of Constantinople Gennadius Scholarius, whom he protected and whose status he elevated into leader of all the Eastern Orthodox Christians. As Emperor of Rome he laid claim to all Roman territories, Sultan Mehmed II also took the title of Padishah, a Persian title meaning Master of Kings and ranking as Emperor, claiming superiority among the other kings. He was the first Ottoman ruler to adopt the title of Padishah. The Ottoman claim to caliphate was strengthened when they defeated the Mamluks in 1517, as the empire grew, sultans adopted secondary titles expressing the empires claim to be the legitimate successor of the absorbed states. Furthermore, they tended to enumerate even regular provinces, not unlike the long lists of -mainly inherited- feudal titles in the style of many Christian European monarchs. Some early Ottoman Sultans even had to accept the status in the eyes of a foreign overlord. However, the Ottoman Caliphate too was abolished soon afterwards, and Abdulmecid II was utterly deposed and expelled from Turkey with the rest of the Ottoman dynasty on 3 March 1924
8.
Abdul Hamid II
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Abdul Hamid II was the 34th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the last Sultan to exert effective autocratic control over the fracturing state. Abdul Hamids 1909 removal from the throne was hailed by most Ottoman citizens, the most far-reaching of these reforms were in education, professional schools were established. The University of Istanbul, although shut down by Abdul Hamid himself in 1881, was reopened in 1900, and a network of secondary, primary, Railway and telegraph systems were developed by primarily German firms. Between 1871 and 1908, the Sublime Porte thus reached a new degree of organizational elaboration and articulation. Abroad, Abdul Hamid was nicknamed the Red Sultan or Abdul the Damned due to the massacres committed against minorities during his rule and use of a police to silence dissent. These led to an attempt in 1905, contributing to the sultans worsening paranoia until his eventual removal from the throne. Abdul Hamid II was born at the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul and he was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid and Tirimüjgan Kadınefendi, originally named Virjin. After the death of his mother, he became the adoptive son of his fathers wife. He was a carpenter and personally crafted some high quality furniture. Abdul Hamid II was also interested in opera and personally wrote the first-ever Turkish translations of many opera classics and he ascended to the throne following the deposition of his brother Murad on 31 August 1876. At his accession, some commentators were impressed by the fact that he rode practically unattended to the Eyüp Sultan Mosque where he was given the Sword of Osman. Most people expected Abdul Hamid II to have ideas. In any event, like many other reforms of the Ottoman Empire change proved to be nearly impossible. Russia continued to mobilize for war, however, everything changed when the British fleet approached the capital from the Sea of Marmara. Early in 1877 the Ottoman Empire went to war with the Russian Empire, Abdul Hamids biggest fear, near dissolution, was realised with the Russian declaration of war on 24 April 1877. In that conflict, the Ottoman Empire fought without help from European allies, Russian chancellor Prince Gorchakov had effectively purchased Austrian neutrality with the Reichstadt Agreement. The Russian victory was quickly realised, the conflict ended in February 1878. After the war with Russia, Abdulhamid suspended the constitution in February 1878, for the next three decades, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by Abdulhamid from Yıldız Palace
9.
Mehmed V
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Mehmed V Reşâd was the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I and he was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI. He was born at the Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, like many other potential heirs to the throne, he was confined for 30 years in the Harems of the palace. For nine of those years he was in solitary confinement, during this time he studied poetry of the old Persian style and was an acclaimed poet. On his ninth birthday he was circumcised in the special Circumcision Room of Topkapı Palace. Under his rule, the Ottoman Empire lost all its territory in North Africa to Italy in the Italo-Turkish War. He was actually said to look with disfavor on the policy of Enver Pasha. This was the last genuine proclamation of jihad in history by a Caliph, the proclamation had no noticeable effect on the war, despite the fact that many Muslims lived in Ottoman territories. The Arabs eventually joined the British forces against the Ottomans with the Arab Revolt in 1916, Mehmed V hosted Kaiser Wilhelm II, his World War I ally, in Constantinople on 15 October 1917. He was made Generalfeldmarschall of the Kingdom of Prussia on 27 January 1916, Mehmed V died at Yıldız Palace on 3 July 1918 at the age of 73, only four months before the end of World War I. Thus, he did not live to see the downfall of the Ottoman Empire and he spent most of his life at the Dolmabahçe Palace and Yıldız Palace in Istanbul. His grave is in the Eyüp district, circassian HIM Empress Mihrengiz Kadın, married at Istanbul, Ortaköy Palace in 1876, and had, HIH Prince Şehzade Ömer Hilmi, married five times and had one son and one daughter. Abkhazian HIM Empress Dürrüaden Kadın, married at Istanbul, Veliahd Palace in 1877, abkhazian HIM Empress Nazperver Kadın, married at Istanbul, Veliahd Palace in 1888, and had, HIH Princess Refia Sultan. Circassian HIM Empress Dilfirib Kadın, married at Istanbul, Veliahd Palace in 1907, the Ottomans, Europes Muslim Emperors Media related to Mehmed V at Wikimedia Commons
Order of Osmaniye
Order of Distinction
Order of Mecidiye
Grand Cross of the order of Leopold (1910)
Order of White Eagle Serbia (1911)
Knight of the order of SS Cyril & Methodius of Bulgaria (1911)
Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle of Prussia (1911)
King George V Coronation Medal (1911)
