DOCSLIB.ORG

The Urban Janissary in Eighteenth- Century Istanbul

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Urban Janissary in Eighteenth- Century Istanbul THE URBAN JANISSARY IN EIGHTEENTH- CENTURY ISTANBUL By GEMMA MASSON A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman And Modern Greek Studies School of History and Cultures University of Birmingham July 2019 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. i Abstract The traditional narrative of Ottoman history claims that the Empire went into decline from the seventeenth century onwards, with the eighteenth century being a period of upheaval and change which led to the eventual fall of the Ottomans. The janissaries are major players in these narratives with claims from both secondary and primary writers that this elite military corps became corrupt and this contributed significantly to the overall decline of the Ottoman Empire. Such a simplistic view overlooks the changes taking place in the environment surrounding the janissaries leading to members of the corps needing to adapt to changing circumstances. The result is that the janissaries of this period were for the longest time almost exclusively studied through a binary ‘purity/corruption’ paradigm and it became difficult for scholars to move away from this system of thinking about the corps. As the principal aim of this dissertation is to facilitate a further move away from to the ‘purity/corruption’ paradigm for scholars it shall explore a range of secondary literature pertaining to the janissary corps and use primary sources to argue that this institutional ‘corruption’ is in fact and institutional adaptation. The primary documentation for this thesis is drawn primarily from the Prime Ministerial Archives in Istanbul and from the Istanbul Court Registers held at ISAM library as well as a range of published primary sources. This thesis shall break down the identity and function of the janissaries of eighteenth-century Istanbul into three principal chapters and examine each aspect janissary life within these chapters highlighting how janissary developments in these areas lend themselves to an interpretation of adaptation as opposed to corruption. Furthermore, this thesis shall attempt to reframe the discussion of the janissary corps moving towards an image of an institution adapting to the changing context it found itself in. ii For Robert, This would never have happened without you iii Acknowledgements A project such as this one inevitably incurs many debts. First and foremost, I owe thanks to Dr Rhoads Murphey, who first took me on as a PhD student and encouraged me from the very beginning. To Drs Marios Hadjianastasis and Arezou Azad for taking up the baton and getting me to the finish line, thank you. I am also indebted to Tübitak (The Scientific and Technological Research Council for Turkey) for a one-year scholarship allowing me to study in Istanbul and carry out archive work and language courses to support this project. My thanks go to the staff of the Başbakan Osmanlı Arşivi, İSAM Library and the Süleymaniye Mosque Library for their assistance. I also thank the entire team at Dilmer Language School in Istanbul. Gratitude and respect go to Dr Sevim Yılmaz Önder, for some of the happiest and educational hours I spent in Istanbul, pouring over archive documents and drinking tea together. I would also like to thank my examiners Dr Christopher Markiewicz and Dr Antonis Hadjikriacou for their constructive feedback and guidance. I am also indebted to the E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Trust for the award of a partial scholarship enabling me to complete this manuscript. Numerous staff and students from the University of Birmingham, both past and present have supported me in this work and to name just a few I would like to mention Dr Ruth Macrides, Dr Sadiah Qureshi, Dr Annika Asp and Dr Onur Usta. Furthermore, immense gratitude goes to Ozan Çekmez for his invaluable assistance with the archival aspects of this research. Finally, my husband Robert Masson, for having faith in me when I had none. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. vi A note on translation and transliteration ................................................................................... vii Glossary ................................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Secondary Literature Review ................................................................................................. 3 Sources ................................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 1: Methodology and Research Framework ................................................................. 26 Locating Istanbul .................................................................................................................. 26 Locating the Janissary .......................................................................................................... 28 Historical Institutionalism .................................................................................................... 32 Research Framework ............................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 2: The Janissaries as Soldiers ...................................................................................... 40 Training and Military Structure ............................................................................................ 43 Provisioning .......................................................................................................................... 47 European Perceptions ........................................................................................................... 54 Paramilitary Duties ............................................................................................................... 60 1. Policemen ..................................................................................................................... 60 2. Firemen ......................................................................................................................... 71 Numbers and Pay .................................................................................................................. 75 Chapter 3: The Janissaries as Power Brokers ........................................................................... 85 Relations with the Sultan ...................................................................................................... 87 Janissaries and the baklava event ......................................................................................... 94 The Arm of The State: Janissary Officers and their Authority ............................................. 98 Discipline and Punishment ................................................................................................. 108 1. Sedition and Conspiracy ............................................................................................. 108 2. Janissary Criminals ..................................................................................................... 114 Civic Authority ................................................................................................................... 127 Chapter 4: The Janissaries as Social and Economic Actors ................................................... 137 The Eighteenth Century Ottoman Economy ...................................................................... 138 Janissaries in Trade ............................................................................................................. 141 1. Roles and Appointments ............................................................................................. 141 2. Janissaries and Guilds................................................................................................. 148 3. Appointed Collectors .................................................................................................. 163 Janissary Families ............................................................................................................... 165 1. Children and Families................................................................................................. 165 2. Janissaries and inheritance ........................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Selim I–Mehmet Vi)
    CHRONOLOGY (SELIM I–MEHMET VI) Years of Sultan Important dates reign 1512–1520 Selim I Conquest of Egypt, Selim assumes the title of Caliph (1517) 1520–1566 Süleyman Vienna sieged (1529); War with Venice (1537–1540); Annexation of Hungary (1541) 1566–1574 Selim II Ottoman navy loses the battle of Lepanto (1571) 1574–1595 Murad III Janissary revolts (1589 and 1591–1592) 1595–1603 Mehmed III War with Austria continues (1595– ) 1603–1617 Ahmed I War with Austria ends; Buda is recovered (1604) 1617–1622 Osman II Janissaries murder Osman (1622) 1622–1623 Mustafa I Janissary Revolt (1622) 1623–1640 Murad IV Baghdad recovered (1638); War with Iran (1624–1639) 1640–1648 İbrahim I War with Venice (1645); Assassination of İbrahim (1648) 1648–1687 Mehmed IV Janissary dominance in Istanbul and anar- chy (1649–1651); War with Venice continues (1663); War with Austria, and siege of Vienna (1683) 1687–1691 Süleyman II Janissary revolt (1687); Austria’s occupation of Belgrade (1688) 1691–1695 Ahmed II War with Austria (1694) 1695–1703 Mustafa II Treaty of Karlowitz (1699); Janissary revolt and deposition of Mustafa (1703) 1703–1730 Ahmed III Refuge of Karl XII (1709); War with Venice (1714–1718); War with Austria (1716); Treaty of Passarowitz (1718); ix x REFORMING OTTOMAN GOVERNANCE Tulip Era (1718–1730) 1730–1754 Mahmud I War with Russia and Austria (1736–1759) 1754–1774 Mustafa III War with Russia (1768); Russian Fleet in the Aegean (1770); Inva- sion of the Crimea (1771) 1774–1789 Abdülhamid I Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774); War with Russia (1787)
    [Show full text]
  • The Light Shed by Ruznames on an Ottoman Spectacle of 1740-1750
    _full_alt_author_running_head (neem stramien B2 voor dit chapter en nul 0 in hierna): 0 _full_alt_articletitle_running_head (oude _articletitle_deel, vul hierna in): Contemplation or Amusement? _full_article_language: en indien anders: engelse articletitle: 0 22 Artan Chapter 2 Contemplation or Amusement? The Light Shed by Ruznames on an Ottoman Spectacle of 1740-1750 Tülay Artan I have always felt uncomfortable, and if anything recently grown even more uncomfortable, with loose talk of “eighteenth-century Istanbul”. This is a rath- er big block of time in the history of the Ottoman capital that old and new generations of historians have addressed by trying to latch on to themes of administrative change, lifestyles, or the evolution of art and architecture. They have ended up by attributing to it a unified, uniform character which stands in contrast to, and therefore separates it from, the preceding or the following cen- turies. On the one hand there is the triumphant stability of the “classical” age, so-called, and on the other, the Tanzimat’s modernization reforms from the top down. In between, the Ottoman eighteenth century is taken as represent- ing “change”, which, moreover, is said to be especially evident and embodied in the imperial capital. Entertainment, whether in the form of courtly parades or wedding festivals, or the waterfront parties of the royal and sub-royal elite, or popular gatherings revolving around poets or storytellers in public places, plays a particularly strong role in this classification.1 From here the phrase “eighteenth-century Istanbul” takes off into a life of its own. It has, indeed, come to be vested with such authority that, as with any cliché, in many cases it is being used and overused as a substitute for real, em- pirical evidence.
    [Show full text]
  • 'A Reign of Terror'
    ‘A Reign of Terror’ CUP Rule in Diyarbekir Province, 1913-1923 Uğur Ü. Üngör University of Amsterdam, Department of History Master’s thesis ‘Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ June 2005 ‘A Reign of Terror’ CUP Rule in Diyarbekir Province, 1913-1923 Uğur Ü. Üngör University of Amsterdam Department of History Master’s thesis ‘Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ Supervisors: Prof. Johannes Houwink ten Cate, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Dr. Karel Berkhoff, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies June 2005 2 Contents Preface 4 Introduction 6 1 ‘Turkey for the Turks’, 1913-1914 10 1.1 Crises in the Ottoman Empire 10 1.2 ‘Nationalization’ of the population 17 1.3 Diyarbekir province before World War I 21 1.4 Social relations between the groups 26 2 Persecution of Christian communities, 1915 33 2.1 Mobilization and war 33 2.2 The ‘reign of terror’ begins 39 2.3 ‘Burn, destroy, kill’ 48 2.4 Center and periphery 63 2.5 Widening and narrowing scopes of persecution 73 3 Deportations of Kurds and settlement of Muslims, 1916-1917 78 3.1 Deportations of Kurds, 1916 81 3.2 Settlement of Muslims, 1917 92 3.3 The aftermath of the war, 1918 95 3.4 The Kemalists take control, 1919-1923 101 4 Conclusion 110 Bibliography 116 Appendix 1: DH.ŞFR 64/39 130 Appendix 2: DH.ŞFR 87/40 132 Appendix 3: DH.ŞFR 86/45 134 Appendix 4: Family tree of Y.A. 136 Maps 138 3 Preface A little less than two decades ago, in my childhood, I became fascinated with violence, whether it was children bullying each other in school, fathers beating up their daughters for sneaking out on a date, or the omnipresent racism that I did not understand at the time.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reign of Violence
    CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE REIGN OF VIOLENCE The celalis c. I 5 50-I 700 --.... -- Oktay Ozel odern historiography depicts Ottoman history in the late sixteenth and early M seventeenth centuries as a period of crisis, generally associated with the eelali rebellions which occurred primarily in Anatolia and, to a lesser extent, northern Syria. l Discussion of eelali causes has centred largely around sixteenth-century political­ fiscal and economic-demographic developments. Recently added to the argument has been the agency problem of the predatory state, the nature of the overall transforma­ tion that the empire and society experienced in parallel with the eelali movements throughout the seventeenth century, and climatic changes. The present essay reassesses the issue in the light of new findings based on recently explored sources. It examines internal demographic, economic and political dynamics and conditions, as well as conjunctural factors in the I 590S which led marginalized groups within rural society, primarily the peasant masses, into a violent reaction in the form of banditry and rebel­ lion. A reconstruction of the historical context and causes is followed by discussion of the destructive character of [he eelali movements and its consequences in Anatolia, and of the nature of this violence as a phenomenon within Ottoman social history. The central argument of the essay is that the political-level analysis of the eelalis falls far short in understanding both the peculiarities of the historical process which prepared the ground for the eelali movements and [he extent of destructive violence throughout the seventeenth century. Banditry and occasional rebellions continued, transforming rural society, the economy and the ecological environment as well as leaving a legacy of institutionalized violence which became an inherent characteristic oflater Ottoman Anatolian society.
    [Show full text]
  • Christian Allies of the Ottoman Empire by Emrah Safa Gürkan
    Christian Allies of the Ottoman Empire by Emrah Safa Gürkan The relationship between the Ottomans and the Christians did not evolve around continuous hostility and conflict, as is generally assumed. The Ottomans employed Christians extensively, used Western know-how and technology, and en- couraged European merchants to trade in the Levant. On the state level, too, what dictated international diplomacy was not the religious factors, but rather rational strategies that were the results of carefully calculated priorities, for in- stance, several alliances between the Ottomans and the Christian states. All this cooperation blurred the cultural bound- aries and facilitated the flow of people, ideas, technologies and goods from one civilization to another. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Christians in the Service of the Ottomans 3. Ottoman Alliances with the Christian States 4. Conclusion 5. Appendix 1. Sources 2. Bibliography 3. Notes Citation Introduction Cooperation between the Ottomans and various Christian groups and individuals started as early as the beginning of the 14th century, when the Ottoman state itself emerged. The Ottomans, although a Muslim polity, did not hesitate to cooperate with Christians for practical reasons. Nevertheless, the misreading of the Ghaza (Holy War) literature1 and the consequent romanticization of the Ottomans' struggle in carrying the banner of Islam conceal the true nature of rela- tions between Muslims and Christians. Rather than an inevitable conflict, what prevailed was cooperation in which cul- tural, ethnic, and religious boundaries seemed to disappear. Ÿ1 The Ottomans came into contact and allied themselves with Christians on two levels. Firstly, Christian allies of the Ot- tomans were individuals; the Ottomans employed a number of Christians in their service, mostly, but not always, after they had converted.
    [Show full text]
  • Ottoman History of South-East Europe by Markus Koller
    Ottoman History of South-East Europe by Markus Koller The era of Ottoman Rule, which began in the fourteenth century, is among the most controversial chapters of South-East European history. Over several stages of conquest, some of them several decades long, large parts of South-Eastern Europe were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, or brought under its dominion. While the Ottomans had to surrender the territories north of the Danube and the Sava after the Peace Treaty of 1699, the decline of Ot- toman domination began only in the nineteenth century. Structures of imperial power which had been implemented in varying forms and intensity in different regions were replaced by emerging nation states in the nineteenth century. The development of national identities which accompanied this transformation was greatly determined by the new states distancing themselves from Ottoman rule, and consequently the image of "Turkish rule" has been a mainly negative one until the present. However, latest historical research has shown an increasingly differentiated image of this era of South-East European history. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Military and Political Developments 2. The Timar System 3. Ottoman Provincial Administration 1. Regional Differences in the Ottoman Provincial Administration 4. Islamisation 5. Catholic Christianity, Orthodox Christianity and Judaism 6. Urban Life 7. Appendix 1. Bibliography 2. Notes Indices Citation Military and Political Developments The Ottoman Empire had its roots in North-West Anatolia where in the thirteenth century the Ottoman Emirate was one of numerous minor Turkmen princedoms.1 The expansion of territory started under the founder of the dynasty, Osman (ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Asimi) Qawasim Confederation Migrates to the Coast of the Arab Gulf from the Persian Littoral
    Timeline / Before 1800 to After 1930 / POLITICAL CONTEXT Date Country Theme 1700 United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) Political Context In the early 1700s, the (Al-Qasimi) Qawasim confederation migrates to the coast of the Arab Gulf from the Persian littoral. Here, they establish their main base in Julfar (later Ras al-Khaimah), soon extending their sway all along the lower Gulf, across areas of the east coast and towns on the Persian littoral. 1765 - 1800 Saudi Arabia Political Context In 1765 Imam Muhammad bin Saud establishes the First Saudi State in Arabia, starting with the Najd region, and making its capital the city of Dir‘iyya. 1782 - 1813 Tunisia Political Context During the reign of Hammuda Pasha Bey, known as the “Founder” of modern Tunisia, the Regency of Tunis enjoys a thriving economy and an overall sense of security. 1790 - 1800 United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) Political Context Between around 1790 and the early 1800s, threatened by increasing British inroads into traditional Gulf economies and politics, and supported by the Persians and Omanis, the Qawasim attack British vessels to defend their economic empire in the Lower Gulf. 1797 Austria Political Context Austria and France conclude the Treaty of Campo Formio on 17 October. Austria then cedes to Belgium and Lombardy. To compensate, it gains the eastern part of the Venetian Republic up to the Adige, including Venice, Istria and Dalmatia. 1800 - 1803 Saudi Arabia Political Context Most parts of Arabia become part of the new Saudi State. In 1803, The two holy cities of Mecca (Makkah) and Medina (Madinah), along with the rest of the Hijaz region, join the Saudi State.
    [Show full text]
  • Political and Economic Transition of Ottoman Sovereignty from a Sole Monarch to Numerous Ottoman Elites, 1683–1750S
    Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung. Volume 70 (1), 49 – 90 (2017) DOI: 10.1556/062.2017.70.1.4 POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TRANSITION OF OTTOMAN SOVEREIGNTY FROM A SOLE MONARCH TO NUMEROUS OTTOMAN ELITES, 1683–1750S BIROL GÜNDOĞDU Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen Historisches Institut, Osteuropäische Geschichte Otto-Behaghel-Str. 10, Haus D Raum 205, 35394 Gießen, Deutschland e-mail: [email protected] The aim of this paper is to reveal the transformation of the Ottoman Empire following the debacles of the second siege of Vienna in 1683. The failures compelled the Ottoman state to change its socio- economic and political structure. As a result of this transition of the state structure, which brought about a so-called “redistribution of power” in the empire, new Ottoman elites emerged from 1683 until the 1750s. We have divided the above time span into three stages that will greatly help us com- prehend the Ottoman transition from sultanic authority to numerous autonomies of first Muslim, then non-Muslim elites of the Ottoman Empire. During the first period (1683–1699) we see the emergence of Muslim power players at the expense of sultanic authority. In the second stage (1699–1730) we observe the sultans’ unsuccessful attempts to revive their authority. In the third period (1730–1750) we witness the emergence of non-Muslim notables who gradually came into power with the help of both the sultans and external powers. At the end of this last stage, not only did the authority of Ottoman sultans decrease enormously, but a new era evolved where Muslim and non-Muslim leading figures both fought and co-operated with one another for a new distribution of wealth in the Ottoman Empire.
    [Show full text]
  • HISTORICIZING the OTTOMAN TIMAR SYSTEM: IDENTITIES of TIMAR-HOLDERS, 14TH to 17TH CENTURIES LINDA T. DARLING University of Arizo
    Historicizing the Ottoman Timar System: Identities of Timar-Holders, Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Item Type Article Authors Darling, Linda T. Citation Historicizing the Ottoman System: Identities of -Holders, Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries Darling, Linda T., Turkish Historical Review, 8, 145-173 (2017), DOI:https:// doi.org/10.1163/18775462-00802001 DOI 10.1163/18775462-00802001 Publisher BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS Journal TURKISH HISTORICAL REVIEW Rights Copyright © 2017, Brill. Download date 27/09/2021 18:51:57 Item License http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Version Final accepted manuscript Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/628212 HISTORICIZING THE OTTOMAN TIMAR SYSTEM: IDENTITIES OF TIMAR-HOLDERS, 14TH TO 17TH CENTURIES LINDA T. DARLING University of Arizona [email protected] revised August 2017 13,022 words Abstract: This article aims to develop a new narrative of changes in the Ottoman timar system independent of the complaints of decline brought by advice writers like Mustafa ‘Ali. Based on the icmal defterleri, it examines the identities of timar-holders and their changes over time, a topic generally ignored in descriptions of the Ottoman military. It connects changes in timar-holding with changing conditions in the sultans’ reigns. It then takes a longer-term look at these changes over the half-centuries and finds the well-known complaints in the nasihatnameler to be based on a very short-term view of the system. Keywords: Ottoman Empire; timar system; sipahi; icmal; muhimme; nasihat; ecnebi;
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Gunpowder Empires : Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals / Douglas E
    “Douglas Streusand has contributed a masterful comparative analysis and an up-to- S date reinterpretation of the significance of the early modern Islamic empires. This T book makes profound scholarly insights readily accessible to undergraduate stu- R dents and will be useful in world history surveys as well as more advanced courses.” —Hope Benne, Salem State College E U “Streusand creatively reexamines the military and political history and structures of the SAN Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires. He breaks down the process of transformation and makes their divergent outcomes comprehensible, not only to an audience of special- ists, but also to undergraduates and general readers. Appropriate for courses in world, early modern, or Middle Eastern history as well as the political sociology of empires.” D —Linda T. Darling, University of Arizona “Streusand is to be commended for navigating these hearty and substantial historiogra- phies to pull together an analytical textbook which will be both informative and thought provoking for the undergraduate university audience.” GUNPOWDER EMPIRES —Colin Mitchell, Dalhousie University Islamic Gunpowder Empires provides an illuminating history of Islamic civilization in the early modern world through a comparative examination of Islam’s three greatest empires: the Otto- IS mans (centered in what is now Turkey), the Safavids (in modern Iran), and the Mughals (ruling the Indian subcontinent). Author Douglas Streusand explains the origins of the three empires; compares the ideological, institutional, military, and economic contributors to their success; and L analyzes the causes of their rise, expansion, and ultimate transformation and decline. Streusand depicts the three empires as a part of an integrated international system extending from the At- lantic to the Straits of Malacca, emphasizing both the connections and the conflicts within that AMIC system.
    [Show full text]
  • Kurds for the Empire: “The Young Kurds” (1898-1914)
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Istanbul Bilgi University Library Open Access Kurds for the Empire: “The Young Kurds” (1898-1914) Djene Rhys Bajalan 107671001 İSTANBUL BİLGİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ TARIH YÜKSEK LİSANS PROGRAMI Tez Danışmanı Prof. Dr. Christoph K. Neumann 2009 Kurds for the Empire: “The Young Kurds” (1898-1914) Osmanlıların Kürd Taraftarları: “Jön Kürdler” (1898-1914) Djene Rhys Bajalan 107671001 Tez Danışmanı Prof. Dr. Christoph K. Neumann : .......................................... Jüri Üyesi Yrd. Doç. Dr. M. Erdem Kabadayı : .......................................... Jüri Üyesi Yrd. Doç. Dr. Ahmet Kuyaş : .......................................... Tezin Onaylandığı Tarih : ......................................... Toplam Sayfa Sayısı: Anahtar Kelimeler (Türkçe) Anahtar Kelimeler (İngilizce) 1) Kürtler 1) Kurds 2) Milliyetçilik 2) Nationalism 3) Osmanlılık 3) Ottomanism 4) Kürtçülük 4) Kurdism 5) Jön Türkler 5) Young Turks ii Abstract Kurds for the Empire: “Young Kurds” (1898-1914) During the final years of its existence, the Ottoman Empire witnessed the proliferation of so- called “ethnic” journals and associations. That is, journals and associations which sought to represent and promote the interests of particular ethnic communities residing in the vast domains of the Sultan. While these journals and organisations entertained the broader socio- political objective of ‘awakening’, by means of education, their community, this invites the question: to what ends? In traditional historiography, the presence of such journals and associations has been taken as a sign of the historical obsolescence of the ‘multi-ethnic’ state. This point of view holds that the formation of these journals and organisations was the first ‘proto-nationalist’ stage in a progressive development which ultimately culminated in the formation of fully fledged nationalist movements and new nation-states.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ottoman Gunpowder Empire and the Composite Bow Nathan Lanan Gettysburg College Class of 2012
    Volume 9 Article 4 2010 The Ottoman Gunpowder Empire and the Composite Bow Nathan Lanan Gettysburg College Class of 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ghj Part of the Islamic World and Near East History Commons, and the Military History Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Lanan, Nathan (2010) "The Ottoman Gunpowder Empire and the Composite Bow," The Gettysburg Historical Journal: Vol. 9 , Article 4. Available at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/ghj/vol9/iss1/4 This open access article is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Ottoman Gunpowder Empire and the Composite Bow Abstract The Ottoman Empire is known today as a major Gunpowder Empire, famous for its prevalent use of this staple of modern warfare as early as the sixteenth century. However, when Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq visited Constantinople from 1554 to 1562, gunpowder was not used by the Sipahi cavalry who stubbornly, it seems, insisted on continuing to use the composite bow that the Turks had been using for centuries. This continued, despite their fear of European cavalry who used “small muskets” against them on raids. Was this a good idea? Was the composite bow a match or contemporary handheld firearms? Were Turkish tactics incompatible with firearms to the point that the Ottomans would have lost their effectiveness on the battlefield? Could the
    [Show full text]