Ottoman History

Ottoman History

Orhan, also called Orhan Gazi, Orhan also spelled Orkhan(born 1288—died 1360) the second ruler of the Ottoman dynasty, which had been founded by his father,Osman I. Orhan’s reign (1324–60) marked the beginning of Ottoman expansion into the Balkans.
Under Orhan’s leadership, the small Ottoman principality in northwesternAnatolia continued to attract Ghazis (warriors for the Islamic faith) from surrounding Turkish emirates fighting against Byzantium. In 1324 the Byzantine town of Brusa (later Bursa) fell to the Ottomans, followed by Nicaea (modern İznik) in 1331 and Nicomedia (modern İzmit) in 1337.

If you read many Western histories of the Ottoman Empire, you may not even learn that the Ottomans were a Muslim empire. They are often seen as a typical European multi-cultural empire whose only purpose in existence was to promote its own interests. The truth is far from this, however. Throughout its history from the 1300s to the early 1900s, the Ottoman Empire was a strongly Muslim state at its core. Islamic law and ideas formed the basis of society, law, and government. Ottoman sultans saw themselves as the protectors of the Muslim world. With this emphasis on Islam, however, protection for other religions in the empire was ensured in ways that would take Christian Europe centuries to match.

The Ghazis

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Ottoman conflicts with European powers overshadowed relations with the Safavids.

OTTOMAN-PERSIAN RELATIONS
ii. AFSHARID AND ZAND PERIODS

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Ottoman conflicts with European powers overshadowed relations with the Safavids. Following the 1718 Passarowitz Treaty between Austria and the Ottoman empire, Sultan Aḥmad III dispatched a mission to Isfahan to conclude an agreement with Shah Solṭān Ḥosayn making Persian goods destined for Austria duty-free. This Ottoman delegation arrived in Persia in early 1720 just at the beginning of the Afghan invasion that would end two centuries of Safavid rule by Moḥarram 1135/ October 1722.

Ottoman Turks produced and perfected several varieties of Arabic script. All the various branches of the art of calligraphy, an art greatly loved and respected by the Ottoman Turks, were flourished particularly in the city of Istanbul.

When, in the tenth century, the Turks migrated to the West from their original home in the steppes of northwest China, they came into contact in Turkestan, Afghanistan and Iran with the religion and culture of the Islamic world. The mass conversion to Islamic, which resulted from this migration, was accompanied by the abandonment of the old Uyghur alphabet they had formerly employed and the adoption of the Arabic script they were to use for nearly a thousand years until the introduction of the new Turkish alphabet in 1928. However, the inherently artistic nature of the Turks inspired them with deep love for the Arabic script, which they themselves greatly improved by the introduction of a number of changes in form.

Within the Ottoman Empire, the Turks had constituted merely one of many linguistic and ethnic groups. In fact, for the ruling elite, the word Türk connoted crudeness and boorishness. Members of the civil, military, and religious elites conversed and conducted their business in Ottoman Turkish, which was a mixture of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Arabic remained the primary language of religion and religious law (see Religious Life, this ch.). Persian was the language of art, refined literature, and diplomacy. At an official level, Ottoman Turkish usually was used only for matters pertaining to the administration of the empire. Ottoman Turkish not only borrowed vocabulary from Arabic and Persian but also lifted entire expressions and syntactic structures out of these languages and incorporated them into the Ottoman idiom.

Mehmed II, byname Mehmed Fatih (Turkish: Mehmed the Conqueror) (born March 30, 1432, Adrianople, Thrace, Ottoman Empire—died May 3, 1481, Hunkârçayırı, near Maltepe, near Constantinople) Ottomansultan from 1444 to 1446 and from 1451 to 1481. A great military leader, he capturedConstantinople and conquered the territories in Anatolia and the Balkans that comprised the Ottoman Empire’s heartland for the next four centuries.

The Ottoman Empire was one of the largest and longest-surviving empires in history. It existed in one form or another from the turn of the fourteenth century until 1922, and at its greatest extent reached to Croatia and Algeria in the west, the Persian Gulf in the east, Ukraine in the north and Yemen in the south. The empire played a significant role in the history of Europe: it ruled large parts of eastern and southern Europe; it was an important antagonist or ally of all the European powers; and it was a major trading partner for European societies.

The Blue Mosque (Called Sultanahmet Camii in Turkish) is an historical mosque in Istanbul. The mosque is known as the Blue Mosque because of blue tiles surrounding the walls of interior design.Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 years, during the rule of Ahmed I. just like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasa and a hospice.Besides still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular tourist attraction in Istanbul.

Besides being tourist attraction, it's also a active mosque, so it's closed to non worshippers for a half hour or so during the five daily prayers.

Best way to see great architecture of the Blue Mosque is to approach it from the Hippodrome. (West side of the mosque) As if you are non-Muslim visitor, you also have to use same direction to enter the Mosque.

Sultan Murad III was born in 1546 in Manisa. His father was sultan Selim II and mother was Afife Nur Banu Hatun, a former Venetian nobel lady. He received a serious education from theologians and scholars, he spoke fluent Arabic and Persian. Murad III ascended to throne in 1574 after the death of his father. Murad III was very religious thus he led a life based on the rules of Sharia. He respected religious orders and their leaders, and interested in mysticism and poetry. At the same time he liked alcohol and parties at the Harem, he never left Istanbul during his rule which lasted for about 21 years.

Sultan Murad IV was born in June 26, 1612 in Istanbul. His father is Sultan Ahmet I and his mother is Mahpeyker Kosem Sultana. His mother is Greek originated. Murad was a tall, huge man with a round face. He is one of the most powerful sultans of the Ottoman history. He was very good at archery. He was so intelligent, strong, courageous and energetic. He proved his strength in the wars he had taken place. Murad was a very religious man and he called the Seyhulislam Yahya Efendi (Minister of Religious Affairs) as "father". He had forbidden tobacco and alcohol. In his period to go out at nights was forbidden too.