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Very briefly... Pascal once said: only when we finish a planned composition do we understand where we should have started it. Well, for a professional author this is just a reason to go back and rewrite what he has planned, that’s why he’s a pro, but for a beginner it’s an impetus for cowardice and

• Anatolia (Asia Minor), where Turkey is located, was the cradle of many civilizations in ancient times. By the time the ancestors of modern Turks arrived, the Byzantine Empire existed here - a Greek Orthodox state with its capital in Constantinople (Istanbul). Those who fought with the Byzantines Arab caliphs Turkic tribes were invited to military service and were allocated border and empty lands for settlement.
• The state of the Seljuk Turks arose with its capital in Konya, which gradually expanded its borders to almost the entire territory of Asia Minor. Destroyed by the Mongols.
• In the lands conquered from the Byzantines, the Turkish Sultanate was founded with its capital in the city of Bursa. The Janissaries became the basis of the power of the Turkish sultans.
• The Turks, having conquered lands in Europe, moved their capital to the city of Adrianople (Edirne). European possessions Turkey received the name Rumelia.
• The Turks took Constantinople (see Fall of Constantinople) and made it the capital of the empire.
• Under Selim the Terrible, Türkiye conquered Syria, Arabia and Egypt. Turkish Sultan deposed last caliph in Cairo and himself became caliph.
• The Battle of Mohacs took place, during which the Turks defeated the Czech-Hungarian army and occupied Hungary and approached the walls of Vienna. At the height of its power, during the reign of Suleiman "the Magnificent" (-), the empire stretched from the gates of Vienna to the Persian Gulf, from the Crimea to Morocco.
• The Turks captured Ukrainian territories west of the Dnieper.

Rise of an Empire

The Ottomans clashed with the Serbian rulers and won victories at Chernomen () and Savra ().

Battle of Kosovo Field

Early 15th century

His strong opponent was the Albanian hostage Iskander Beg (or Skanderbeg), who was brought up at the Ottoman court and was Murad’s favorite, who converted to Islam and contributed to its spread in Albania. Then he wanted to make a new attack on Constantinople, which was not dangerous for him militarily, but was very valuable due to its geographical position. Death prevented him from carrying out this plan, carried out by his son Mehmed II (1451-81).

Capture of Constantinople

The pretext for the war was that Constantine Palaeologus, the Byzantine emperor, did not want to hand over to Mehmed his relative Orkhan (son of Suleiman, grandson of Bayazet), whom he was saving for inciting unrest, as a possible contender for the Ottoman throne. In power Byzantine Emperor there was only a small strip of land along the banks of the Bosphorus; the number of his troops did not exceed 6,000, and the nature of the administration of the empire made it even weaker. There were already quite a few Turks living in the city itself; the Byzantine government, starting from Muslim mosques next to Orthodox churches. Only the extremely convenient geographical position of Constantinople and strong fortifications made it possible to resist.

Mehmed II sent an army of 150,000 people against the city. and a fleet of 420 small sailing ships blocking the entrance to the Golden Horn. The armament of the Greeks and their military art were somewhat higher than the Turkish, but the Ottomans also managed to arm themselves quite well. Murad II also established several factories for casting cannons and making gunpowder, which were run by Hungarian and other Christian engineers who converted to Islam for the benefits of renegadeism. Many of the Turkish guns made a lot of noise, but did no real harm to the enemy; some of them exploded and killed a significant number of Turkish soldiers. Mehmed began preliminary siege work in the fall of 1452, and in April 1453 he began a proper siege. The Byzantine government turned to Christian powers for help; the pope hastened to respond with a promise to preach a crusade against the Turks, if only Byzantium agreed to unite the churches; the Byzantine government indignantly rejected this proposal. Of the other powers, Genoa alone sent a small squadron with 6,000 men. under the command of Giustiniani. The squadron bravely broke through the Turkish blockade and landed troops on the shores of Constantinople, which doubled the forces of the besieged. The siege continued for two months. A significant part of the population lost their heads and, instead of joining the ranks of the fighters, prayed in churches; the army, both Greek and Genoese, resisted extremely courageously. It was led by Emperor Constantine Palaiologos, who fought with the courage of despair and died in a skirmish. On May 29, the Ottomans opened the city.

Rise of Ottoman power (1453-1614)

The conquest of Greece brought the Turks into conflict with Venice, which entered into a coalition with Naples, the Pope and Karaman (an independent Muslim khanate in Asia Minor, ruled by Khan Uzun Hasan).

The war lasted 16 years in the Morea, the Archipelago and Asia Minor simultaneously (1463-79) and ended in victory for the Ottoman state. According to the Peace of Constantinople of 1479, Venice ceded to the Ottomans several cities in Morea, the island of Lemnos and other islands of the Archipelago (Negropont was captured by the Turks back in the city); The Karaman Khanate recognized the power of the Sultan. After the death of Skanderbeg (), the Turks captured Albania, then Herzegovina. In the city they waged war with Crimean Khan Mengli Giray and forced him to admit that he was dependent on the Sultan. This victory was very important for the Turks. military significance, because Crimean Tatars they supplied them with auxiliary troops, at times numbering 100 thousand people; but later it became fatal for the Turks, as it pitted them against Russia and Poland. In 1476, the Ottomans devastated Moldavia and made it a vassal state.

This ended the period of conquest for some time. The Ottomans owned the entire Balkan Peninsula up to the Danube and Sava, almost all the islands of the Archipelago and Asia Minor to Trebizond and almost to the Euphrates, beyond the Danube, Wallachia and Moldavia were also very dependent on them. Everywhere was ruled either directly by Ottoman officials or by local rulers who were approved by the Porte and were completely subordinate to it.

Reign of Bayazet II

None of the previous sultans did as much to expand the borders of the Ottoman Empire as Mehmed II, who remained in history with the nickname “Conqueror”. He was succeeded by his son Bayazet II (1481-1512) in the midst of unrest. The younger brother Cem, relying on the great vizier Mogamet-Karamaniya and taking advantage of the absence of Bayazet from Constantinople at the time of his father’s death, proclaimed himself sultan.

Bayazet collected the remaining loyal troops; The hostile armies met at Angora. Victory remained with the older brother; Cem fled to Rhodes, from there to Europe and after long wanderings found himself in the hands of Pope Alexander VI, who offered Bayazet to poison his brother for 300,000 ducats. Bayazet accepted the offer, paid the money, and Cem was poisoned (). Bayazet's reign was marked by several more uprisings of his sons, which ended (except for the last one) successfully for the father; Bayazet took the rebels and executed them. However, Turkish historians characterize Bayazet as a peace-loving and meek man, a patron of art and literature.

Indeed, there was a certain halt in the Ottoman conquests, but more due to failures than to the peacefulness of the government. The Bosnian and Serbian pashas repeatedly raided Dalmatia, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and subjected them to cruel devastation; Several attempts were made to take Belgrade, but without success. The death of Matthew Corvinus caused anarchy in Hungary and seemed to favor Ottoman designs against that state.

The long war, waged with some interruptions, ended, however, not particularly favorably for the Turks. According to the peace concluded in the city, Hungary defended all its possessions and although it had to recognize the right of the Ottoman Empire to tribute from Moldavia and Wallachia, it did not renounce the supreme rights to these two states (more in theory than in reality). In Greece, Navarino (Pylos), Modon and Coron () were conquered.

The first relations between the Ottoman state and Russia date back to the time of Bayazet II: ambassadors of Grand Duke Ivan III appeared in Constantinople to ensure unimpeded trade for Russian merchants in the Ottoman Empire. They entered into an agreement with Bayazet friendly relations and other European powers, especially Naples, Venice, Florence, Milan and the Pope, seeking his friendship; Bayazet skillfully balanced between everyone.

His main attention was directed to the East. He started a war with Persia, but did not have time to end it; in the city, his youngest son Selim rebelled against him at the head of the Janissaries, defeated him and overthrew him from the throne. Soon Bayazet died, most likely from poison; Selim's other relatives were also exterminated.

Reign of Selim I

The war in Asia continued under Selim I (1512-20). In addition to the usual Ottoman desire for conquest, this war also had religious reason: the Turks were Sunnis, Selim, as an extreme zealot of Sunnism, passionately hated the Shia Persians, on his orders up to 40,000 Shiites living on Ottoman territory were destroyed. The war was fought with varying degrees of success, but final victory, although far from complete, was on the side of the Turks. Around the world, Persia ceded to the Ottoman Empire the regions of Diyarbakir and Mosul, which lie along the upper reaches of the Tigris.

The Egyptian Sultan of Kansu-Gavri sent an embassy to Selim with a peace offer. Selim ordered to kill all members of the embassy. Kansu stepped forward to meet him; the battle took place in the Dolbec Valley. Thanks to his artillery, Selim won complete victory; The Mamelukes fled, Kansu died during the escape. Damascus opened the gates to the winner; after him, all of Syria submitted to the Sultan, and Mecca and Medina surrendered under his protection (). The new Egyptian Sultan Tuman Bey, after several defeats, had to cede Cairo to the Turkish vanguard; but at night he entered the city and destroyed the Turks. Selim, not being able to take Cairo without a stubborn fight, invited its inhabitants to surrender with the promise of their favors; the inhabitants surrendered - and Selim carried out a terrible massacre in the city. Fog Bey was also beheaded when, during the retreat, he was defeated and captured ().

Selim reproached him for not wanting to obey him, the Commander of the Faithful, and developed a theory, bold in the mouth of a Muslim, according to which he, as the ruler of Constantinople, is the heir of the Eastern Roman Empire and, therefore, has the right to all the lands ever included in its composition.

Realizing the impossibility of ruling Egypt solely through his pashas, ​​who would inevitably eventually become independent, Selim retained next to them 24 Mameluke leaders, who were considered subordinate to the pasha, but enjoyed a certain independence and could complain about the pasha to Constantinople. Selim was one of the most cruel Ottoman sultans; besides his father and brothers, besides countless captives, he executed seven of his great viziers during the eight years of his reign. At the same time, he patronized literature and himself left a significant number of Turkish and Arabic poems. In the memory of the Turks he remained with the nickname Yavuz (unyielding, stern).

Reign of Suleiman I

Union with France

The closest neighbor of the Ottoman state and its most dangerous enemy was Austria, and entering into a serious struggle with it without enlisting anyone’s support was risky. France was the natural ally of the Ottomans in this struggle. The first relations between the Ottoman Empire and France began in the city; Since then, both states have exchanged embassies several times, but this did not lead to practical results. In 1517, King Francis I of France proposed to the German Emperor and Ferdinand the Catholic an alliance against the Turks with the aim of expelling them from Europe and dividing up their possessions, but this alliance did not take place. : the interests of the named European powers were too opposed to each other. On the contrary, France and the Ottoman Empire did not come into contact with each other anywhere and they had no immediate reasons for hostility. Therefore, France, which once took such an ardent part in the Crusades, decided to take a bold step: a real military alliance with a Muslim power against a Christian power. The final impetus was given by the unfortunate Battle of Pavia for the French, during which the king was captured. Regent Louise of Savoy sent an embassy to Constantinople in February 1525, but it was beaten by the Turks in Bosnia, undoubtedly against the wishes of the Sultan. Not embarrassed by this event, Francis I sent an envoy from captivity to the Sultan with a proposal for an alliance; the Sultan was supposed to attack Hungary, and Francis promised war with Spain. At the same time, Charles V made similar proposals to the Ottoman Sultan, but the Sultan preferred an alliance with France.

Soon after, Francis sent a request to Constantinople to allow the restoration of at least one catholic church, but received a decisive refusal from the Sultan in the name of the principles of Islam, along with a promise of all kinds of protection for Christians and protection of their safety ().

Military successes

Reign of Mahmud I

Under Mahmud I (1730-54), who was an exception among the Ottoman sultans with his gentleness and humanity (he did not kill the deposed sultan and his sons and generally avoided executions), the war with Persia continued, without definite results. The war with Austria ended with the Peace of Belgrade (1739), according to which the Turks received Serbia with Belgrade and Orsova. Russia acted more successfully against the Ottomans, but the conclusion of peace by the Austrians forced the Russians to make concessions; Of its conquests, Russia retained only Azov, but with the obligation to demolish the fortifications.

During the reign of Mahmud, the first Turkish printing house was founded by Ibrahim Basmaji. The Mufti, after some hesitation, gave a fatwa, with which, in the name of the interests of enlightenment, he blessed the undertaking, and the Sultan Gatti Sherif authorized it. It was only forbidden to print the Koran and holy books. In the first period of the printing house’s existence, 15 works were printed there (Arabic and Persian dictionaries, several books on the history of the Ottoman state and general geography, military art, political Economy etc.). After the death of Ibrahim Basmaji, the printing house closed, a new one appeared only in the city.

Mahmud I, who died of natural causes, was succeeded by his brother Osman III (1754-57), whose reign was peaceful and who died in the same way as his brother.

Attempts at reform (1757-1839)

Reign of Abdul Hamid I

The Empire at this time was almost everywhere in a state of ferment. The Greeks, excited by Orlov, were worried, but, left by the Russians without help, they were quickly and easily pacified and cruelly punished. Ahmed Pasha of Baghdad declared himself independent; Taher, supported by Arab nomads, accepted the title of Sheikh of Galilee and Acre; Egypt under the rule of Muhammad Ali did not even think of paying tribute; Northern Albania, ruled by Mahmud, Pasha of Scutari, was in a state of complete rebellion; Ali, Pasha of Yanin, clearly sought to establish an independent kingdom.

The entire reign of Adbul Hamid was occupied with pacifying these uprisings, which could not be achieved due to the lack of money and disciplined troops from the Ottoman government. This was joined by a new war with Russia and Austria (1787-91), again unsuccessful for the Ottomans. It ended with the Peace of Yassy with Russia (1792), according to which Russia finally acquired Crimea and the space between the Bug and the Dniester, and the Peace of Sistov with Austria (1791). The latter was comparatively favorable for the Ottoman Empire, since its main enemy, Joseph II, had died and Leopold II was directing all his attention to France. Austria returned to the Ottomans most of the acquisitions it made during this war. Peace was already concluded under Abdul Hamid's nephew, Selim III (1789-1807). In addition to territorial losses, the war brought one significant change to the life of the Ottoman state: before it began (1785), the empire entered into its first public debt, first internal, guaranteed by some state revenues.

Reign of Selim III

Kuchuk-Hussein moved against Pasvan-Oglu and led with him real war, which did not have a definite result. The government finally entered into negotiations with the rebellious governor and recognized his lifelong rights to rule the Viddinsky pashalyk, in fact on the basis of almost complete independence.

The war with the French had barely ended (1801) when the uprising of the Janissaries began in Belgrade, dissatisfied with the reforms in the army. Their oppression sparked a popular movement in Serbia () under the leadership of Karageorgi. The government initially supported the movement, but it soon developed into a real popular uprising, and the Ottoman Empire had to begin military action. The matter was complicated by the war started by Russia (1806-1812). Reforms had to be postponed again: the Grand Vizier and other senior officials and military personnel were at the theater of military operations.

Coup attempt

Only the kaymakam (assistant to the grand vizier) and deputy ministers remained in Constantinople. Sheikh-ul-Islam took advantage of this moment to plot against the Sultan. The ulema and janissaries took part in the conspiracy, among whom rumors were spread about the Sultan’s intention to distribute them among the regiments of the standing army. The Kaimaks also joined the conspiracy. On the appointed day, a detachment of Janissaries unexpectedly attacked the garrison of the standing army stationed in Constantinople and carried out a massacre among them. Another part of the Janissaries surrounded Selim's palace and demanded that he execute people they hated. Selim had the courage to refuse. He was arrested and taken into custody. Abdul Hamid's son, Mustafa IV (1807-08), was proclaimed Sultan. The massacre in the city continued for two days. Sheikh-ul-Islam and Kaymakam ruled on behalf of the powerless Mustafa. But Selim had his followers.

Even in the territory remaining with the empire, the government did not feel confident. In Serbia, an uprising began in the city, ending only after Serbia was recognized by the Peace of Adrianople as a separate vassal state, with its own prince at its head. The uprising of Ali Pasha of Yanin began in the city. As a result of the treason of his own sons, he was defeated, captured and executed; but a significant part of his army formed cadres of Greek rebels. In the city, the uprising, which developed into the War of Independence, began in Greece. After the intervention of Russia, France and England and the Battle of Navarino (sea) which was unfortunate for the Ottoman Empire, in which the Turkish and Egyptian fleets were lost, the Ottomans lost Greece.

Army reform

In the midst of these uprisings, Mahmud decided to boldly reform the Janissary army. The Janissary corps was replenished with annual intakes of Christian children of 1000 annually (in addition, service in the Janissary army was inherited, for the Janissaries had families), but at the same time it was reduced due to constant wars and rebellions. Under Suleiman there were 40,000 Janissaries, under Mehmed III - 1,016,000. During the reign of Mehmed IV, an attempt was made to limit the number of Janissaries to 55 thousand, but it failed due to their rebellion, and by the end of the reign their number rose to 200 thousand. Under Mahmud II it was probably even greater (salaries were given to more than 400,000 people), but it is completely impossible to accurately determine it precisely due to the complete indiscipline of the Janissaries.

The number of orts or ods (detachments) was 229, of which 77 were stationed in Constantinople; but the agis themselves (officers) did not know the true composition of their odes and tried to exaggerate it, since in accordance with it they received salaries for the Janissaries, which partly remained in their pockets. Sometimes salaries, especially in the provinces, were not paid at all for entire years, and then even this incentive to collect statistical data disappeared. When rumors spread about the reform project, the Janissary leaders at a meeting decided to demand that the Sultan execute its authors; but the Sultan, who foresaw this, sent a standing army against them, distributed weapons to the population of the capital and proclaimed a religious war against the Janissaries.

A battle took place in the streets of Constantinople and in the barracks; government supporters broke into homes and exterminated the Janissaries with their wives and children; The Janissaries, taken by surprise, offered almost no resistance. At least 10,000, and according to more accurate information, up to 20,000 Janissaries were exterminated; the corpses were thrown into the Bosphorus. The rest fled across the country and joined bandits. In the provinces, arrests and executions of officers were carried out on a large scale, while the mass of the Janissaries surrendered and were distributed to the regiments.

Following the Janissaries, on the basis of the Mufti's fatwa, the Bektashi dervishes, who had always served as faithful companions of the Janissaries, were partly executed and partly expelled.

Military losses

Getting rid of the Janissaries and Dervishes () did not save the Turks from defeat both in the war with the Serbs and in the war with the Greeks. These two wars and in connection with them were followed by a war with Russia (1828-29), ending with the Peace of Adrianople in 1829. The Ottoman Empire lost Serbia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Greece, and the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

Following this, Muhammad Ali, Khedive of Egypt (1831-1833 and 1839), broke away from the Ottoman Empire. In the fight against last empire suffered blows that put her very existence at stake; but she was saved twice (1833 and 1839) by the unexpected intercession of Russia, caused by fear European war, which would probably have been caused by the collapse of the Ottoman state. However, this intercession also brought real benefits to Russia: around the world in Gunkyar Skelessi (), the Ottoman Empire granted Russian ships passage through the Dardanelles, closing it to England. At the same time, the French decided to take Algeria from the Ottomans (since 2006), which had previously, however, been only nominally dependent on the empire.

Civil reforms

The wars did not stop Mahmud's reform plans; private reforms in the army continued throughout his reign. He also cared about raising the level of education among the people; with him () began to go out to French the first newspaper in the Ottoman Empire that had an official character (“Moniteur ottoman”), then () the first Ottoman also official newspaper “Takvim-i-vekai” - “Diary of Incidents”.

Like Peter the Great, perhaps even consciously imitating him, Mahmud sought to introduce European morals among the people; he himself wore a European costume and encouraged his officials to do so, prohibited the wearing of a turban, organized festivities in Constantinople and other cities with fireworks, with European music and generally according to the European model. He did not live to see the most important reforms of the civil system conceived by him; they were already the work of his heir. But even the little he did went against the religious feelings of the Muslim population. He began to mint coins with his image, which is directly prohibited in the Koran (the news that previous sultans also removed portraits of themselves is subject to great doubt).

Throughout his reign, Muslim riots caused by religious feelings incessantly occurred in different parts of the state, especially in Constantinople; the government dealt with them extremely cruelly: sometimes 4,000 corpses were thrown into the Bosphorus in a few days. At the same time, Mahmud did not hesitate to execute even the ulema and dervishes, who were generally his bitter enemies.

During the reign of Mahmud there were especially many fires in Constantinople, some of them caused by arson; the people explained them as God's punishment for the sins of the Sultan.

Results of the board

The extermination of the Janissaries, which at first damaged the Ottoman Empire, depriving it of a bad, but still not useless army, after several years turned out to be extremely beneficial: the Ottoman army rose to the level of European armies, which was clearly proven in Crimean campaign and even more during the war of 1877-78 and in Greek war d. The territorial reduction, especially the loss of Greece, also turned out to be more beneficial than harmful for the empire.

The Ottomans never allowed Christians to serve in military service; regions with a solid Christian population (Greece and Serbia), without increasing the Turkish army, at the same time required significant military garrisons from it, which could not be put into action in a moment of need. This applies in particular to Greece, which, due to its extended maritime border did not even represent strategic benefits for the Ottoman Empire, which was stronger on land than at sea. The loss of territories reduced the state revenues of the empire, but during the reign of Mahmud, the trade of the Ottoman Empire with European states, the country's productivity increased slightly (bread, tobacco, grapes, rose oil, etc.).

Thus, despite all external defeats, despite even the terrible battle of Nizib, in which Muhammad Ali destroyed a significant Ottoman army and was followed by the loss of an entire fleet, Mahmud left Abdülmecid a state strengthened rather than weakened. It was also strengthened by the fact that from now on the interest of the European powers was more closely connected with the preservation of the Ottoman state. The importance of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles has increased enormously; The European powers felt that the capture of Constantinople by one of them would deal an irreparable blow to the others, and therefore they considered the preservation of the weak Ottoman Empire more profitable for themselves.

In general, the empire was still decaying, and Nicholas I rightly called it a sick person; but the death of the Ottoman state was delayed for indefinite time. Beginning with Crimean War, the empire began to intensively make foreign loans, and this gained it the influential support of its numerous creditors, that is, mainly the financiers of England. On the other side, internal reforms, which could raise the state and save it from destruction, became in the 19th century. It's getting more and more difficult. Russia was afraid of these reforms, since they could strengthen the Ottoman Empire, and through its influence at the court of the Sultan tried to make them impossible; Thus, in 1876-77, she killed Midhad Pasha, who was capable of carrying out serious reforms that were not inferior in importance to the reforms of Sultan Mahmud.

Reign of Abdul-Mecid (1839-1861)

Mahmud was succeeded by his 16-year-old son Abdul-Mejid, who was not distinguished by his energy and inflexibility, but was a much more cultured and gentle person in character.

Despite everything Mahmud did, the Battle of Nisib could have completely destroyed the Ottoman Empire if Russia, England, Austria and Prussia had not entered into an alliance to protect the integrity of the Porte (); They drew up a treaty, by virtue of which the Egyptian viceroy retained Egypt on a hereditary basis, but undertook to immediately cleanse Syria, and in case of refusal he had to lose all his possessions. This alliance caused indignation in France, which supported Muhammad Ali, and Thiers even made preparations for war; however, Louis-Philippe did not dare to take it. Despite the inequality of power, Muhammad Ali was ready to resist; but the English squadron bombarded Beirut, burned the Egyptian fleet and landed a corps of 9,000 people in Syria, which, with the help of the Maronites, inflicted several defeats on the Egyptians. Muhammad Ali conceded; The Ottoman Empire was saved, and Abdulmecid, supported by Khozrev Pasha, Reshid Pasha and other associates of his father, began reforms.

Gulhanei Hutt Sheriff

• providing all subjects with perfect security regarding their life, honor and property;
• the correct way to distribute and collect taxes;
• an equally correct way of recruiting soldiers.

It was recognized as necessary to change the distribution of taxes in the sense of their equalization and abandon the system of farming them out, determine the costs of land and naval forces; publicity of the proceedings was established. All these benefits applied to all subjects of the Sultan without distinction of religion. The Sultan himself took an oath of allegiance to the Hatti Sheriff. All that remained was to actually fulfill the promise.

Tanzimat

The reform carried out during the reign of Abdul-Mejid and partly his successor Abdul-Aziz is known under the name tanzimat (from Arabic tanzim - order, arrangement; sometimes the epithet khairiye - beneficent is added). The tanzimat includes a number of activities: the continuation of army reform, the new division of the empire into vilayets governed according to one general model, the establishment of a state council, the establishment of provincial councils (majlis), the first attempts at transfer public education from the hands of the clergy to the hands secular authorities, the criminal code of 1840, the commercial code, the establishment of the ministries of justice and public education(), charter of commercial proceedings (1860).

In 1858, the trade in slaves within the Ottoman Empire was prohibited, although slavery itself was not prohibited (formally, slavery was only abolished with the declaration of the Turkish Republic in the 20th century).

Gumayun

Was besieged by rebels. Detachments of volunteers moved from Montenegro and Serbia to help the rebels. The movement aroused great interest abroad, especially in Russia and Austria; the latter turned to the Porte demanding religious equality, lower taxes, revision of real estate laws, etc. The Sultan immediately promised to fulfill all this (February 1876), but the rebels did not agree to lay down their weapons until the Ottoman troops were withdrawn from Herzegovina. The ferment spread to Bulgaria, where the Ottomans, in response, carried out a terrible massacre (see Bulgaria), which caused indignation throughout Europe (Gladstone's brochure about the atrocities in Bulgaria), entire villages were massacred, including infants. The Bulgarian uprising was drowned in blood, but the Herzegovinian and Bosnian uprising continued in 1876 and finally caused the intervention of Serbia and Montenegro (1876-77; see.

For almost 400 years, the Ottoman Empire controlled most of the territories of Southeast Europe, Turkey and the Middle East. It was founded by brave Turkic horsemen, but the empire soon lost much of its original power and vitality, falling into a state of functional dysfunction that held many secrets.

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Fratricide

IN early periods The Ottoman sultans did not practice the principle of primogeniture, when the eldest son is the only heir. Therefore, all existing brothers claimed the throne at once, and the losers then went over to the side of enemy states and for a long time caused many problems to the victorious Sultan.

When Mehmed the Conqueror tried to conquer Constantinople, his uncle fought against him from the walls of the city. Mehmed solved the problem with his characteristic ruthlessness. After ascending the throne, he simply ordered the killing of male relatives, including not sparing his infant brother. Later, he issued a law that deprived more than one generation of life: “And the one of my sons who leads the Sultanate must kill his brothers. Most ulema allow themselves to do this anyway. So let them continue to act like this.”

From that moment on, each new sultan took the throne by killing all his male relatives. Mehmed III tore out his beard out of grief when his younger brother asked not to kill him. But he "did not answer a single word," and the boy was executed along with 18 other brothers. The sight of their 19 wrapped bodies being driven through the streets was said to have made the whole of Istanbul cry.

Even after the first round of murders, the rest of the Sultan's relatives were also dangerous. Suleiman the Magnificent watched silently from behind the screen as his own son was strangled with a bowstring; the boy became too popular in the army, so that the Sultan could not feel safe.

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The principle of fratricide was never popular among the people and the clergy, so it was quietly abolished after sudden death Sultan Ahmed in 1617. Instead, potential heirs to the throne were kept at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul in special rooms known as "Kafes" ("cages").

One could spend one's entire life imprisoned in Kafes under the constant supervision of guards. Imprisonment was generally luxurious in terms of conditions, but with very strict restrictions. Many princes went crazy from boredom, or went into debauchery and drunkenness. When the new sultan was brought to the Gate of the Sovereign so that the viziers could pledge their loyalty to him, it may have been the first time he had gone outside in several decades, which did not bode well for the abilities of the new ruler.

In addition, the threat of liquidation from the ruling relative was constant. In 1621, the Grand Mufti refused Osman II's request to strangle his brother. Then he turned to the chief judge, who made the opposite decision, and the prince was strangled. Osman himself was later overthrown by the military, who were to remove his surviving brother from Kafes by dismantling the roof and pulling him out on a rope. The poor man spent two days without food or water, and was probably too distraught to notice that he had become Sultan.

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Silent Hell in the Palace

Even for the Sultan, life in Topkapi could be extremely boring and unbearable. It was then considered that it was indecent for the Sultan to talk too much, so it was introduced special language gestures, and the ruler spent most of his time in complete silence. Sultan Mustafa found this completely unbearable and tried to lift such a ban, but his viziers refused. Mustafa soon went crazy and threw coins from the shore to the fish so that they would spend them.

Intrigues in the palace were constantly woven in large quantities, since viziers, courtiers, and eunuchs fought for power. For 130 years, the women of the harem had great influence, a period that became known as " female sultanate" Dragoman (chief translator) was always an influential person, and always a Greek. The eunuchs were divided according to racial, the Chief Black Eunuch and the Chief White Eunuch were often bitter rivals.

At the center of this madness, the Sultan was under surveillance wherever he went. Ahmet III wrote to the Grand Vizier: “If I go from one room to another, 40 people line up, when I need to put on my pants, I do not feel the slightest comfort in this environment, so the squire must dismiss everyone, leaving only three or four people to I could be calm." Spending your days in complete silence under constant monitoring and in such a poisonous atmosphere, several Ottoman sultans last period lost their minds.

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The authorities in the Ottoman Empire had complete control over both the life and death of their subjects. Moreover, death was quite commonplace. The first courtyard of the Topkapi Palace, where petitioners and guests gathered, was a terrible place. There were two columns on which severed heads hung and a special fountain in which only executioners could wash their hands. During periodic total “cleansings” in the palace, entire mounds of cut-out tongues of the guilty were piled up in this courtyard, and a special cannon fired every time another body was thrown into the sea.

It is interesting that the Turks did not specifically create a corps of executioners. This work was performed by the palace gardeners, who divided their time between executions and growing delicious flowers. They beheaded most of their victims. But shedding the blood of members royal family and high-ranking officials were prohibited, they were awaited by strangulation. As a result, the head gardener was always a huge, muscular man who was capable of strangling any vizier at a moment's notice.

In the early periods, the viziers were proud of their obedience, and any decision of the Sultan was accepted without complaint. The famous vizier Kara Mustafa very respectfully greeted his executioner with the humble words “Let it be so,” while kneeling with a noose around his neck.

In subsequent years, attitudes towards this type of business management changed. In the 19th century, Governor Ali Pasha fought so hard against the Sultan's men that he had to be shot through the floorboards of his house.

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There was one way for the faithful vizier to avoid the wrath of the Sultan and stay alive. Beginning in the late 18th century, a custom arose that a convicted grand vizier could avoid execution by defeating the head gardener in a race through the palace gardens.

The condemned man was brought to a meeting with the head gardener, and after an exchange of greetings, the vizier was presented with a cup of frozen sherbet. If the sherbet was white, it meant that the Sultan had granted a reprieve. If it is red, then an execution must take place. As soon as the vizier saw the red sherbet, he had to immediately run away.

The viziers ran through the palace gardens between shady cypress trees and rows of tulips, while hundreds of eyes watched them from behind the windows of the harem. The convict's goal was to reach the fish market gate on the other side of the palace. If the vizier reached the gate before the head gardener, he was simply exiled. But the gardener was always younger and stronger, and, as a rule, was already waiting for his victim at the gate with a silk cord.

However, several viziers managed to avoid execution in this way, including Hachi Salih Pasha, the last to participate in this death race. After running with the gardener, he became the governor of one of the provinces.

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Mauling of Viziers

In theory, the Grand Vizier was second in command to the Sultan, but it was he who was executed or thrown into the crowd whenever things went wrong. Under Sultan Selim the Terrible there were so many great viziers that they always began to carry their wills with them. One day one of them asked Selim to let him know in advance if they were going to execute him, to which the Sultan cheerfully replied that there was already a queue lined up to replace him.

The viziers also had to reassure the people of Istanbul, who had the habit of coming to the palace and demanding execution in case of any failures. It must be said that people were not afraid to storm the palace if their demands were not met. In 1730, a rag-clad soldier named Patrona Ali led a crowd into the palace and they were able to take control of the empire for several months. He was stabbed to death after trying to get a butcher to lend him money for the ruler of Wallachia.

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Perhaps the most terrible place in the Topkapi Palace was the imperial harem. It numbered up to 2,000 women - the wives and concubines of the Sultan, most of them were bought or kidnapped as slaves. They were kept locked up in the harem, and for a stranger, one look at them meant immediate death. The harem itself was guarded and controlled by the Chief Black Eunuch, whose position was one of the most powerful in the empire.

Very little information has reached us about the living conditions in the harem and about the events taking place within its walls. It was believed that there were so many concubines that the Sultan had never even seen some of them. And others were so influential that they participated in the administration of the empire. Suleiman the Magnificent fell madly in love with a concubine from Ukraine, whose name was Roksolana, married her, and made her his main adviser.

Roxolana's influence was so great that the Grand Vizier ordered the kidnapping of the Italian beauty Julia Gonzaga in the hope that she could capture the attention of the Sultan. The plan was foiled by a brave Italian who broke into Julia's bedroom and carried her away on horseback just before the kidnappers arrived.

Kösem Sultan had even more influence than Roksolana, effectively ruling the empire as regent for her son and grandson. But Turhan’s daughter-in-law did not give up her position without a fight, and Kösem Sultan was strangled with a curtain by Turhan’s supporters.

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Tax in blood

In the early Ottoman period there was a devshirme (“blood tax”) - a type of tax in which boys from Christian subjects of the empire were taken into the service of the empire. Most of the boys became janissaries and slave soldiers, who were always at the forefront of all Ottoman conquests. The tax was collected irregularly only when the empire's available number of soldiers fell short. As a rule, boys aged 12-14 were taken from Greece and the Balkans.

Ottoman officials collected all the boys in the village and checked names against baptismal records from the local church. Then the strongest were selected, at the rate of one boy for every 40 households. Selected children were sent on foot to Istanbul, the weakest were left to die on the roadsides. Getting ready detailed description each child so that they can be tracked if they escape.

In Istanbul, they were circumcised and forcibly converted to Islam. The most beautiful or intelligent were sent to the palace, where they were trained so that they could join the elite part of the Sultan's subjects. These guys could eventually reach very high ranks, and many of them became pashas or viziers, like the famous Grand Vizier from Croatia Sokollu Mehmed.

The rest of the boys joined the Janissaries. They were first sent to work on farms for eight years, where they learned Turkish and grew up. At the age of 20, they officially became Janissaries - the elite soldiers of the empire with iron discipline and ideology.

There were exceptions to this tax. It was forbidden to take away from the family the only child or children from men who served in the army. For some reason, orphans and Hungarians were not accepted. Residents of Istanbul were also excluded on the grounds that they "have no sense of shame." The system of such tribute ceased to exist in early XVIII centuries when the children of the Janissaries were allowed to become Janissaries

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Slavery remained a major feature of the Ottoman Empire until the end of the 19th century. Most slaves came from Africa or the Caucasus (the Circassians were especially valued), and the Crimean Tatars provided a constant flow of Russians, Ukrainians and even Poles. It was believed that Muslims could not legally be enslaved, but this rule was quietly forgotten when the recruitment of non-Muslims ceased.

Renowned scholar Bernard Lewis argued that Islamic slavery emerged independently of Western slavery and, therefore, had a number of significant differences. For example, it was easier for Ottoman slaves to gain freedom or occupy high positions. But there is no doubt that Ottoman slavery was incredibly cruel. Millions of people died from raids or from

exhausting work in the fields. This is not even mentioning the castration process used to obtain eunuchs. As Lewis pointed out, the Ottomans brought millions of slaves from Africa, but now modern Turkey very few people are of African descent. This speaks for itself.

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In general, the Ottoman Empire was quite tolerant. Apart from the devshirme, they made no real attempt to convert their non-Muslim subjects to Islam and welcomed the Jews when they were expelled from Spain. Subjects were never discriminated against, and the empire was practically run by Albanians and Greeks. But when the Turks themselves felt threatened, they could act very cruelly.

Selim the Terrible, for example, was very concerned that the Shiites, who rejected his authority as a defender of Islam, could be double agents Persia. As a result, he swept through the east of his empire, destroying livestock and killing at least 40,000 Shiites.

As the empire weakened, it lost its former tolerance, and minorities had a hard time. TO 19th century massacres became more and more common. In the terrible year of 1915, just two years before the collapse of the empire, a massacre of 75 percent of Armenian population. About 1.5 million people died then, but Turkey still refuses to fully recognize these atrocities as the Armenian genocide.

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Conclusion

This was an article Secrets of the Ottoman Empire. TOP 10 interesting facts. Thank you for your attention!

Nowadays, as a rule, people talk about Turkey with a view to vacationing in this country. Today we decided to talk a little about the history of the Ottoman Empire, which for many years was located in what is now Turkey and had a significant influence on the life of Europe at that time...

In this material we decided to briefly talk about some of the features of life in the Ottoman Empire. Perhaps there is something you haven’t heard of yet and you will be interested in...

Fratricide
In the Ottoman Empire, primogeniture, when the eldest son inherited everything, was not practiced for a long time, so several brothers often claimed the throne. Mehmed the Conqueror, for example, having come to power, ordered the execution of most of his male relatives, including his infant brother, who was strangled in a cradle.

Moreover, Mehmed issued a decree that read: “Whichever of my sons who should get the sultanate must kill his brothers.” This decree was carried out for many years.

Cages for shehzade

The policy of fratricide was not popular among the people and the clergy, and it was abandoned in 1617. In return, the sehzade (sons of the sultan) who were to inherit the throne were imprisoned in special quarters in the Topkani Palace in Istanbul. They were there under security surveillance. Many of them went crazy or turned into drunkards and debauchees... What else was there to do?

The palace is a quiet hell

It was believed that the Sultan should not talk much. They even introduced a kind of sign language, which the Sultan used to give orders. So in Topkana, not only the heirs to the throne went crazy, but also the sultans themselves.

Gardeners-executioners

The Ottoman Empire did not have a separate corps of executioners. These duties were assigned to the court gardeners, who periodically chopped off the heads of those who did not please the Sultan. Interestingly, shedding the blood of a member of the Sultan's family or a high-ranking official was prohibited. They were strangled... That is why the head gardener was always a strong and muscular man.

Race for survival

IN late XVIII century, an interesting custom appeared. The offending official was summoned to a meeting with the head gardener. If the gardener handed him white sherbet, it meant that this time the vizier received forgiveness. And if he was red, execution awaited him...

But the vizier had a chance to avoid death. He had to escape from the gardener, who was chasing him with a silk cord, through the palace gardens. If he succeeded, he was simply removed from palace duties and was no longer pursued. The catch was that the gardener was often much younger than any of the viziers. True, some managed to escape. And after that one dignitary even managed to become a sadak bey (something like a provincial governor).

Vizier - scapegoat

If something went wrong in the country, the grand viziers were the first to be executed or given over to the crowd to be torn to pieces. Even though they had almost as much power as the Sultan. During the reign of Selim the Terrible, so many viziers changed that their followers began to carry their wills with them...

Harem
This was one of the main attractions of the Topkana Palace, which no one had the right to see. The harem housed up to 2,000 women, who were mostly bought or kidnapped slaves. Some of them had almost never seen the Sultan. Others were able to achieve significant influence and even took part in resolving political issues. This was the famous Ukrainian beauty Roksolana, with whom Suleiman the Magnificent fell in love.

Bloody tribute

Non-Muslims in the empire were subject to a kind of tax: such families had to give young boys to the service, who then became Janissaries. Only the strongest were chosen, so the tax affected approximately one family in forty.

The boys were forcibly taken to Istanbul, circumcised and converted to Islam. The smartest and most beautiful went to the palace, where they were trained. Some could even become viziers as a result. Others worked on farms, where they learned Turkish and developed physically. By the age of 20, they became Janissaries - elite warriors of the Sultan's army.

Slavery

This was one of the main traditions of that empire. Most slaves were recruited from Africa and the Caucasus. There was also a constant influx of Ukrainians, Russians and Poles.

Initially, it was forbidden to enslave Muslims, but over time this tradition was quietly forgotten. True, it was a little easier for Ottoman slaves to gain freedom or achieve some position in society.

It is also worth mentioning that slavery was accompanied by great cruelty. People died during raids and from exhausting work. They lost the opportunity to procreate because they were made into eunuchs. The Ottomans imported millions of slaves from Africa, but there are very few people of African descent in modern Turkey - further evidence of cruel treatment...

Massacres

It is worth saying that the empire, despite all this, was quite loyal to the Gentiles. In the sense that the Turks even hosted Jews expelled from Spain. Among the officials there were many Greeks and Albanians. But when the Turks felt threatened, they made cruel decisions.

Selim the Terrible, for example, massacred nearly 40,000 Shiites who rejected his authority as a defender of Islam.

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There were no civil or internecine wars in the Ottoman Empire for a long period of time. One of the reasons for this was the executions of high-ranking officials, which were carried out with the approval of the Sultan. However, not every death sentence was carried out due to a rather strange custom that formed in the 18th century. Convict from among high nobility could challenge the chief executioner and compete with him in a race from the main gate of the Topkapi Palace to the place of public execution at the fish market. In case of victory, the execution was usually canceled and replaced by expulsion from the country. But in fact, this was not so easy to do, since officials had to compete with younger and more resilient executioners.

In the 15th century, a war broke out between claimants to the throne in the Ottoman Empire, as a result of which Mehmed I became the sultan, who united all the lands. His grandson Mehmed II, in order to avoid such destructive civil strife, introduced the practice of killing brothers who could also have designs on the throne. The bloodiest in this aspect was the reign of Mehmed III, who killed 19 siblings and half-brothers. The tradition was abolished in the 17th century by Sultan Ahmed I, replacing murder with imprisonment. Here is an excerpt from the laws of Mehmed II: “If one of my children becomes the head of the Sultanate, then to ensure public order he must kill his brothers. Most ulema approve of this. Let this rule be observed."

Despite the fact that the Grand Viziers were second only to the Sultan in power, they were usually executed or handed over to the mob whenever something went wrong. During the reign of Selim the Terrible, so many great viziers changed that they began to constantly carry wills with them.

The Sultan's harem consisted of a huge number of women. It is noteworthy that during the reign of some sultans there were up to 2,000 wives and concubines. It is worth noting that they were kept locked up, and any stranger who saw them was executed on the spot.

Devshirme is a type of tax on the non-Muslim population, a system of forced recruitment of boys from Christian families for their subsequent education and their service as personal slaves of the Sultan. The main reason for the emergence of devshirme was the mistrust of the Ottoman sultans in their own Turkic elite. Since the time of Murad I, Ottoman rulers there was a constant need to “balance the power of the (Turkic) aristocracy through the creation and development of a personal army of Christian dependent soldiers.”

Ottoman laws prescribed members of each millet (a religious denomination with its own institutions: courts, schools, hospitals, etc.) certain rights and obligations. Naturally, Ottoman state sought in every possible way to emphasize the primacy of Islam and Muslims on its territory. Muslims enjoyed the greatest rights. Members of other communities had mainly responsibilities: a certain color of turban; line of residence, that is, living in a certain quarter; ban on horse riding; tax in money or children. The conversion of “infidels” to Islam was encouraged in every possible way, while Muslims were punished for converting to other religions death penalty. At the same time, the state budget of non-Muslim millets was cut from year to year, their marginal nature was emphasized in every possible way, and a “transitional period” was declared on the way to the complete triumph of Islamic Sharia law.

The crescent moon is one of the symbols only thanks to the Ottoman Empire. Under the Prophet Muhammad, the crescent moon was not associated with Muslims.

Cultivation in Asia began in the 11th century and reached its apogee in the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

The artist Vebjorn Sand created in the Norwegian commune of Os pedestrian bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself. Leonardo designed this bridge for the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and wanted it to be built in Constantinople across the Golden Horn. At that time, the project was never implemented. Five centuries later, this bridge was finally built.