Ottoman Empire Sultan Quotes

Aurangzeb’s contemporaries included such kings as Charles II of England, Louis XIV of France, and Sultan Suleiman II of the Ottoman Empire. No one asserts that these historical figures were ‘good rulers’ under present-day norms because it makes little sense to assess the past by contemporary criteria. The aim of historical study is something else entirely.

It is the face of rebellion and determination. It does not show age, terror, or ennui. It is frozen in time, in a moment when you took a stand against a man who abused you. It is a mark of rebellion against man’s dominion, even an Ottoman Sultan. What face could be more beautiful, Kucuk?

To think beyond the familiar narratives handed down to us by generations of historians is to see that Columbus’s life simply cannot be understood without taking Islam into account.

Needless to say, most Cronus Club members during the conflict like to move to less fraught areas of the world, such as into the rather more stable heartland of the Ottoman empire, where, while the sultans may be mad during this time, at least their mothers are not.

By the Venetians, the use of gunpowder was communicated without reproach to the sultans of Egypt and Persia, their allies against the Ottoman power; the secret was soon propagated to the extremities of Asia; and the advantage of the European was confined to his easy victories over the savages of the new world. If we contrast the rapid progress of this mischievous discovery with the slow and laborious advances of reason, science, and the arts of peace, a philosopher, according to his temper, will laugh or weep at the folly of mankind.

Not long ago I was in Istanbul, Turkey. While there I toured the Topkapi Palace—the former royal palace of the Ottoman sultans and center of the Ottoman Empire. Among the many artifacts collected throughout the centuries and on display was an item I found quite remarkable—the sword of the prophet Muhammad. There, under protective glass and illuminated by high-tech lighting, was the fourteen-hundred-year-old sword of the founder of Islam. As I looked at the sword with its curved handle and jeweled scabbard, I thought how significant it is that no one will ever visit a museum and be shown a weapon that belonged to Jesus. Jesus brings freedom to the world in a way different from Pharaoh, Alexander, Caesar, Muhammad, Napoleon, and Patton. Jesus sets us free not by killing enemies but by being killed by enemies and forgiving them … by whom I mean us. Forgiveness and cosuffering love is the truth that sets us free—free from the false freedom inflicted by swords ancient and modern. Muhammad could fight a war in the name of freedom to liberate his followers from Meccan oppression, but Jesus had a radically different understanding of freedom. And lest this sound like crass Christian triumphalism, my real question is this: Do we Christians secretly wish that Jesus were more like Muhammad? It’s not an idle question. The moment the church took to the Crusades in order to fight Muslims, it had already surrendered its vision of Jesus to the model of Muhammad. Muhammad may have thought freedom could be found at the end of a sword, but Jesus never did. So are Christians who most enthusiastically support US-led wars against Muslim nations actually trying to turn Jesus into some version of Muhammad? It’s a serious question.

As a consequence, he faced the unavoidable fact that the Ottoman Sultan was conquering the Byzantine Empire by allowing that Islam and Christianity were not incompatible, and that Christian subjects could live under the secular rule of a Muslim.

One of the Young Ottomans’ most prominent figures, Namik Kemal (1840-1888), derived from early Islamic traditions and practices the idea of a representative assembly that would balance the power of the Sultan. Both the idea that the Sultan’s power needed to be checked along with their support for the enshrinement of Islamic tradition as the core of the Ottoman tradition led the Young Ottomans to see the necessity for the drafting of a Constitution. This Constitution would be the cornerstone of the new Ottoman identity, along with the Ottoman state and institutions.

The decree was largely inspired by proposals made by France and Britain who assisted the Ottoman Empire during the Crimean war (1853-1856) against Russia. Both Britain and France used their status as allies to encourage further Westernization of the Empire, as the impact of the initial wave of reform was seen as limited. The second wave of reform was also partly the result of some frustration among the Ottomans regarding the limited results of the initial reforms, which introduced a series of new concepts, yet were either hardly implemented as a whole, or had only an impact on the most central areas of the Empire. The decree affirmed more clearly the equality of all subjects of the Empire without distinction of race or religion, thus largely expanding the scope of the previous edict. It also differed by creating a new political mechanism that, to a certain extent, limited the power of the Sultan.

However, while Western principles were the major source of inspiration for Hatt- I Serif of Gulhane, the document itself made a notable effort to place the reforms in the context of the Ottomans Islamic heritage. In fact, it started by placing the Islamic law (Sharia or Şeriat) as a central source of inspiration, and alleging that the Empire’s decline was due to its lack of observance of the Şeriat: “All the world knows that since the first days of the Ottoman State, the lofty principles of the Qu’ran and the rules of the Şeriat were always perfectly observed. Our mighty Sultanate reached the highest degree of strength and power, and all its subjects [the highest degree] of ease and prosperity. But in the last one hundred and fifty years, because of a succession of difficulties and diverse causes, the sacred Şeriat was not obeyed nor were the beneficent regulations followed; consequently, the former strength and prosperity have changed into weakness and poverty. It is evident that countries not governed by the laws of the Şeriat cannot survive.”[6]

the support of inspiring figures such as Lord Byron, who fought alongside the rebels, helped grow the revolutionaries’ support among the European nations. Britain, France and Russia signed the Treaty of London in 1827, calling for a cessation of hostilities, and stipulating that in case the Sultan would refuse, the powers could act to enforce such a cessation of hostilities. After the Sultan refused, Britain, France and Russia sent their fleets to the Peloponnese to pressure the Sultan. While it was initially only meant to prevent the Ottoman fleet from reaching the island of Hydra, an initial incident between a British boat and an Egyptian one triggered broader confrontations, resulting in the destruction of the Ottoman fleet during the Battle of Navarino. France later sent an expeditionary corps and, alongside the reorganized Greek forces, defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Petra, in central Greece, leading eventually to the full independence of Greece in 1832.

At the same time Beyazid II, the eighth sultan of the Ottoman Empire, issued an invitation to the 250,000 Jews banished by Spain to come to his country.

In 1825, however, Sultan Mahmud II issued a fatwa stating that it was the duty of every Muslim to serve in the Ottoman military while reinstating the Nizam-ı Cedid Army in 1826, in an attempt to replace the Janissaries. When the Janissaries revolted in 1826 and sacked parts of Constantinople, the Sultan crushed the revolt, leading to the death of 4,000 Janissaries, and the subsequent dismantling of the old military force.

This period also saw the Yeni Ceri (“New Soldiers” or Janissaries) win their war of influence against the Ottoman nobility. There was a natural rivalry between the Turkish nobility who formed the Ottomans’ cavalry (the Sipahis), and the Janissaries, the Ottoman foot soldiers who were initially foreign slaves coming from Christian villages under Ottoman occupation. This rivalry, also largely fueled by the Sultan who saw it as a way to prevent both sides from allying against him, turned in the Janissaries’ favor during the mid-sixteenth century, leading to the confiscation of the Sipahis’ lands, and the consolidation of their power.

The Ottoman Empire under the sultan had degenerated into a police state. Political activists were imprisoned and exiled, newspapers and magazines were heavily censored, and citizens looked over their shoulders before speaking, fearful of the ubiquitous spies working for the government.

By the time of Sultan Suleyman’s death in 1566, the empire spanned three continents, possessed a huge army and a competent navy,

Instead, the new sultan was often called Sarhoş, meaning “Drunkard,” because of his love for wine and women.

financial decisions the sultan had made weakened the economy, and the upset Janissaries and sipahis led an insurrection

late May, they stormed the palace in Istanbul and forced the sultan to abdicate.

The sultan seized Athens in 1826, swinging the tide back into the hands of the central government.

Sultan Selim eventually reaching the Mamluk capital of Cairo in early 1517 after defeating the remainder of the Mamluk

Sultan Selim has come to be known as “the Grim” for his dreadful personality,

As soon as he had become sultan himself, he slaughtered many of his family members, only leaving Suleyman alive

However, the roots of these problems went far deeper than harem rivalries and the sultan’s preferences.

Mehmed III, the son of Murad III, became the new sultan in 1595 after the passing of his father.

Sultan Bayezid had grown older and weaker, meaning that a change in leadership was necessary to deal with the Safavids.

youngest of the sultan’s three sons, convinced the Janissaries to support him in overthrowing his father.

He declared Selim as the new Ottoman sultan and left Istanbul to spend the rest of his days in peace.

Sultan Selim was very unlike his father when it came to nearly everything, from personality to his decisions as a ruler.

Sultan Bayezid I led his men back into the Balkans and took the fight to the Bulgarians,

Upon his return, Tamerlane sent an emissary to Sultan Bayezid, proposing that he swear fealty

Aided by many high-ranking officials, the military entered Istanbul and massacred many of the sultan’s closest allies in court,

At the time, his father was the youngest son of Sultan Bayezid

At the time, his father was the youngest son of Sultan Bayezid II.

When, Bayezid chose his son Ahmet as his successor in 1512, Selim was enraged.

Selim had two older brothers to dispute the succession with him.

He would have learned Arabic and Persian as well as Turkish;

he would have studied mathematics, geography, history, law, and administration

and he would have also undergone military training.

Every Ottoman prince also learned a craft.

Sultan Abdülhamid II was a carpenter and had a carpentry workshop in the Yildiz Palace in Istanbul,

Suleiman became a goldsmith—a craft he shared with his father Selim.

But learning a craft was also intended to give princes humility, teaching them patience

By the time Suleiman was 15, he was considered ready for his first official post.

to become a provincial governor in Bolu

couple of years later, at Kaffa (also known as Kefe or Theodosia),

The remedy was a drastic one: the law of fratricide.

playing for the highest of stakes: become sultan or be killed.

soon as Suleiman heard the news, he made haste for Istanbul, arriving two weeks after Selim’s death.

On September 30, 1520, he ascended the throne, still only 26 years old.

Unlike Selim, he had no troublesome brothers, uncles, or nephews who might have pushed a claim.

Hafsa Sultan, one of Selim’s concubines, gave birth to Suleiman on November 6, 1494.

Suleiman was named after the biblical King Solomon,

Suleiman was born into a huge empire with its capital in Constantinople (Istanbul

He was the son of Şehzade (crown prince) Selim.

And as far as we know, Suleiman was his only son.

Suleiman was one of the great figures of his age—and it was truly an age of great rulers.

(Henry VIII became king of England in 1509, Francois I became king of France in 1515,

Charles V became king of Spain a year later.) Suleiman acceded to the Ottoman throne in 1520.

He went on to rule for forty-six years, longer than any other sultan,

His father, Selim, had arguably conquered more territory,

He rebelled against his father, dethroned him, and sent him into exile in a distant part of the empire.

And so Selim became sultan, and the eighteen-year-old Suleiman became the successor to the throne.

Bayezid died almost immediately after his exile, which may not have been an entire coincidence:

The sixteenth century was a time of massive change in both the East and the West, and Suleiman was born right at the crux of this change.

In 1494, the Ottomans had held Istanbul (Constantinople, the former capital of the Greek or Eastern Empire)

Columbus had discovered America just two years before;

Suleiman would have been educated in the

Enderun School of the Topkapi Palace.

Mehmed managed to defeat all four of them to become Sultan Mehmed I.

The Ottoman tradition was to allow each of the sultan’s concubines to bear only one son.

and if he became sultan, she would become the most powerful woman in the empire.

That was why Selim had reacted to Ahmet’s nomination so dramatically:

if his brother succeeded to the throne, his days were numbered

He had to fight both Ahmet and their brother Korkud to take the throne.

Following his victory, naturally, Selim had both his brothers executed.

He also had Ahmet’s sons and grandsons killed, apart from Ahmet’s son, Murad,

who fled to Persia.)

in Manisa when he heard that his father had died unexpectedly on campaign.

Selim was only 49. (The cause of Selim’s death is still uncertain: a mistreated carbuncle,

poison, plague, or cancer have all been suggested

the sultan’s assistance was needed after the French king was captured in the summer of 1525. Suleyman thrust into the Habsburg

not surprising that Sultan Suleyman was referred to by his contemporaries as “the Magnificent” for his achievements.

Prince Murad would become the Ottoman sultan in late 1362 after the death of Orhan.

However, once the Balkan nations saw the sultan abandon their frontiers,

Next to this, the western armies were poorly motivated, poorly armed, and often unpaid.

Suleiman also had another factor in his advantage.

Although part of Europe had become more unified under the Habsburgs,

there were several factions that moved in the opposite direction.

The Reformation was just beginning at this time,

Suleiman started by attacking Belgrade, which was then held by the Hungarians.

he now had a firm base from which to move further north.

The system of devshirme (“collecting”) involved taking children from (mainly Christian) Balkan subjects,

to create soldiers loyal to the sultan rather than to other interests.

The sultan is only twenty-five years old,” he said. “Tall and slender but tough, with a thin and bony face.

He enjoys reading, is knowledgeable and shows good judgment.

Venetian envoy Bartolomeo Contarini saw him enter Istanbul and was impressed

multicultural slave elite that was loyal only to the sultan (at least in theory,

Technically the devshirme converts were slaves,

taking large parts of Germany and western Europe out of the Catholic Church.