The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire — THE OTTOMAN CENTURIES

Lord KINROSS — Excerpts from the book "The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire."

Original title of the book: Lord Kinross — THE OTTOMAN CENTURIES

The Ottomans shrewdly observed the governing methods of the dying Byzantine Empire in its last Asian territories and benefited from the administrative and other skills of the Greeks. This was because the Ottomans, unlike the image of Islam projected during the earlier Arab invasions, acted with a spirit free from religious fanaticism toward their enemies. (p. 21)

The decline in the authority of the Orthodox Church also pushed these Asian Greeks to respond to the stimulating influence of a new religion. They did not differ much socially from their neighboring Ottomans, and their environments and customs were similar. Whether Muslim or not, they easily adapted to the Ottoman way of life. The increase in marriages between Turks and Greeks contributed to the birth and development of a new mixed society. (p. 21)

Osman was in no hurry to expand the lands he inherited at the expense of his neighbors. His slow but guaranteed plan was to observe and wait, live and learn, and only gradually infiltrate Byzantine territories. Three fortified imperial cities dominated the remaining Byzantine lands in Asia. Bursa in the south, located on the slopes of Mount Olympus (including Uludağ), overlooked the fertile Bithynia plain (the region in northwestern Anatolia). In the center, Nicaea (İznik), situated at the head of a lake, was the de facto capital. To the north, the port of Nicomedia (İzmit) controlled the sea route to Istanbul and the land route to the Black Sea. All of these were just a day's journey from Osman's capital.

It was necessary to distinguish between Muslims and Christians. This distinction was primarily evident in land ownership and distribution. Only Muslims were required to perform military service, and thus they had the right to benefit from the land. Land was distributed as a reward for service and served as a means of gathering soldiers through tax-exempt military fiefs (timars). Christians, exempt from military service, could not benefit from such land rights.

Moreover, these attempted "crusades" were troublesome due to the conflicts between the Latin and Greek Orthodox churches. The Italian writer Petrarch, in a letter to Pope Urban, reflected this sentiment: "The Ottomans are merely enemies, but the factional Greeks are worse than enemies."

The Turks themselves had experienced similar situations in their earlier history. The process of enslavement was applied to war captives and the inhabitants of conquered territories. A law granted Ottoman soldiers the right to own captives, provided they converted to Islam and fulfilled its requirements. An Ottoman soldier could keep them for domestic service or field labor or sell them in the market, with one-fifth of the proceeds going to the government.

Eventually, in addition to this serfdom system, which could be escaped through voluntary conversion, Murad created a select and disciplined infantry force from among the Christians to serve the sultan directly.

The sacred body of the regiment (Janissary corps) became a gathering point for the Janissaries, not only to eat but also to consult with one another.

This military slavery system (Janissary) caused a shock in the Christian world. But it was not unfamiliar to the Islamic world, especially to the Turks themselves. The Turks had exploited this system in a base manner during their early history. During the Abbasid Caliphate, non-Muslim Turks captured in the steppes of Central Asia were taken as tribute or sold as slaves, forced to convert to Islam, and later trained as soldiers or administrators in Baghdad. Claude Cahen noted, "The provision of such captives, whose status was naturally much higher than that of slaves owned by private individuals and employed as domestic servants, was never difficult and did not cause resentment among the relevant Turkish communities. Slavery did not evoke the feelings it later inspired." Enslaved Turks often rose to high military ranks or administrative positions through promotion.

Other nomadic communities facing the same problem had attempted to transform themselves from "shepherds of sheep to shepherds of men." They generally failed. The Avars' dominance over the Slavs lasted only fifty years; the Western Huns' dominance over the Hungarians did not outlive Attila. The successive empires of the Mongols were all short-lived. The fallacy of this nomadic dominance principle was that the "human herds," who remained as farmers on their own lands and were still economically productive, would quickly collaborate to expel or assimilate the "shepherds of men." For in this settled environment, they were merely unproductive parasites, "drones exploiting worker bees." Thus, the rapid rise of most nomadic empires was followed by an equally rapid decline and fall.

A significant portion of the lands of the neighboring Germiyan Beylik, with its most important city being Kütahya, passed to Osman's son Bayezid through his marriage to the daughter of the Germiyan Bey in Bursa. This marriage was accompanied by a substantial dowry of vast lands. The grandeur of the ceremony contradicted the more modest traditions of Murad's ancestors but resembled the customs of the Byzantine court, which the Ottomans were beginning to adopt.

Bayezid's first act as sultan was to order the drowning of his younger brother. This was his brother Yakup, who, like him, was a successful army commander and beloved by his troops. Thus, Bayezid initiated the practice of fratricide, which would take root in Ottoman history. The murder was justified on the grounds that it was better than the frequent rebellions incited by a sultan's brothers. A verse from the Quran also justified Bayezid's action: "Whenever they stir up sedition, they will be destroyed; if they do not distance themselves from you and offer peace and refrain from fighting you, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them."

The Ottomans had given Constantinople the name Istanbul, a corruption of the Greek words "eis tin polin," meaning "to the city."

But Bayezid was not as cautious as his father in his policy toward Christians. Unafraid of grandiose statements, early in his reign, he told Italian envoys that after conquering Hungary, he would go to Rome and feed his horse oats at the altar of St. Peter's Cathedral. He then adopted the guise of Islam's protector, openly praising his aggressive intentions against Christianity. (p. 63)

Timur first became angry with Bayezid. He wrote a letter to the sultan, who had returned to Europe, demanding the return of a captive. Gibbon quotes from a letter by the Persian historian Sharaf al-Din: "What is the basis of your arrogance and madness? You fought a few battles in the forests of Anatolia: pitiful victories." As a supporter of Islam, he acknowledged the rights of another supporter: "You achieved a few victories against European Christians. Your sword was blessed by the Messenger of God. Fighting infidels and obeying the Quran's word are the only reasons preventing us from destroying your country, which is the border and shield of the Islamic world." He then insisted: "Now come to your senses, reflect, and repent; thus, you may avoid the vengeance looming over you. Why provoke elephants when you are nothing but an ant? Alas, they will trample you underfoot." (p. 72)

Bayezid chose to dismiss this and the next message: "Your armies are countless; let them be, but what are the flying arrows of the Tatars compared to the scimitars and battle axes of my invincible Janissaries? I will keep the beys who seek my protection. Look for them in my tents." He concluded with an even more casual insult: "If I flee from your weapons, let my wives be divorced three times, but if you lack the courage to face me on the battlefield, let your wives be used by a stranger three times before returning to you." (p. 73)

Bayezid behaved with dignity before the conqueror. Timur initially treated him as befitting a ruler but later did not hesitate to humiliate him as a captive. During the march through Anatolia, Timur had his captive carried in a barred litter, making him the target of mockery by Tatar soldiers and former Asian subjects. Much is said about Timur's treatment of Bayezid: for example, he was chained at night. He served as Timur's footstool. Timur, who had taken over Bayezid's harem, humiliated Bayezid's Serbian wife Despina by making her serve naked at the table before her former master and the conqueror. These sufferings eventually took a toll on Bayezid's health and then his mind. Within eight months, he died of a stroke or perhaps took his own life.

When diplomatic negotiations with the Greeks yielded no results, Emperor Constantine sent the following message to the sultan (Mehmed the Conqueror): "Since it is clear that you desire war more than peace, and since I cannot convince you of my sincerity and loyalty, let it be as you wish. I now trust only in God. If He wills the city to be yours, who can oppose it? If God inspires you with a desire for peace, I will be most happy. Whatever happens, I release you from all your oaths and agreements, and I will close the gates of my capital and defend my people to the last drop of my blood. Reign in harmony with what is just. The Almighty God will call us both to His judgment." (p. 101)

On Tuesday, May 29, Mehmed the Conqueror announced his plans for a final assault on the walls with all his forces. The previous Sunday, while riding among his troops, his heralds informed the soldiers, in accordance with Islamic custom, that they would be given three days to plunder the city, and its treasures would be fairly distributed among them. The first soldier to breach the walls would be rewarded with a fief and a high administrative position. Only the buildings and walls were reserved for the sultan. The defenders inside the city could hear the joyful cries of the troops outside and the shouts of, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger." (p. 104)

(The Conquest of Istanbul) After passing through the gate in an orderly manner, the victorious army dispersed, with soldiers running through the city streets, killing those they encountered and looting as per custom, emptying churches and monasteries, and taking not only their contents but also the people inside. Thousands of Greeks rushed to seek refuge in the great Hagia Sophia. The historian Michael Doukas wrote: "The great temple filled with men and women within an hour... an innumerable crowd. They closed the great door and stood there, hoping for angels' help. Then, before the first hour of the day had passed, the Turks arrived at the church, fighting, killing, and taking captives. Finding the door closed, they mercilessly began to break it down with axes. While the priests continued to chant at the altar, most of the worshippers were bound with vests and women's headscarves as ropes and led through the streets to the soldiers' camp. There, the soldiers fought among themselves to possess the most beautiful girls and boys and nine richly dressed senators." (p. 108)