April 1453: 21-year-old Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II with his army besieges Constantinople, the capital of the thousand-year-old Byzantine Empire. He recalls a conversation between himself and his father, Sultan Murad II, 10 years ago, standing in front of the city walls with his army in the background of artillery shelling.
These are the highlights of the Ottoman film about Constantinople's victory over Netflix.
Sultan Muhammad recalls how in 1443 Sultan Murad II, standing in front of this historic city and its fortified walls, told him that Constantinople was the heart of the universe, the promised land, and Whoever conquers Constantinople, the world will belong to him.
Advertisement
His father had told him to look at the walls that stood in the way of every army that tried to conquer the city. "They stopped me."
Sultan Muhammad II listened to his father and asked him at that time why he did not let them (the walls of Constantinople) fall. When his father replied that he had not yet developed a powerful weapon that could bring him down, Prince Muhammad confidently said, "I will tear down these walls, dear father." And when I become Sultan, I will conquer Constantinople. "
An important and noteworthy point here is that there is a big difference between the scenes of 1443 and 1453 shown in the film.
When Sultan Murad II appears to be standing in front of Constantinople, his power behind him is seen in the cavalry of his army. No enemy had heard of it before.
When Sultan Muhammad II arrives in Constantinople in 1453, he arrives with a thunderclap that no enemy in the world has ever heard before. A scene from the movie Ottoman on Netflix
In the film, a historian states that "the world has never seen such a large number of cannons, 69 or 70, in one place."
After becoming Sultan Muhammad II, Prince Muhammad defeated the strong walls of Constantinople in 1453, as promised to his father, and made this city, considered the "heart of the universe", the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Historian Gabor Auguston, in his book Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire, wrote that the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans was an example of how artillery became a decisive weapon for siege wars by 1450. Had done
More importantly, in addition to adopting the modern technology of the time, the Ottoman Empire had the resources and facilities to build large-scale weapons, which gave it an advantage over its European opponents. In the film Ottoman, an artisan named Orban appears in the court of Sultan Muhammad II and designs a cannon, which he claims his shells will tear down the city's historic walls.
He said the cannon would be eight meters long and would cost 10,000 rupees.
In this scene, Sultan Muhammad II replied to the artisan that if this cannon tore down the walls of Constantinople, it would cost four times as much, but the condition was that the cannon should be ready in three months.
Historian Auguston wrote in an article published in the online magazine J. Store that Master Orban was from Hungary and a highly skilled mechanic.
Regarding the siege of Constantinople, historians say that "the world has never seen such a large number of cannons in one place." A scene from the movie "Ottoman" on Netflix
He said Orban had first offered the cannon to the Byzantine king in Constantinople, but he could not pay the price and did not have the resources to build such a large cannon. Orban, seeing this situation, came to the Ottoman Sultan with his offer.
History shows that Sultan Muhammad II accepted Aruban's offer. But before proceeding, it is important to note that cannons made by Turkish artisans also played a significant role in the siege of Constantinople and that the Ottomans did not rely solely on large cannonballs called bombards, which we will discuss in detail later. ۔
Auguston writes that the Turkish archives are full of documents and evidence which give a glimpse of the Ottoman artillery industry, shipbuilding, penmanship, and ammunition making.
Orban's cannon was ready and the process of delivering it to Constantinople began.
Auguston, in his article in the magazine J. Store (Ottoman artillery and European military technology in the 15th and 17th centuries), cites various historical sources and details the delivery of this gigantic cannon from the Ottoman capital, Adriana, to Constantinople.
He wrote that 30 wagons were attached for this work and 60 powerful oxen were arranged to pull them. 200 personnel were deployed on both sides of the wagons to ensure that the wagons did not lose their balance and the cannon did not fall.
Fifty artisans and 200 of their assistants were advancing to pave the way for the cannon. Their job was to build bridges over rough roads along the way. The voyage from Edirne to Constantinople took about two months, and after February and March, it was installed at a suitable location five miles from Constantinople.
Auguston wrote that during the siege of Constantinople the cannon could only fire seven times a day and had to be repaired in May. But its heavy shells severely damaged the besieged city walls and played a key role in the Ottoman conquest.
Historians write that the sultans of the Ottoman Empire were in awe, but their reputation was that they valued knowledge and skills, especially if both were related to the military field.
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire possessed extraordinary abilities
As with any major and successful empire in history, the Ottoman Empire of the 15th and 16th centuries was a place to which all sorts of skilled and agenda-oriented people were drawn.
Here are some of the ones I found to be interesting: Among other virtues, there were opportunities for social development and when Muslims and Jews in Europe, Spain, and Portugal were being forcibly converted, they had no choice but to be deported, religious intolerance. "People were being tortured and killed for not recognizing the official religion. At that time, there was relatively religious tolerance in the Ottoman Empire."
Historians write that the sultans of the Ottoman Empire had their place, but their reputation was that they valued knowledge and skills, especially if these two things were related to the military field. Augustine writes that "the empire was endowed with exceptionally capable rulers."
He said that Sultan Muhammad II's interest in military affairs was so much talked about that European experts attributed documents written on military subjects to him.
Augustine writes that many European rulers sent their military experts to be close to him. All of this was happening at a time when the pope was strictly forbidding the non-Christian state from providing any military information. The artisans and craftsmen of the territories conquered by the Ottoman Empire were not only allowed to continue their old professions but also had development opportunities. The same thing happened with the captive artisans.
In addition, a large number of artisans settled in the kingdom under the Rehabilitation Schemes. Historians say that Sultan Salim I was said to have brought all the artisans from Tabriz to Istanbul and settled them.
It is not clear when the full-time paid Ottoman artillery corps was set up. Still, it is possible that this happened during the reign of Sultan Murad II (1421-1451), long before establishing such an artillery unit in Europe. Ottoman Empire and Jewish and Christian artisans
Europeans who came to Istanbul in those centuries were amazed to see a large number of Christians working in the royal foundry and arsenal, and Jews were also seen there.
Augustuston claims in a book published in 1556 that Jews expelled from Spain imparted knowledge of military affairs to the Ottomans and taught them much about bronze military equipment and the 'firelock'. ۔
Augustine writes that the military services of the Jews to the Ottoman Empire should not be overemphasized, but at the same time, their help cannot be denied in the light of the Ottoman and Jewish documents. Jewish artisans in the accounts of the royal artillery of Istanbul for the years 1517-1518Mention of Ahangaran Jews.
But in those days it was not uncommon for experts from different nations to work for different rulers and empires. Jerome Morand, a traveler from Seville, wrote in 1544 that he saw 40 to 50 Germans at the foundry in Istanbul making cannons for the Sultan.
Similarly, the French ambassador to Istanbul wrote in 1547-1548 that there were many French, Spanish, Venetian, Genoese, and Sicilian experts working there.
Here, too, historians say to be wary of exaggerating the importance of foreigners. According to Auguston, in the mid-15th century, Ottoman European fortresses were used by Christians to work with Turks, "Tafanchi" and "Topchu" (artillerymen), and by the 16th century, they outnumbered Christian artisans.
