Interesting facts about the Ottoman Empire
Ottomans treated mental patients with music. The first documented case of such therapy dates back to the 15th century. See http://www.kultur.gov.tr/EN,34168/turkish-history-of-psychiatry-museum--edirne.html for more details.
Ottoman janissary corps created during the reign of Murad I (1326-1389) were one of the first standing armies in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire.
Left: An Ottoman Janissary carrying an axe. From Peter Mundy's Album, Istanbul 1618. For more Ottoman costumes, including more Janissaries, for more information and pictures visit http://warfare2.likamva.in/Ottoman/Album/Mundy.htm.
Right: An Ottoman Janissary from the Rålamb Costume Book, please visit http://warfare2.likamva.in/Ottoman/Album/Ralamb-info.htm for more info.
The first black combat aviator in history was an Ottoman citizen, Ahmet Ali Çelikten.
Ahmet Ali Çelikten
For more information, please visit http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/id/25189788/ (in Turkish)
Çelikten was born in İzmir in 1883 to African parents. In 1904, he joined the Ottoman Navy, but later decided to join the Ottoman Air Corps. In 1916, he started serving in the Ottoman Air Corps, becoming the first black combat pilot in history. He served in the army until 1949, and died in 1969 as a Turkish citizen.
Ottomans loved and cared for street animals such as cats, dogs, and birds. They established animal hospitals and religious foundations for feeding animals.
Below are some selected stanzas from an Ottoman language elegy poem written by Mevlânâ Me’âli (d. 1535-6) for his beloved cat and translated into English by Talat Halman.
"Our age’s lion with a leopard’s glare – now where is he?
Where’s he who showed the tiger and the lion no mercy?
He who crushed snakes and centipedes wherever they might be?
Alas! What shall I do now? O, pity, pretty pussy!
...
Getting up every morning he would wash his paws and face fine:
He was the cleanest and most sophisticated feline;
No one really knew how marvelous he was, how divine.
Alas! What shall I do now? O, pity, pretty pussy!
...
If he roared, the universe would shudder in fear – and how!
The world would get filled with his voice if he chose to meow,
But time’s catastrophe has put an end to his life now.
Alas! What shall I do now? O, pity, pretty pussy!
...
Well-bred and well-behaved, an impeccable gentleman,
Noted for his wisdom, of good stock, a real nobleman,
He passed away in the seventh month, in the fall season.
Alas! What shall I do now? O, pity, pretty pussy!
...
Who, Mealî, would not weep over his passing away?
Who would not batter his breast or brand his heart with dismay?
Whose bloody tears would not swell like a flood, tell me, I pray?
Alas! What shall I do now? O, pity, pretty pussy!
...
Now let all the rats overrun the world – see if I care.
Let them pierce the bags and eat into the sacks everywhere,
Making the poor shriek, turning the rich into poor; so there.
Alas! What shall I do now? O, pity, pretty pussy!"
For the entire elegy, please see Talat Halman, "The Cat's Tale or Elegy to the Cat…Cat-a-strophe," AİBÜ Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 13 (2013):191-197, especially 194-197.
Below excerpt is from Adventures of Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw of Mitrowitz (1599), translated by A. H. Wratislaw (London, 1862), 75-76:
Below item, including quote and pictures, taken from Todd Van Luling, "8 Surprising Historical Facts That Will Change Your Concept Of Time Forever," Huffington Post, Feb. 26, 2014.
"The last time the Chicago Cubs won a World Series, the Ottoman Empire still existed."
"The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. This was back when there were still teams such as the Brooklyn Superbas and the Boston Doves. The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in the 13th century, also existed back then. Mehmed VI was the last sultan of the empire and his reign ended in 1922 when the sultanate was abolished and the Turkish government took governing control over the new republic -- 14 years after the Cubs last won the World Series."