Unit 3 Evliya Celebi (The Book of Travels) PDF

Preview

Summary

Notes...

Description

Unit 3 Evliya Çelebi The Book of Travels (Volume 1, Sections 1-5 only “Concerning the circumference of Constantinople”)  

Islam Ottoman Empire

Celebi Introduction       



Turkish Mehmed Zilli, known as Evliya Celebi, was a Muslim explorer Traveled the Ottoman Empire over 40 years and wrote about his experience in Seyahatname, or Book of Travels Born in 1611 to a wealthy family in Constantinople His father was a jeweler for the Ottoman court, and his mother was connected to the royal family He received extensive education, but he was reluctant to settle into any profession that would limit his ability to travel Book of Travels o Encompasses ten volumes o Provides accounts of journeys from Celebi’s home in Constantinople to sites as far away as Greece, Syria, Austria, and Cairo, where he lived for many years o He was curious about other cultures o Mixes factual accounts of the places he visits with imaginative storytelling o Enhances the reader’s sense of excitement in the adventure of travel o Offers a rare glimpse into life in the 17 th century Ottoman Empire Consider while reading o How does the narrator describe his reasons for setting out on his travels? What is his attitude toward the places he intends to visit? o What kind of details does he tend to observe and include in his accounts? o Which parts of his accounts seem to fantastical to be real, and what do these tales add to the reader’s experience?

Video: The Rise of the Ottoman Empire 

  



At its height in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottoman Empire spanned three continents, and covered what we know today as Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Hungary, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and several other regions in Arabia and North Africa One of the largest and longest lasting empires Spanning from about 1299 to 1922 CE Originally, the Eastern region of the Mediterranean, where the Ottoman Empire flourished, was under the control of the Roman Empire, specifically, the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire After Western Rome fell in the 5th century, the Christian Byzantine Empire struggled to keep up in the face of rapidly spreading Islam

   

            

  



The Golden Age of Islam: lasted from 8th to 13th century Around the 14th century, a tribal leader named Osman Gazi, or Osman the 1 st, came to control a small principality just south of the Black Sea The region Osman controlled was prime for the spread of Islam with Islamic fighters hoping to overcome the weakening Christian Byzantine Osman’s military continued to expand under subsequent leaders after his death, growing the empire and eventually culminating in one of the most important military conquests: the Fall of Constantinople In 1453. The Byzantine Empire was barely holding territory outside of its capital, Constantinople Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire had spread throughout the Mediterranean region Roughly 100,000 to 150,000 Ottoman fighters descended on about 10,000 defenders of the Byzantine capital The Black Plague had just swept through Constantinople and decimated its forces After less than a two-month siege, the capital was overrun The Byzantine Empire along with the Roman Empire collapsed forever Constantinople was quickly converted into the new capital of the Ottoman Empire It was renamed Islambol, meaning full of Islam The massive influence of religion is one reason for the Ottoman Empire’s growth Besides being untied by the concept of conquest in the name of Islam, also called Jihad, the Ottoman Sultan was considered a protector of Islam, as was the Empire itself Strong religious backing and a massively powerful slave-based army The Ottomans were great at forming unlikely allies, both across religion, and ideological lines The Ottoman Empire and France formed an alliance because they both opposed the Austrian House of Hapsburg, and the alliance proved beneficial to both as they supported each other in their conquests of Nice, Corsica, and Hungary This was the first non-ideological diplomatic alliance of its kind between a Christian and nonChristian empire By the 16th century, the empire had spread to more than 15 million people, 2 million square miles, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman’s longest reigning sultan The empire controlled the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Southeast Europe, Western Asia, the Caucuses, and North Africa, thus serving as the perfect melding of eastern and western cultures and acting as an intermediary for both sides of the world Through endless military determination, a single family line of rule for centuries, and a highly centralized system of government, the Ottoman Empire was able to grow from a few miles into one of the largest and most influential empires in history

Book of Travels Section I  

Starts by giving “praise” to the “cherisher of worlds” Shows his support of his religion by praising those who fought to conquer Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Constantinople in the name of Islam

Sayings of the Prophet respecting Constantinople

   

Prophet said that Constantinople will be conquered and that the army who takes it from the opposing people is excellent Says Islambul is the largest of all cities on Earth (Islambul is the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was once Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Byzantine Empire) Proof: prophet of God said that a town with one part on land and two parts on the sea will be changed by seventy of the children of Isaac Made every possible endeavor to conquer the Byzantine empire

Section II An Account of the Foundation of the ancient City and Seat of Empire of the Macedonian Greeks (the well-guarded Constantinople, the envy of all the Kings of the Land of Islam)    

   

Every king in the land of Islam envied Constantinople First built by Solomon, son of David, 1600 years before the birth of the Prophet The Quran had details about its capture: vanquished in the lowest parts of the earth?” (Kor. xxx. 1.) and “An excellent city, the like of which hath never been created.” The second builder was Rehoboam, son of Solomon, and the third builder was Yanko (son of the Amalekite, who reigned 4600 years after Adam was driven from Paradise, and 419 years before the birth of Alexander the Great) There were 4 universal monarchs, two were Muslim and two were not Muslim The first two were Solomon and the two-horned Alexander The last two were Bakhtu-n-nasr (which the author calls that desolation of the whole face of earth) and Yanko ibn Maidiyan Gives background information on Constantinople, how it was built, who its rulers were, and the prophecy in the Quran

Section III Conquering the Conquest of the Black Sea   

 

 

 

The Black Sea us only a relic of Noah’s flood Gives the background and numerical data of the black sea Found shells of oysters and crabs while traveling in the places where the black sea once was, says this is evidence that the black sea once flowed over the island of Krim, the plains of Heihat, and the whole country of the Scalovians 4th builder of Constantinople was Alexander the Great, who cut the strait of Sebtah, which unites the White Sea (Mediterranean Sea) with the ocean Some say the Black Sea extends from Azof, to the canal of Constantinople, to the sea of Greece, to the straits of Gallipoli, the key of the two seas, where the two castles built by Sultan Mohammed the Conqueror, and that all below this forms the White Sea Celebi observed a red line while traveling the sea The red line was about a hand’s width, drawn from one of these points to the other/ these points being the Cape of the Seven Towers near Islambul, to the point of Kazi Koi, and near Uskudar The sea to the north of the line is the Black Sea To the south of the line, towards Kizil Ada, is called the White Sea

       





  

The mixture of the two seas forms the red seam, which divides the two seas (says this is by the command of God) The line is always visible except when strong winds blow from the islands of Marmora Difference in the taste of the waters on each side of the line Towards the Black Sea, it is less saltier and less bitter than that of the White Sea No sea has more delicious fish than that of the Black Sea and those caught in he Strait of Islambul are excellent Showing that the Ottoman empire is the best by saying all of this The strait unites the waters of the Black and White seas 5th builder of Constantinople was the king of Hungary, named Byzantinus, son of Yanko o The city was nearly destroyed by an earthquake and the only thing that remained was a castle built by Solomon (who was Muslim) o This is to prove that Islam prevails through all 6th builder as one of the Roman emperors, this emperor rebuilt the city that had been in ruins for 70 years, and nest to serpents, lizards and owls, 2288 years before is conquest by Sultan Mohammed o One again, Celebi uses this imagery of ruins and serpents to show that the Roman empire was wicked 7th builder of Makedun was one of the grandsons of Yanko, who being universal monarch, forced all the kings of the Earth to assist him in rebuilding the walls of Makedun, which then extended for a distance of nine hours journey These towns were united by seven long walls, and divided by seven ditches These can still be traced from Terkos on the Black sea all the way to the end All these towns and castles were connected by a wall, the circuit of which was seven day’s journey

Concerning the Canal from the river Danube        

   

King Yanvan, wishing to provide water for the great city of Islambul, made a canal from Danube to Islambul Referring to Islambul as the great city shows !!! In the bed of the river, he built a barrier of solid stone with an iron gate Celebi saw these three times Boat-men sometimes unload their vessels so they can pass over it safely Shows that this iron gate is to be feared, and that Islambul is to be feared King Yanvan also built another barrier in the Danube, where many ships perish every year When the river overflowed in spring, King Yanvan opened the iron gate and the barrier to allow the stream to pass down to Islambul, where it discharges into the White Sea o This is symbolism of the expanding Ottoman Empire King Yanvan telling his unlce Vezendun that he drug the sea into Constantinople shows power By the command of God, the river suddenly returned and deserted its new bed, and bursts forth into a large fountain (shows that God is all powerful and that no one is more powerful than him) Proof for this is that Celebi saw the unique fish in the Danube river in all those places where the sea broke its branches and expanded into new branches 8th builder of that city was King Yaghfur, son of Vezendun

Yaghfur placed at least 366 talismans (one for every day in the year) near the sea at Sergalio-Point to guard the city from evil and to provide the inhabitants with all sorts of fish The 9th builder was Constantine, who conquered the ancient town and gave his name to the new city o Built a church on the place where the mosque of Mohamed II now stands o This shows that Islam took over Christian Constantinople o



Section IV Concerning Constantine, the ninth Builder, who erected the Walls and Castle of Constantinople 

   

First Roman emperor who destroyed the idols and temples of the Heathens, and was also the builder of the walls of Islambul o It sounds like Celebi is showing his respect for the power and will of Constantine Jesus appeared to Constantinople in a dream and told him to send his mother Helena to build a place of worship in Bethlehem and Jerusalem Remember that Jesus is also in the Quran, so he obviously has respect for Constantine and his religion Many overlapping stories in the Quran and the Bible Helena was dispatched to Palestine with an army, reached Jaffa (the port of Jerusalem) and in three days and three nights, built two churches

The Discovery of the true Cross    

    

Helena found the place where the true cross was buried with the help of a monk named Macarius Three trees in the form of crosses were found in the same grave, and the moment a dead body was touched by the Christians, it came to life again This day is celebrated by Christians as the feast of the Invention of the Cross and has been held as a great festival by the Greeks every sense Helena also built the church of the holy sepulcher on the spot where the dead body had been restored to life and spent a lot of money restoring the mosque of Al-aska that was built on the site of the temple of Solomon, restored Bethlehem, and did many other pious works o Celebi is showing his respect for Helena Helena returned to Islambul (then still Constantinople) and presented the wood of the cross to her son Constantine and carried it to the covenant on the summit of Zirek-bashi Celebi praises Constantine for building the walls of Constantinople as his power and resolution to surpass all other princes in the strength and durability of his works The town was insulated by three walls and is strengthened by 1225 tower, each with ten monks keeping watch The form of Islambul is triangular, having land on its western side, and the sea on the east and north Constantine had knowledge of astrology and knew the prophecy of his city’s conquest by some all-conquering apostle of true faith (being the Muslims) laid the foundations of these walls under the sign of Cancer

o

This shows that even Constantine believed the prophecy and therefore had to believe Islam

Names of Constantinople in Different Tongues 

Goes into detail about how Constantine left twenty seven gates open and didn’t have enough security o This shows that Christians are weak

Section V Concerning the circumference of Constantinople 

           

Celebi’s father said that Constantinople has been built nine times, and nine times destroyed, but had never fallen once in the hands of Osman (the man whos army capture Constantinople and turned it into Islambul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire) Celebi’s father mentioned to the Pasha that they should rebuild the walls of the city so that they were no longer in ruins The repairing of the fortifications was finished in a year This shows the power of the Ottoman Empire The city was illuminated for seven days and seven nights after this Celebi was in charge of measuring the circumference of the city, by pacing it round Recorded how many gates there were, most likely to show how powerful and protected Islambul was The whole circumference of Islambul is 30,000 paces, having ten towers every thousand paces, and 400 towers in sum total There are altogether 1,225 large towers when the tree surrounding walls are teken into account Therefore, the whole circumference of the city including the walls is 87,000 ells or cubits Islambul was secure from any hostile attack Iron gates, 500 cannons, draw bridges Says Constantine, having reached the summit of greatness and power, could have easily conquered the world but instead he preferred to stay in his capital and live a life of embellishment o Implies that the difference between Christians and Muslims is that Muslims will do whatever it takes to conquer the world while Christians prefer to live a luxurious life...