Ottomans, one of the longest lasting empires

https://247tempo.com/the-longest-lived-empires-in-history/11/

Good article about empires, my beloved, the Ottomans were number 26, a bit lower than I thought. 

However, the Ottomans lasted very long in a transitional time in Europe, Middle East, and Western Asia, where there were multiple strong other armies. 

Plus, more importantly, there were multiple nationalistic desires within the empire, wanting to break it apart, to create their own country.  

Lastly, that goddamn oil being found in Irak, Arabia, southern Syria, prior to WWI, made the Ottomans a victim at the hands of the imperial powers that wanted to break her apart and take the oil and lands. 

The Ottomans suffered much.  

I mean it.

Tormented Heart

Sultan Suleiman’s multiple sons were growing rapidly, and getting ready to take over the throne from their father. 

The sultan was witnessing the increasing tension between the male heirs and their mothers, which concerned and feared him. Therefore, due to the tensions, Suleiman did not leave Istanbul for long periods, as he believed his throne would be in jeopardy, and surely, he would be deposed. 

Suleiman had many concubines, and of the many, two of the females were the most important, since they provided the ruler with male heirs to his throne. 

The first woman to bear a male child was Mahidevran Gulbahar, who gave birth to Prince Mustafa, the eldest child of Suleiman. Mahidevran was of Albanian origin; she came from a wealthy family, and joined the sultan’s harem. The birth of Mustafa was particularly important, because he was the first child of Suleiman. 

The second female who bore male heirs for Sultan Suleiman was Hurrem Haseki. This young beautiful woman was a captured slave girl from the southeast section of Poland, where the country bordered Ukraine. The following were the sons of Hurrem, they were: Mehmet, Beyazit, Selim, and Cihangir. 

Hurrem and Suleiman were madly in love with one another. The tormented heart of Suleiman was very much evidenced by everyone, after the death of Hurrem. Furthermore, after her death, he lived an isolated life at the Topkapi Palace; the home of the sultanate family, in Istanbul. 

Could the torment he was living through, during the latter years of his life be due to another reason? 

It sure looked like some of the decisions made by Suleiman tormented him greatly, one of them being the order given to have his eldest son executed. 

Please order your copy, thank you.

Black Tent

Mustafa was the prince with the most potential of any other, during the 600 plus years existence of the Ottoman Empire. He was the hope for the majority of the people living in and out of the empire, to ascend to the throne.His father was Lawmaker Sultan Suleiman, who ruled the empire during the empire's zenith years. He was untouchable, revered, and feared. But, once looking past his mighty title, name, and qualifications, study shows that he made questionable decisions, one of them being the decision to order the execution of his eldest son - Mustafa.This story is a fictional telling of what happened when Mustafa rode into the Ottoman Empire’s campsite, and entered the shadowy big black tent, where his sultan father was waiting for him. What I will do is take you back to October 6, 1553, and bring forward previously unknown and intriguing events from that day, told in a fictional telling. Purchase the book and take a ride to a different world.Thank you and take good care,

Mother to a Prince

This is a non-fiction story of Mahidevran Sultan’s life. 

Mahidevran was the concubine of Lawmaker Sultan Suleiman. But more importantly, she was the mother of Prince Mustafa, the prince being the number one contender to be the next ruler of the Ottoman Empire. 

But, unfortunately the prince did not become the next ruler, as he was brutally executed with the cruel order by his sultan father. 

The intriguing life and times of Mahidevran Sultan was complex, full of intrigue and manipulation. This novelette is well researched accurate telling of the beautiful sultan’s life. 

Therefore, the esteemed readers will have an entertaining, thought-provoking, and surprising story ahead of them. 

Press the buy button and ENJOY! 

Thank you,

The Devoted Call for Hope

Why are you writing this story?There are lessons to be learned from the interactions of a sultan and his children, particularly, the sultan’s interaction with his eldest son. Plus, it is still a relevant story even after 500 years have passed, and important lessons can be filtered out from the interaction between a father and his son.Surely, this relationship between Sultan Suleiman and his eldest son Prince Mustafa was not learned in schools of the western world, whether, elementary, junior high, or high school. I should know, I went through the education system and the information written in this story was not thought. Granted, if one were to attend a History Faculty at any University, surely, one would expect that parts of this story, would have been thought in the program. But, I strongly suspect that the part about Prince Mustafa being executed by his biological sultan father would not be in the literature, maybe only a line or two, at the most would be there. Furthermore, the urge to write this story now is due to wanting to relay the information that is still an intriguing topic of conversation in other parts of the world, while in the western world, it is a topic that is seldom talked about, discussed, or studied. Moreover, it will be beneficial to write a non-fiction story that will educate and entertain the esteemed readers, and introduce a high percentage of them, to a part of the world that they might not know much about. But, I have to clarify the above statement of, a non-fiction story; this story is not entirely non-fiction. The story is a non-fiction telling of the Ottoman Empire, until the tail-end of Lawmaker Sultan Suleiman’s time, in other words, chapters one to five (and chapter seven) are true and well researched telling of the empire. Therefore, everything written up until chapter five is accurate and a fact. Granted, it is a strong statement, which could be retorted by a reader, with one line that could show something other than what was written in this story. However, I am confident of the truth, and welcome any critique, therefore, bring on the criticism. However, most everything in chapter six will be a fictional telling of what happened when Prince Mustafa rode into the Ottoman Empire’s campsite, and entered the shadowy big black tent, where his sultan father was waiting for him in, therefore, the readers will have an entertaining, interesting, and surprising chapter. But please, I urge you to not peek ahead. Therefore, to the question of, why are you writing this story? The answer is that I feel compelled to tell this fascinating tale to readers, who surely want a story about intrigue, manipulation, and refined culture from days long forgotten.In this story, I will explain the life of Prince Mustafa and the betrayal charges made against him by his sultan father. Also, the part where Mustafa enters the tent has been speculated by most everyone, but never fully known; what really happened inside the black tent? The factual answer is this, no one knows what happened. What I will do is take you back to October 6, 1553 and bring forward previously unknown and intriguing events from that day, told in a fictional telling. Purchase the book and take a ride to a different world.Thank you and take good care,

Alexander Vallaury and Vahdettin

Alexander V (Wikipedia below) completed many projects at the tale end of the empire. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Vallaury

Also, it does not say in the Wikipedia site, but he also completed the home of the last sultan of the empire, Vahdettin. 

His home is on the Asian side, if you ever go to Istanbul, the home is at the top of the hill in the Cengelkoy neighborhood, between the first two bridges.

Star Wars Released on May 25

Star Wars Released on May 25

The movie of Star Wars, almost all of us love to watch, was released in theatres in the USA, on May 25, 1977.  It has been 37 years, this month, almost to the day. 

The film was made for 12 million dollars, however earned 800 million dollars in World Wide Sales. 

         Original poster 

As of 2014, the film is the third highest grossing film in the World.  And is often ranked as one of the best films of all time, by viewers and movie critics.  

The film received the 'Best Picture' Academy Award in 1977. 

       This one is awesome 

Most fans will not know, but 'Star Wars' is preserved as part of USA's National Film Registry, by the Library of Congress, as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."  

Also, the film's soundtrack was added to the USA's National Recording Registry.  

        Storm troopers 

Significantly, Star Wars is an important achievement in USA Film History.  

If you read this, and watch the film in the future again, remember that this movie is highly important and therefore should be watched with great admiration. 

Thank you for reading,

Ben here

The Allocation of Income within the Ottoman Empire

The Allocation of Income within the Ottoman Empire 

Today, I would like to bring attention to the income earned within the Ottoman Empire.  

First of all, let us write about the Sultan's Earning.  

     Blue Mosque

The income of the Sultan were of the following ways: 

It came from a percentage of the booty obtained in war, &

the collection of taxes from all corners within the Empire.  

Other high level officials within the Empire were not salaried individualizes.  These officials would be assigned the revenue of various estates and/or villages.  The estates and/or villages would be returned to the Treasury when the officials left their positions or died.  

The Janissary Corps were the soldiers of the Empire, and they were treated much the same way.  The amount of money each soldier was to receive would be weighed and sealed in a bag by the Grand Vizier before they were handed out.  

     Beylerbeyi neighbourhood in Istanbul 

This 'Income Allocation' within the Ottoman Empire worked well until the 19th century.  This changed for the worse after this century as after loosing large territories and obviously income loss due to less Taxation the Empire crumbled. 

The Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1923, the cause was income loss and 'old ways' of running a 'sick Empire'.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

The Gold Coins of the Ottoman Empire

The Gold Coins of the Ottoman Empire

Gold is now found scattered all over the world, but in ancient times it was produced only in following countries of: Egypt, Anatolia, Greece, Transylvania, Spain, Arabia and India. 

The first gold coins appeared in Lycia, which is located in the southwestern part of Anatolia. 

Gold is a soft metal and therefore easy to handle and can be moulded into various shapes, but in order to be used as a coin/currency, Gold needs to be added together into other substances to be hard enough to endure excessive handling.

An ounce of gold can be stretched into a thin wire that extends for a mile.  This malleability makes the metal an ideal resource for jewelry and gold dust mixed with other materials was often used in calligraphy on book covers and other kinds of decoration. 

Now that I have briefly explained the first usage of Gold; I would like to focus the remainder of my essay today on the currency used during the 'Ottoman Empire'.  This essay is a continuation of my research into the currency usages through-out mankind.  

Other writings I have posted are listed below:

Executive Order Number 111110

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/executive-order-number-11110.html

Bitcoin In The Future

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/bitcoin-in-future.html

FIAT Money In Circulation

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/fiat-money-in-circulation.html

Denarius Currency

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/denarius-currency.html

United States Notes

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-united-states-notes.html

Now, today's essay.  

With the conquest of Anatolia and the eventual expansion into Europe, the Ottoman Turks took over systems for mining and acquiring Gold that were already in place for centuries.  These locations were in Anatolia and the Balkans, in Eastern Europe.  

Monetary exchange was based only on coins, since paper money was not introduced yet.  This meant that Gold and Silver were important commodities and carefully protected by the Turks.  

Also, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt, most of the Gold and Silver mining already in existent in the world, fell into the hands of this Empire.  Gold came to be in very short supply in Europe some time beginning in 1520, as most of the Gold mined, ended in the a Ottoman Treasury. 

The official currency of the Ottoman Empire was the 'Silver Akce' that can be traced back to Osman Bey, who was the person that created this Empire, and the 'name-giver' since, Ottoman is English for Osmanli.  He reigned from 1299 to 1324.  

The Silver Akce continued to be used until the 15th century when the first Ottoman Gold Coin appeared during the reign of Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1478.  As the dates can be a witness, the Gold Coins used by the Ottoman Empire is after the conquest of the Empire of the 'Gold Mined' territories, joining the Empire.   

'Gold Treasuries' were set up in cities of Diyarbakır, Van and Bahdat with considerable care paid to the sources of Gold and Silver and careful oversight was undertaken to ensure that the coins were not debased.  Inspectors were regularly sent from the capital city of Constantinople to see that everything was in order and proper care given to the making of the Gold Coin Currency.  

Throughout much of the first half of the Empire, which was from 1480 to 1675, the Ottoman Gold Coins competed with foreign currencies such as Venetian Gold pieces, Egyptian Pare and Spanish Coins.

The 18th century had been a period of instability for the Ottoman Turks, as the currency culminating around the middle of the century saw the closure of 'Gold Treasuries'.  

The decline of the Gold Coins of the Empire posed serious challenges to the administration.  The reliance on foreign coins had serious political implications, as without control over the currency, its control over the economy diminished considerably. Moreover, the devaluation of its own currency saw the beginning of the decline of this Empire.  

Over time and due to numerous wars the Ottoman Empire was engaged in, the Ottoman Turks became unable to meet its financial obligations and was forced to debase its currency even further. 

The monetary system of the 'Once Mighty' Empire, directly correlates to the collapse of this Empire.  Once the devaluation of the Gold Coins started, and the rising debts could not be sufficiently paid, collapse was only evident.   

The phrase 'All things must come to an end' comes to my mind, the concept of 'devaluation of a currency' is not particularly a smart move by the Empire, but it is easier to make this statement now, a few centuries after the beginning of the collapse.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben here

Tulips from the Ottoman Empire

Tulips from the Ottoman Empire 

Tulips, picture them in your mind, the colors, the slender trunk, reaching up, and at the peak, a beautiful 'cup' looking flower. 

One of my favorite flowers.  

How was this 'petite' flower introduced into Europe and the rest of our World. 

Let me write about this today. 

The introduction of the flower known as Tulip to Europe is well known to be by the Ambassador of the 'Roman Empire' to 'Ottoman Empire'.  

          Tulips, on the field I

This person was Ogier de Busbecq, the ambassador of Ferdinand I of the 'Roman Emperor'. 

The Tulip seeds/bulbs were sent to the city of Vienna, in the year of 1554 from Istanbul, then known as Constantinople. 

Soon after this date, the Tulip bulbs were distributed from Vienna to the rest of Europe.  

The city that really embraced this flower was, the city of Amsterdam.  

The flowers popularity and cultivation in the country of Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam is generally thought to have started around the year of 1593, at the University of Leiden, which established the 'Hortus Academicus' at this Institute. 

          Tulips, on the field II

Why was the Tulip different then all the flowers in Europe at this time?

The answers are that:

- there is an intense petal color that no other plant had. 

- status symbol of the flower. 

- at the time, Netherlands was finding the independence from Spain, and therefore this 'independence' was symbolized by the flower.  

Now, let me briefly describe the economic factors caused by the flower.  

          Tulips, on the field III

After the introduction of the Tulip into Europe from the Ottoman Empire, there was a Tulip-mania formed.  The high demand resulted in surging prices and stretching the flower's supply.  Prices of the flower fluctuated with extreme 'highs' and 'lows' during these years.  It is stated in 'Economic' books that this is the first example of 'demand' based pricing. 

At the peak of Tulip-mania, around the year of 1637, single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman in Europe, especially in Netherlands.  

Not only a beautiful flower, but with a 'rich' history.  

Thank you for visiting this site.  

Denarius Currency

Denarius Currency

Has anyone ever wondered what currency the 'Roman empire' used?

I researched this topic while completing couple of other blogs of mine titled:

'Fiat Money in Circulation'.  

http://onlythebrave10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/fiat-money-in-circulation.html

&

'Bitcoin in the Future'

http://www.goodread10.blogspot.ca/2014/02/bitcoin-in-future.html

I have attached a link of the blogs for you to read, if the link does not work, please copy/paste to the address bar.  

Now, back to today's topic. 

It is important to understand the similarities of our monetary system in use today, with that of the 'mighty' Empire, and the failures associated with this system when in use by the Roman Empire and not learning from the past errors.  

The Roman Empire did not utilize a 'paper' currency.  

The currency in use was actual 'silver' commodity, stamped with the Emperors bust, and shaped into the size of our current 1 dollar coinage.  

The Empire within all of its vast territories used one of the first examples of 'true' debasement of a currency.  

This currency was called 'Denarius'. 

The Denarius, when first utilized was essentially 100% pure silver.  What this means is that, the citizens would carry around with them 'silver coins' to use as 'barter' and/or money in exchange of purchasing an item from another individual.  

The pure silver coinage called Denarius began circulating at the beginning of the first century A.D. 

This changed for the worst soon after this date.  

By the year 54 A.D., the Roman Emperor Nero ordered that the Denarius not be a full silver coinage.  The Denarius was now approximately 94% silver and the remainder made-up of other material.  

By around the year 100 A.D., the Denarius coinages silver content was down to 85%.

All other Emperors after Nero, bought the idea of 'devaluing their currency' in order to pay the bills of the Empire, keep the silver for their own usage and increase their own wealth.  

By the year 218, the Denarius coinages silver content was down to 43%. 

By the year 244, the Denarius coinages silver content was taken down to .05, by the Emperor Philip.  

The monetary system of the 'Once Mighty' Empire, directly correlates to the collapse of the city of Rome and and the Roman Empire.  The Denarius coinages silver content was only 0.02%, at the collapse date of the year 410, which was also the date of 'Sacking of the city of Rome'.  After this date, no person accepted the Denarius, as it did not store a value.  

The phrase 'All things must come to an end' comes to my mind, however I hope the 'Central Banks' of each country, particularly 'the once mighty' USA studies the 'devaluation of a currency' and the consequences attached to this.  

Thank you for reading, 

Ben

Branding and Manchester United

Branding and Manchester United

There are 'intentional branding' of associating a product with a well known brand, all of the time, we all probably noticed this over the years. 

What about 'associating by accident', this does happen often aswell. 

Here is an example of 'associating by accident'. 

The well-known club of Manchester United football/soccer Empire made a serious error this month.  

The club sent out a 'promotional email' to the members with a logo of the football team resembling a swastika.  

The club needed to send out thousands of 'apology' letters afterwards, when the logo was discovered. 

I have attached a picture of the logo, and it does resemble a swastika.  

Errors happen, but I would not have expected this from a football club of this size. 

Thank you for reading. 

Scourge of God

Scourge of God

I heard the quote 'Scourge of God' and wondered why such a comment could be made, and for 'who' it was said; therefore decided to do some research.  

Do you know what 'Scourge' means?

Scourge means 'a person that causes great deal of trouble or suffering'. 

This quote was used first for 'Attila the Hun'. 

Attila the Hun and his faithful Warriors developed the skills of 'Battle' at the territories once called 'Scythia'.  Today, Scythia is the areas within the countries of Kazakhstan and south-east Russia. 

Attila the Hun and his Troops scared the citizens of the Roman Empire, since these Warriors would attack the borders of the Empire.  

The fear was evident with citizens when they came into contact with these Warriors, who had tattooed bodies and knotted long hair; and the Romans would wonder and try to comprehend how God could allow these Pagans to destroy their once-mighty Empire.  

Therefore, the citizens of the Empire called Attila the Hun, the 'Scourge of God'. 

Attila the Hun conquered vast lands in Asia and Europe from the Roman and other empires, over a thousand years ago. 

You might be wondering who was Atilla, the Hun. 

The Huns were a Nomadic tribe from the territories of modern day Mongolia; with ancestor ties to the Turk-manic tribes. 

I thought it was an interesting story and I decided to share this today. 

Thank you,

Ben