The Turkish Letters Essay

The Ottoman had several scenes of decline and each one had marked their history and are linked with it so I will explain each one. The armistice of 1918 ended the fighting between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies but didn´t bring stability or peace to the region. The British controlled Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia.

One of the most important events of the history was European expansion into the new world. Traditional Feudal societies collapsed under the weight of demographic and political changes during Eurasia experienced Mongol expansion and Black death. There was sociopolitical and religious conflict between states and reconsideration of traditional knowledge and institution. The social and intellectual revolutions in Europe can be considered provocative and subversive. Revolutions in the European society encouraged each other incrementally rather than remaining isolated and produced systematic and lasting changes in the European society.

The primary source that I have chosen is “Turkish Embassy Letters” written by Lady Wortley Montagu and edited by Malcolm Jack. In this reading the author describes her journey in the Middle East. She gives her perspective on her adventure, which is very important because it can help eliminate orientalism and the negative views about the Middle East. It also gives us an idea on how the Middle East looked like during the 1700s. Orientalism still exists today and I will be showing examples from the text on how Montagu’s trip proves how orientalism is wrong. Edward Said stated that, “American understanding of the Orient will seem considerably less dense (Orientalism Pg. 2).” Everyone has their own assumptions and I believe this reading can help eliminate the assumptions of the Middle East and to improve awareness of orientalism.

The early Ottoman Empire came along a bit later than the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. It began in northwest Asia when a Muslim named Osman I created a small kingdom by bringing together Turkish warriors called ghazis (Osman…). Osman and his followers created the core of the Ottoman state by conquering a number of important countries in northwest Asia. Under the rule of Osman, the empire rapidly grew in territory and power by winning victory after victory in battle. In a very short period of time, the Ottomans gained control over much of southeastern Europe and became a major rival to the declining Byzantine Empire.

The ottoman empire originated in the late 12th century near the city of Constantinople by Turkish natives who began to build an empire after their leader, Osman. The Ottoman Empire was run by a small ruling class with the sultan in the highest position. Interestingly, the Ottomans allowed their subjects to live under the laws of their own separate religions. The Ottoman Empire put a strong focus on industrialization. They focused on developing many cities into commercial and industrial centers.

In this letter, the author seeks to address the position and status of the women in the Ottoman Empire. In the letter, he addresses how the women in the Ottoman society are marginalized and viewed as objects to their husbands. The context surrounding Bushbecq 's letter was because the issue surrounding the women status in the Islamic legal structures was very complicated in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was a vast political entity that existed for more than five hundred years, making it impossible to question how the women in the whole Ottoman legal structure ought to be treated. In the Islamic Empires, all the women were treated based on the Islamic law; therefore, questioning these meant questioning the Islamic laws which was a taboo. Women as a legal subject forms a very diverse topic which can be looked at in terms of marriage law, adultery laws, property laws, among others. Therefore, Bushceq 's letter was only an informative document and not one that took any side as he was not meant to question the set Islamic Laws.

The Turkish Embassy Letters are remarkable in many ways: they exemplify the witty rapport of familiar letters, the keen observations of an Enlightenment intellectual, and the romantic musings of a young woman. Standing on the edges of vast empires, she writes philosophy in prose both searching and sarcastic.

Everyone has a different perspective on an idea because of our nurture, for example, our religious beliefs, economic background and values and opinions instilled by our families throughout our adolescence. The key reasons Europeans articulated such different views of the Ottoman Empire and the Turks is because they were afraid of a religion and culture they had zero or very little knowledge of. This is greatly demonstrated throughout of the kinds of sources they’ve read and had heard of, as well as their religious identities. Some different views that will be discussed are that the Ottomans are elites, a strong force with a strong military, and that they are a refined group as well as that they were barbaric.

The Janissary corps was a strict system that forbid the janissaries from growing a beard, having another career like trade, drinking or gambling, and marrying before retirement. This was so they’d be focused entirely on the sultan. Punisment in result from rule-breaking varied from kitchen duty, or the most common type of punisment where a soldier would be beated on his feet by a falaka, a supple wand. Desertion in time of war resulted in execution. Even though the system was strict, the Janissaries were paid a salary, were the first to wear uniforms, marched to a mether band, and lived in barracks.

The concept of gender and space in the Ottoman empire involves the segregation of the two sexes in public and private spaces. Women are shielded when it comes to their body. Women are not “allowed to be visible male gaze in public spaces and private spaces”, only men that have the right to be in the same place as women which includes the husband, son, father and brothers are allowed to gaze at them. However, women are allowed to be gazed in public during festivities by anyone because the rules are more relaxed during these occasions. The most surprising thing to me in this reading is Harem ( a muslim palace or house reserved for women only). The ottoman empire oppressed women in different forms that will not be acceptable in a progressive society.

The Ottoman empire; one of the greatest empires in history. The Empire, at its height, ruled most of the land around the Mediterranean. It contributed much to culture, science, religion, war, politics, and the world. Its monumental fall will be known throughout history. How can the swift decline of the Ottoman power be explained? Perhaps the best way to understand how important this event was, there needs to be a brief explanation of the history behind this epic collapse; showing the rise before the fall and the drastic change.

The twelfth point is that the Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be promised secure sovereignty and that the other nationalities that are under the Turkish rule be assured undoubted security of life and development. The Straits and Constantinople should be under international rule. The rule

The Ottoman Turks emerged on the periphery of the Byzantine Empire and the Saljuk Turks. Under a Turkish Muslim warrior named Osman, raids were conducted in western Anatolia on Byzantine settlements and a vast number of Turks were united under his banner. Those Turks who flocked to Osman's banner and followed him into the history books came to be called the Ottomans. The word Ottoman, fits these Turks well as it roughly translates from Turkish as "those associated with Oman."

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (March 12, 1881 - November 10, 1938), Turkish soldier and statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. He was born in the Ottoman city of Selânik (now Thessaloniki in Greece), where his birthplace is the Turkish Consulate and is also preserved as a museum. In accordance with the then prevalent Turkish custom, he was given the single name Mustafa. His father, Ali Riza (Efendi) was a customs officer who died when Mustafa was a child, his mother was Zübeyde (Hanim).

Throughout history, the middle east has often been the focus of news reporters. A middle eastern country that has not been exempt from this, is Turkey. Turkey has not only been a focus, but it also has had a very long, complicated history.