History
At the height of its power, the Ottoman Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf, into Hungary and along the northern shore of Africa.[1] As part of a relatively tolerant Muslim empire, the military was exposed to a wide variety of cultures, weapons, and fighting styles. In spite of this, a form of standardization emerged.
Prior to the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the army of the Ottoman Empire was comprised of Christian men from conquered Byzantine provinces under the command of the Ottoman nobility. To counter the Sultan’s lack of direct military power, Murad I and Bayezid I formed the Janissary corps, which were comprised of captured Christian boys who were captured during battle, converted to Islam, and trained to fight for the Sultan.[2] The Janissary corps fought along with other infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Weapons were manufactured in factories called cebehâne, then provided to soldiers. For three hundred years, the Church of Hagia Eirene in Topkapı Palace’s First Courtyard in Istanbul functioned as one such factory.[3]
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Mehmet II took the opportunity to reorganize the military, and it was one of the first professional standing armies since the fall of the Roman Empire. The military flourished until the Auspicious Incident in 1828 when the Janissaries revolted against the Sultan Mahmud II for the induction of westernized troops.[4]
Battles
Battle of Raydaniya
After the conquest of Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire was in an excellent consolidated position. They capitalized on this by striking out to conquer Egypt and claim its riches for the Sultan.
In the battle of Raydaniya in 1517, Sultan Selim I destroyed the Egyptian forces in Syria by artfully combining his fast cavalry, tough infantry, and devastating artillery. The Egyptian defenders fell back and attempted to quickly build their own cannons to fortify a position at Raydaniya, in order to halt the Ottoman advance towards Chiro. However, the makeshift cannons and inexperienced Egyptians could not match the more experienced Ottoman forces; Janissary shock troops defeated Egyptian attempts at a counterattack. After brutal fighting in the streets and a hard-won conquest, Selim I took the city and its riches for himself.[5]
Battle of Rhodes
In 1522, the Ottoman navy of forty thousand strong laid siege to the island of Rhodes, where there was a garrison of seven thousand Knights of St. John. After six months, the knights were heavily outnumbered and low on supplies; they surrendered in exchange for safe passage from Rhodes. They moved to the island of Malta and established a new fortified location, incurring renewed Ottoman wrath.
In 1565, Suliman the Magnificent sent Mustafa Pasha to take the island and kill the knights. The defenders were entrenched in a defensible strategic position, with resupply by sea and protected in the fortress of St. Elmo. The assault began in May and lasted until June when the fort finally fell, and the remaining defenders retreated from St. Elmo to the fort of St. Angelo on the neighboring island, Senglea.
The Ottomans broke the walls of St. Angelo in August, but they were prevented from taking the fort by a savage and heroic defense by the remaining knights. Only the arrival of a Spanish fleet carrying reinforcements, led by Garcia of Toledo, saved the knights. Mustafa executed a controlled retreat in September.[6]
Battle of Mohacs
Determined to bring eastern Europe into the Ottoman’s influence, Suliman I led the first assault on Hungary in 1526. During the long march, Hungarian ruler King Louis failed to receive any support from the other European powers who were in the midst of the Protestant Reformation. Louis decided to make his stand at Mohacs, a strategic crossing that blocked the road to Hungary’s capital, Buda.
The Hungarian advantage lay in their powerful cavalry, which was comprised of skilled warriors mounted on heavily armored warhorses that had proved effective in other European engagements. The Ottomans arrived and clashed with the Hungarians, the bigger warhorses making short work of two lines of Ottoman feudal cavalry. The Ottomans smashed into the cannon emplacements, each strung out with overlapping fields of fire and protected by the elite Janissary corps. Despite their best efforts, the Hungarians were wiped out, and Suliman I took the capital of Hungary, only to be later stopped at Vienna, Austria—which proved impregnable—and was his first military defeat.[7]
Defeat at Lepanto
In 1570, the Ottomans attacked Cyprus, an island off the coast of Greece. In response, Pope Pius V organized a united European response called the Holy League that comprised the Hapsburg Empire, Genoa, and Venice. By the time the force had been organized and assembled, Cyprus had been lost to the Ottomans. The fleet sailed regardless and met the Ottomans at Lepanto, where they engaged in one of the largest sea battles in history.
The Ottoman infantry was at a disadvantage, using bows and crossbows against the European guns. Both sides simply charged each other without tactics or a larger strategy. The European flagship, captained by the leader of the coalition Don Juan, rammed into the Ottoman flagship captained by the Ottoman commander Ali Mouezinzade who was promptly shot in the head. About fifty of the original two hundred seventy Ottoman ships escaped, and while the Empire rebuilt their entire navy in less than a year, this marked the beginning of their military decline.[8]
Painting of the Battle of Lepanto of 1571.
Courtesy of National Maritime Museum. Public Domain.
Siege of Vienna
In 1683, the Ottomans again tried to take Vienna, this time relying on mines (rather than cannons) to break the walls. They breached the outer defenses after eleven days of intense bombardment when Polish King Jan Sobieski led a united relief force of Poles, Germans, and Austrians into the Ottoman flank. The Ottoman forces broke and ran, only avoiding complete desolation because the cover of night allowed some of their forces to escape. Sultan Mehmet IV had all his viziers executed by garroting them with a bowstring.[9]
Tactics
Ottoman tactics were drawn from the Arab armies of which they were composed. Their light cavalry allowed them to perform wide flanking maneuvers or to ride ahead of the main force and harass opposition in preparation for the main assault. Once the main force arrived, cannons would hammer the enemy and soften them up before a combined infantry and cavalry assault crushed them. The combination of various methods of attack—and blistering speed and coordination—was usually enough to overwhelm even the most fortified enemies. Ottoman flexibility and wealth of resources were their greatest strengths, as they could afford to wait out a long siege or suffer massive losses when reinforcements could quickly be drawn from other parts of the empire.[10]
Weapons
Swords
The yataghan is a single-edged, slightly recurved weapon that varied from machete-sized to over thirty-six inches long. The unique aspect of the yataghan its recurve, so the point is in line with the pommel to allow for thrusts and binding with enemies’ blades.[11] They appeared to be a cheaper alternative to swords, though that is not to say that a yataghan is a poor man’s weapon, as several very ornate yatagans exist. (However, a yataghan is far less expensive than a Kilij.[12]) Yataghans were also commonly used with a shield.[13]
An Ottoman yatagan with engraved scabbard.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
The Kiligi is a curved one-handed, single-edged sword that closely resembles the European saber.[14] Its shape optimizes it for cutting; thrusts are possible, but not preferred. It was well-suited both for cavalry and infantry fighting. It is false that contact with the Ottomans brought the saber to Europe, as Hungarians were using a form of the saber in the time of Charlemagne during the 9th century.[15]
A richly ornamented ceremonial Kiliji.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
This video shows reconstructed techniques with the Shamshir, a relative of the Kiligi, with a more extreme curve.
Maces
The mace was both a weapon and a symbol of power in Ottoman society. A mace, in its simplest form, is a heavy ball-shaped object (called a topuz) on a stick that is designed to inflict blunt-force trauma.[16] The Ottomans used them since their founding, each with various levels of ornamentation. It was particularly effective against armored opponents.[17]
A collection of maces demonstrating their range of ornamentation and functions.
Bows
The bow and arrow have been a central part of human warfare since prehistory. However, the Turkish bow is one of the most refined bows. Used both on foot and on horseback, these bows were some of the smallest, measuring only forty-one to forty-four inches; however, they could reach draw weights of up to one hundred thirty pounds.[18] Because the materials (wood, sinew, horn, and glue) took so long to dry, a single bow could take anywhere from one to three years to complete.[19] The design is different due to the shrinkage of the sinew on the back of the bow, which helps to dramatically increase the draw weight.
A diagram of a Turkish bow both strung and unstrung.
Courtesy of Wendelin Boeheim. Public Domain.
A truly inspiring video showing how composite Asian style bows are made in the traditional way with hand tools.
The bows were drawn with the thumb grip and could use both heavy and light arrows. There were three types of taper and three types of nocks, each affected the aerodynamics of the bow. Self-nocks were rare and usually only used on cheap war bows. Başpâre nocks, similar to modern plastic nocks, were used on sporting flight arrows. Bakkam nocks were made of harder wood than the arrow; they tapered to an opening and were secured by sinew soaked in hot fish glue.[20]
Metal arrowheads were fitted into the shaft and reinforced with sinew or bone rings; war arrows tapered to a fine point in order to punch through armor.[21] Ottoman archers were renowned as some of the best in the world, able to hit distances up to eight hundred meters.[22]
An example of an ornate Turkish bow with arrows.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
This is a wonderful group that is seeking to revive Turkish archery.
Firearms
Pistols were recorded in the empire as early as 1421 in the Duzmece Mustafa Uprising.[23] Firearm production was closely monitored at various gun shops around the empire and, like all other weapons, could be richly adorned with the wealth of the Ottomans.
17th-century Ottoman pistol.
Courtesy of Swedish Royal Armory. Public Domain.
Rifles and other firearm designs were copied almost exactly from European prototypes, usually with more embroidery.[24] Gunpowder production was tightly controlled across the empire; today, the main repository of historical examples rests in the military museum at the converted Topkapi Place Museum in Istanbul.[25]
An ornate example of an Ottoman "Miquelet" Rifle, possibly made for the Ottoman Imperial guard.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
In spite of their tendency to misfire and the slow rate of fire, Ottoman infantry and cavalry were just as fond of their pistols as their western counterparts. In the 16th century, they amazed Christian troops with the accuracy of their shooting. However, contemporary Muslims were appalled at such easy killing. Egyptian Mameluke Chieftain Kurtbay begged the Sultan to ban firearms because muskets were too effective “even if a woman were to fire it.” Due to this internal dispute, however, the Ottomans fell behind in firearm development.[26]
This video follows a guided tour of the jeweled gun of Sultan Mahmud I, dated 1732-1733.
Cavalry
Ottoman cavalry was a deadly force; mounted riders could mow down infantry with their sabers or launch a storm of arrows in quick succession. The units generally relied on speed and maneuverability rather than on heavy armor. Riding Turkoman and Arabian horses, the Ottoman’s most famous tactic (similar to the Mongols) was to pretend to retreat and then to surround an enemy to crush them.[27]
In Ottoman society, the heavy cavalry units, the Sipahis, were the most important of the six classes of cavalry who complimented the elite infantry units of janissaries. In exchange for their military service, they were granted land and serfs with the rights to all the profits it generated.[28] Light cavalry units, called Akincis, would ride ahead of the main force to harass and pillage the enemy. Their horses were bred for speed, and the riders were very lightly armored archers, allowing them to outrun any other force. They created an atmosphere of confusion and shock, just as the main army arrived.[29]
Ottoman cavalry at the Battle of Vienna.
Courtesy of G. Jansoone. Public Domain.
Armor
A subcategory of Islamic armor that rose to prominence along with the religion, Ottoman armor is characterized by being lighter in weight and less restrictive than its European counterparts. Not only does this lend itself to the Islamic preference for speed and maneuverability, but it is well suited for fighting in desert climates.[30]
The armor was composed of a mail shirt with small plates of steel woven on top of it. This “Lamellar armor” was widespread in the empire by the early 16th century. The armor usually covered the chest, forearms, legs, and head.
A complete Indian suit of armor that demonstrates the type of lamellar armor found in Islamic armor.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
The most iconic part of Ottoman armor, however, was the conical helmet, nicknamed a “turban helmet” for its bulbous base; it was likely first developed in the Persian Sasanian tradition. [31]
An example of an ornate helmet.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
An example of Islamic lamellar armor.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
Detail of how the metal plates are interwoven into the mail.
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
This video looks at the individual pieces of armor and how they all assemble together into one unit.
Armor was also developed for horses and their riders in the same style. While Ottoman horses were not as big and powerful as European warhorses, they could still be effectively armored.
An Ottoman Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense).
Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.
Specialty: Artillery and Navy
Artillery
The Ottoman Empire employed cannons to devastating effect on the walls of Constantinople. A mysterious German or Hungarian named Orben designed and built a massive cannon specifically for breaking down the walls of Constantinople; he named it Basilica. Cast in bronze, Basilica measured twenty-seven feet long and was able to hurl a six-hundred-pound stone ball over a mile.[32] This proved to be a watershed moment in history, as the walls that had protected major cities [Since Damascus erected its first wall eleven thousand years ago] had been rendered obsolete by gunpowder.
Cannons remained a staple of Ottoman warfare till the empire’s fall
A replica of the great cannon that brought the walls of Constantinople down.
Courtesy of Gaius Cornelius. Public Domain.
Navy
The Ottoman navy was a formidable force and clashed with European forces many times over the centuries. The ships were constructed primarily in the harbors of Istanbul in the 17th century. Istanbul alone boasted over two thousand merchant vessels, as well as military ships and thousands of other vessels.[33] For short ferry rides, small one-oar pereme caique was used—and for longer trips, larger single-masted mavna.[34] Finally, the royal caiques were richly adorned and transported the Sultan and his family; the largest and most impressive measured forty meters long and was used by Sultan Mehmed IV.[35]
Ottoman sails had a distinct triangular shape, called a Lateen, that allowed them to sail either fore or aft to the wind, rather than the traditional European square sail, which only allowed sail in the direction of the wind.[36] These boats and sails proved perfect for the unpredictable winds and currents of the Golden Horn.[37]
An example of triangular lateen sails.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Ottoman warships came in two types: galleys and galleons. Galleys were smaller and divided into twenty-five types, the most important being the kadirga with forty-nine or fifty pairs of oars, each oar manned by five men.[38]
An artistic representation of an arrow volley being fired from a kadirga.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Galleons were massive, multi-deck warships. The biggest was the three-deck galleons, each with eighty to one hundred ten guns. Each ship usually had a combination of triangular and square sails.[39]
A breathtaking example of a three-decked Ottoman Galleon.
Courtesy of Abdul Qadir Hisari. Public Domain.
Works Cited
Footnotes
[1] “Suleiman the Magnificent - New World Encyclopedia.”
[2] “Military Organization of the Ottoman Empire.”
[3] “Arms and Weapons | Topkapı Palace Museum Official Web Site.”
[4] “Auspicious Incident | Ottoman History | Britannica.Com.”
[5] R. G. Grant, Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Combat.
[6] R. G. Grant.
[7] R. G. Grant.
[8] R. G. Grant.
[9] R. G. Grant.
[10] “Ottoman Tactics.”
[11] “Yataghan / Sword.”
[12] scholagladiatoria, The Ottoman and Balkan Yataghan Sword/Knife.
[13] scholagladiatoria.
[14] “Sword (Kilij) with Scabbard | Turkish | The Met.”
[15] scholagladiatoria, Early Development of Sabres - Introduction.
[16] “The Antique Ottoman Maces.”
[17] “The Antique Ottoman Maces.”
[18] “Turkish Traditional Archery Part II.”
[19] “Turkish Traditional Archery Part I,” 1.
[20] “Turkish Traditional Archery Part II.”
[21] “Turkish Traditional Archery Part II.”
[22] “Turkish Traditional Archery Part II.”
[23] “Pistols of the Ottoman Empire.”
[24] R. G. Grant, Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Combat.
[25] “Rifles in the Ottoman Empire.”
[26] R. G. Grant, Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Combat.
[27] “Cavalry in Islamic History.”
[28] “Sipahi | Ottoman Cavalry.”
[29] “Cavalry in Islamic History.”
[30] Armor, “Islamic Arms and Armor | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
[31] Alexander, “Two Aspects of Islamic Arms and Armor.”
[32] Davis, 100 Decisive Battles.
[33] “Brief History Of Ottoman Ship Building.”
[34] “Brief History Of Ottoman Ship Building.”
[35] “Brief History Of Ottoman Ship Building.”
[36] Brian Lavery, Ship The Epic Story Of Maritime Adventure.
[37] “Lateen Sail | Sail.”
[38] “Brief History Of Ottoman Ship Building.”
[39] “Brief History Of Ottoman Ship Building.”
Citations
Alexander, D. G. “Two Aspects of Islamic Arms and Armor.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 18 (1983): 97–109. https://doi.org/10.2307/1512801
Armor, Author: Department of Arms and. “Islamic Arms and Armor | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/isaa/hd_isaa.htm
“Arms and Weapons | Topkapı Palace Museum Official Web Site.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://topkapisarayi.gov.tr/en/content/arms-and-weapons
“Auspicious Incident | Ottoman History | Britannica.Com.” Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Auspicious-Incident
Brian Lavery. Ship The Epic Story Of Maritime Adventure. Edited by Peter Frances. DK Publishing, n.d
“Brief History Of Ottoman Ship Building.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.turkishculture.org/military/naval-171.htm
“Cavalry in Islamic History.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.tauhid.net/cavalry_in_Islam.html
Davis, Paul K. 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Lateen Sail | Sail.” Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/technology/lateen-sail
“Military Organization of the Ottoman Empire.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://turkmeniya.tripod.com/id24.html
“Ottoman Tactics.” Accessed May 30, 2018. http://www.theottomans.org/english/campaigns_army/index_5.asp
“Pistols Of the Ottoman Empire.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.turkishculture.org/military/arms/pistols/pistols-ottoman-empire-168.htm?type=1
R. G. Grant. Battle A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years Of Combat. Edited by David John. DK Publishing, n.d
“Rifles in the Ottoman Empire.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.turkishculture.org/military/arms/rifles/rifles-ottoman-empire-167.htm?type=1
scholagladiatoria. Early Development of Sabres - Introduction. Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxPnH3M0RO4
scholagladiatoria. The Ottoman and Balkan Yataghan Sword/Knife. Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sneyhtx3L5o
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Sipahi | Ottoman Cavalry.” Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sipahi
“Suleiman the Magnificent - New World Encyclopedia.” Accessed May 15, 2018. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Suleiman_the_Magnificent
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. “Sword (Kilij) with Scabbard | Turkish | The Met.” Accessed May 21, 2018. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/32184
“The Antique Ottoman Maces.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.turkishculture.org/military/arms/antique-ottoman-maces-169.htm?type=1
“Turkish Traditional Archery Part I.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.turkishculture.org/military/arms/archery-748.htm
“Turkish Traditional Archery Part II.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.turkishculture.org/military/arms/archery/archery-part-ii-756.htm?type=1
British Museum. “Yataghan / Sword.” Accessed May 21, 2018. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=670340&partId=1
