the sultans of the ottoman empire were all born from concubines. the mother of the sultan is known as the queen mother, and she controls many things including the running of the sultans harem. so the sultan has to go through his mother to get laid
@marinus18
Read again, I’m saying the pull out had few casualties, not the entire operation. The British suffered collosal losses, and the Ottomans suffered even more in the defense.
@IoM citizen #42
“few casulties? Galipoli killed over 600.000 British soldiers. It was a doomed operation from the start as even though they manage to take part of Greece Galipoli was far too isolated and it was extremely easy for the Germans and the Austrians to reinforce the Ottomans. They were also right on top of the largest Ottoman population centers so getting supplies and reinforcements was extremely easy for the Ottomans. Not so for the British who were cut off from supply lines and everything had to come in by ship.
@marinus18
Speaking of Gallipoli, one of my favorite stories from that was how the British retreated from there. To cover the flank of the retreating forces, they created several lines of rifles that were attached to drip cans of varying intervals of water, where water would drip into a bucket attached to the trigger of the rifle. They spaced out the rifles firing to make it look like impromptu shooting. After some time, the built up water would weigh enough to pull the trigger. The Ottomans would think the British were still in the trenches when in reality they were long gone by the time the Turkish forces found out no one was home. The British forces were able to pull out of that mess with few casualties.
Though not all the proffesional soldiers were slaves. The famous jannisaries were but they were mostly an elite assault force. Just one component among many though they were the most prestigious and prominant.
And “slave” was a lot more nuanced as it means pretty much anyone who falls under someone else’s citizenship.
As the system weakened also the Sultan didn’t have that much power. Usually the harem were chosen for him as the powerful noble families, the jannisary groups and religious figures all had to be pleased.
That system of fractricide, though brutal was an asset as it kind of served as a filter.
However the decline of the Ottomans had many causes. A big one was the corruption of the jannisaries who became more a liability than an asset but also it just overextended itself. Where pretty much all the resources available are needed just to keep it together. They were boxed in on all sides by powerful rivals. The Safawid persians to the east, the Austrians and Russians to the North and in the medditeranian they had to share power with the Spanish, Italians, Austrians and French. To the South was the Sahara so no expansion there and the Dutch and British fleets dominated the Indian ocean.
Their biggest fall though was that the economic engine was the spice trade and the inports of many metals from India. However many Europeans just byed it and as metalurgy improved the trade balance reversed. Most of the Ottoman land wasn’t really all that valuable by itself. In the late 19th century with the rising value of oil it actually did get richer and one of the few competent sultans tried to reverse the fortunes and was even somewhat successful. He manages to destroy the corrupt jannisaries which by then were just a drain on income and nothing more. Manage to weaken a lot of the power of local lords and reduce the power of the priests. Also fortifying the Dardalless and building up factories. Unfortunately by that point in time the Ottomans were over a century behind Britain and their industrialization paled in comparison to and even Russia. ing WW1 was pretty much the end though they did win a massive victory on the British.
In of attrition the battle of Galipoli is the greatest loss the British suffered in the entire war, even more than the Somme.
@marinus18
in the social sense yeah, very very insular. in order to curb concubines killing each others sons, favored prospective heirs would be isolated in what was called the iron palace, or the iron cages (something along those lines). they would live in almost complete isolation with only a couple servants for company for some times decades. this led to why those later sultans were so F’d in the head, and so weak. they had not experience with anything.
also the concubines were slaves, but they were highly revered. they would commonly be bought or recruited by harem officials from the general populace, and that was usually considered a huge honor for the family. also you have to that all the professional soldiery were slaves, most government officials, court officials, an other important individuals.
@Background Pony #5B11
what happened to them was usually up to the queen mother. most of the time they would simply grow up in the harem, and some times be married off to important officials, or the like. however, sometimes things got really grim. when a new sultan would come to power the harem could undergo complete change. usually the old harem personnel would be sent to a defacto retirement/imprisonment palace, but there were a couple times in which the new queen mother would have some, or all the other women and their children killed. things could get really out of hand in the harem
@marinus18
under normal circumstances a soft sultan should never assume power. but as i described above after suleiman the magnificent the quality of the sultans dropped through the floor.
@Background Pony #74D8
In the actual Ottoman empire it was expected that a prince kill all their half-brothers. So mild-mannered sultans didn’t exist. It was a duty to father at least a dozen heirs if not more so anyone mild mannered or soft would be killed.
@T72B
It was more so that before you had the concept that one child had to kill all his brothers. That did kind of balance it out.
The real downside of the harem system was that it made the royal family incredibly insular. Unlike the Europeans who were constantly mixing.
Also it’s important to keep in mind that harem concubines were slaves. That’s why they were chosen as they had no rights of their own.
@Dustcan
in a simplified manner, yes. the institution of the harem was meant to try and get the best possible rulers by creating intense competition between possible heirs. however, as time went on the internal politicking and backstabbing in the harem led to the fostering of a long line of weak and ineffectual sultans (not to mention really mentally fucked up) as the concubines would try to curry favor with the current queen mother, and get their own sons into a favorable position to be the heir. but ultimately this rule of the harem could arguably have led to the stagnation, and ultimate downfall of the ottoman empire
Read again, I’m saying the pull out had few casualties, not the entire operation. The British suffered collosal losses, and the Ottomans suffered even more in the defense.
“few casulties? Galipoli killed over 600.000 British soldiers. It was a doomed operation from the start as even though they manage to take part of Greece Galipoli was far too isolated and it was extremely easy for the Germans and the Austrians to reinforce the Ottomans. They were also right on top of the largest Ottoman population centers so getting supplies and reinforcements was extremely easy for the Ottomans. Not so for the British who were cut off from supply lines and everything had to come in by ship.
Edited
sultan problems
Speaking of Gallipoli, one of my favorite stories from that was how the British retreated from there. To cover the flank of the retreating forces, they created several lines of rifles that were attached to drip cans of varying intervals of water, where water would drip into a bucket attached to the trigger of the rifle. They spaced out the rifles firing to make it look like impromptu shooting. After some time, the built up water would weigh enough to pull the trigger. The Ottomans would think the British were still in the trenches when in reality they were long gone by the time the Turkish forces found out no one was home. The British forces were able to pull out of that mess with few casualties.
Edited
Or maybe not. After all once she is impregnated the sex stops.
You know quite a bit about history.
And “slave” was a lot more nuanced as it means pretty much anyone who falls under someone else’s citizenship.
However the decline of the Ottomans had many causes. A big one was the corruption of the jannisaries who became more a liability than an asset but also it just overextended itself. Where pretty much all the resources available are needed just to keep it together. They were boxed in on all sides by powerful rivals. The Safawid persians to the east, the Austrians and Russians to the North and in the medditeranian they had to share power with the Spanish, Italians, Austrians and French. To the South was the Sahara so no expansion there and the Dutch and British fleets dominated the Indian ocean.
In of attrition the battle of Galipoli is the greatest loss the British suffered in the entire war, even more than the Somme.
in the social sense yeah, very very insular. in order to curb concubines killing each others sons, favored prospective heirs would be isolated in what was called the iron palace, or the iron cages (something along those lines). they would live in almost complete isolation with only a couple servants for company for some times decades. this led to why those later sultans were so F’d in the head, and so weak. they had not experience with anything.
what happened to them was usually up to the queen mother. most of the time they would simply grow up in the harem, and some times be married off to important officials, or the like. however, sometimes things got really grim. when a new sultan would come to power the harem could undergo complete change. usually the old harem personnel would be sent to a defacto retirement/imprisonment palace, but there were a couple times in which the new queen mother would have some, or all the other women and their children killed. things could get really out of hand in the harem
under normal circumstances a soft sultan should never assume power. but as i described above after suleiman the magnificent the quality of the sultans dropped through the floor.
In the actual Ottoman empire it was expected that a prince kill all their half-brothers. So mild-mannered sultans didn’t exist. It was a duty to father at least a dozen heirs if not more so anyone mild mannered or soft would be killed.
were the daughters of sultans treated well? I guess sons were more favored in this casesIt was more so that before you had the concept that one child had to kill all his brothers. That did kind of balance it out.
The real downside of the harem system was that it made the royal family incredibly insular. Unlike the Europeans who were constantly mixing.
Also it’s important to keep in mind that harem concubines were slaves. That’s why they were chosen as they had no rights of their own.
Edited
in a simplified manner, yes. the institution of the harem was meant to try and get the best possible rulers by creating intense competition between possible heirs. however, as time went on the internal politicking and backstabbing in the harem led to the fostering of a long line of weak and ineffectual sultans (not to mention really mentally fucked up) as the concubines would try to curry favor with the current queen mother, and get their own sons into a favorable position to be the heir. but ultimately this rule of the harem could arguably have led to the stagnation, and ultimate downfall of the ottoman empire