The House of Osman

(note: this article is under construction)

دولت عليه عثمانیه Devlet-i ʿAliyye-yi ʿOsmâniyye - Modern Turkish: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu - (The Ottoman Empire) sometimes referred to as the Turkish Empire, was a contiguous transcontinental empire founded by Turkish tribes under Osman Bey in north-western Anatolia in 1299.

With the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet II in 1453 the Ottoman state was transformed into an empire.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular at the height of its power under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful states in the world – a multinational, multilingual empire, controlling much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia/the Caucasus, North Africa and the Horn of Africa.

At the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states, some of which were later absorbed into the empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries.

With Constantinople (Istanbul) as its capital and control of vast lands around the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interactions between the Eastern and Western worlds for over six centuries.

It was dissolved in the aftermath of World War I; the collapse of the empire led to the emergence of the new political regime in Turkey itself, as well as the creation of the new Balkans and Middle East.

The Ottoman Dynasty

The Ottoman Dynasty (or the Imperial House of Osman), ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I (not counting his father, Ertug(rul), though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan.

Before that the tribe/dynasty might have been known as Sög(üt but was renamed Osmanli (Ottoman in English) in honour of Osman.

The sultan was the sole and absolute regent, head of state and head of government of the empire, at least officially, though often much power shifted de facto to other officials, especially the Grand Vizier.

The Ottoman Sultan Holding Court at The Port of Felicity

TITLES & STYLE OF THE RULING OTTOMAN SULTAN

Padishah,
Hünkar,
    Hakan ül-Berreyn vel-Bahreyn;
    Sovereign of the House of Osman, Sultan of Sultans,
    Khan of Khans,
    Commander (Caliph) of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe
    Custodian of the Holy Cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem
    Caesar of the Roman Empire
    Emperor of The Three Cities of Constantinople, Adrianople and Bursa, and of the Cities of Damascus and Cairo, of all Azerbaijan, of the Magris, of Barka, of Kairouan, of Aleppo, of Arabic Iraq and of Acem, of Basra, of Al-Hasa, of Dilen, of Ar Raqqah, of Mosul, of Parthia, of Diyarbak?r, of Cilicia, of the Vilayets of Erzurum, of Sivas, of Adana, of Karaman, Van, of Barbary, of Abyssinia, of Tunisia, of Tripoli, of Damascus, of Cyprus, of Rhodes, of Candia, of the Vilayet of the Morea, of the Marmara Sea, the Black Sea and also its coasts, of Anatolia, of Rumelia, Baghdad, Greece, Turkistan, Tartary, Circassia, of the two regions of Kabarda, of Georgia, of the plain of Kypchak, of the whole country of the Tartars, of Kefe and of all the neighboring countries, of Bosnia and its dependencies, of the City and Fort of Belgrade, of the Vilayet of Serbia, with all the castles, forts and cities, of all Albania, of all Eflak and Bogdania, as well as all the dependencies and borders, and many other countries and cities.

Taklide-Seif - (The Sword of Osman)

Taklide-Seif - (The Sword of Osman), was an important sword of state used during the coronation ceremony of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

The sword was named after Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Dynasty.

The practice started when Osman I was girt with the sword of Islam by his mentor and father-in-law Sheik Edebali.

The girding of the sword of Osman was a vital ceremony which took place within two weeks of a sultan's accession to the throne. It was held at the tomb complex at Eyüp, on the Golden Horn waterway in the capital Constantinople.

Even though the journey from Topkapi Palace (where the sultan resided) to the Golden Horn was short, the sultan would board a boat amid much pomp to go there.

The Eyüp tomb complex was built by Mehmed II in honour of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who had died during the first Muslim siege of Constantinople in the 7th century.

The sword girding thus occurred on what was regarded as sacred grounds, and linked the newly enthroned sultan both to his 13th-century ancestors and to the very person of the Prophet.

The fact that the emblem by which a sultan was enthroned consisted of a sword was highly symbolic: it showed that the office with which he was invested was first and foremost that of a warrior.

The Sword of Osman was girded on to the new sultan by the Sharif of Konya, a Mevlevi dervish, who was summoned to Constantinople for that purpose.

Such a privilege was reserved to the men of this Sufi order from the time Osman I had established his residence in Konya in 1299, before the capital was moved to Bursa and later to Constantinople.

Until the late 19th century, non-Muslims were banned from entering the Eyüp Mosque and witnessing the girding ceremony.

The first to depart from this tradition was Mehmed V, whose girding ceremony was open to people of different faiths.

Held on 10 May 1909, it was attended by representatives of all the religious communities present in the empire, notably the Greek Patriarch, the chief rabbi and a representative of the Armenian church. The fact that non-Muslims were allowed to see the ceremony enabled The New York Times to write an extremely detailed account of it.

Mehmed V's brother and successor, Mehmed VI, went even further by allowing his girding ceremony to be filmed. Since he was the last reigning Ottoman sultan, this is the only such ceremony that was ever put on film.

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O T T O M A N P A L A C E S

طوپقپو سرايى

طوپقپو سرايى

Topkapi Sarayi - Bab i Saadet (the Sublime Porte) - Istanbul - Turkey

Topkapi Sarayi, usually spelled "Topkapi" in English) is a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which was the official and primary residence in the city of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624-year reign.

The palace was a setting for state occasions and royal entertainments and is a major tourist attraction today, containing the most holy relics of the Muslim world such as the Prophet Muhammed's cloak and sword.

طوپقپو سرايى

Topkapi Sarayi - Bab i Saadet - Istanbul - Turkey

طوپقپو سرايى

Topkapi Sarayi - Diwan - Istanbul Turkey

طوپقپو سرايى

Imperial Harem - Entrance -Topkapi Sarayi - Istanbul Turkey

طوپقپو سرايى

Mecidiye Kosku -Topkapi Sarayi - Istanbul Turkey

Dolmabahçe Sarayı

Dolmabahce Sarayi - Istanbul Turkey

Dolmabahçe Sarayi, in Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of theBosporus, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922, apart from a 22-year interval (1887-1909) in which Yildiz Palace was used.