I’m currently reading the history of the Ottoman Empire - Osman’s Dream by Caroline Finkel. It’s a different dimension to my previous historical knowledge, which has a distinctly Christian perspective. Standing on the side of the Ottomans is quite interesting.
The Ottomans were at war with (or had conquered and subdued) all their neighbours that were worth conquering. On their western front was modern Yugoslavia (conquered) and Hungary (part conquered) and Austria, which brought them nose to nose with the Habsburgs.
There were numerous wars, which took the Ottomans to the gates of Vienna. After one spat in 1664, the Ottomans suffered a serious defeat involving the Danube, a makeshift bridge, some wood and a bog (and a few thousand Austrians). The Habsburgs were too weak to take advantage of their victory, but they did conclude the Treaty of Vasvar. The book has what I thought was an amazing account by Evilya Celebi (cheleby) an Ottoman historian and chronicler who accompanied the second vizier Kara Mehmed Pasha (black pasha) to Vienna to conclude the treaty.
There, he met Leopold I, the Holy Roman Emperor, who had succeeded his father six years earlier at the age of 18. The Habsburgs were famously ugly, partly as a result of centuries of marrying cousins to keep the money in the family, and Leopold was clearly not in the same league as Charlemagne - the Frankish first HRE [also see].
I loved Celebi’s description of Leopold. I guess it was written for a Turkish audience, so it will be exaggerated (a little, perhaps):
He is of medium height with a slim waist and neither corpulent, nor solid, nor skinny; a youth as hairless as a self-sacrificing young brave.
God made his skull in the shape of a bonnet of a Mevlevi dervish or a gourd or a water bottle. His forehead is as flat as a board. His eyebrows are thick and black, but there is a decent space between them. His eyes as as round as an owl’s and reddish; his eyelashes are long and black; his face is as long as that of Mr Fox; his ears are as large as a child’s slippers.
His nose is as large and red as an aubergine of the Peloponnese; three fingers could fit inside each nostril and from these extensive nostrils protrude black hairs like those of the beard of a 30-year-old brave, which mix in confusion with his moustache, which reaches to his ears.
His lips are like those of a camel (a loaf of bread could fit in his mouth) and his teeth are likewise - huge, white camel’s teeth. Whenever he speaks, saliva pours from his camel’s lips and the many servitors beside him wipe it away with red cloths like towels, and he combs his beard and moustache continually.
His fingers are like cucumbers of Langa (a market garden area in Istanbul) ... all his dynasty are as ugly as him and his hideous image is found in all churches and houses and on coinage ...
Poor old Leopold! If this was posted on Twitter, it would amount to cyber-bullying. The one complimentary thing Celebi is able to say about him is that he has a decent amount of space between his eyebrows!
The Ottomans were at war with (or had conquered and subdued) all their neighbours that were worth conquering. On their western front was modern Yugoslavia (conquered) and Hungary (part conquered) and Austria, which brought them nose to nose with the Habsburgs.
There were numerous wars, which took the Ottomans to the gates of Vienna. After one spat in 1664, the Ottomans suffered a serious defeat involving the Danube, a makeshift bridge, some wood and a bog (and a few thousand Austrians). The Habsburgs were too weak to take advantage of their victory, but they did conclude the Treaty of Vasvar. The book has what I thought was an amazing account by Evilya Celebi (cheleby) an Ottoman historian and chronicler who accompanied the second vizier Kara Mehmed Pasha (black pasha) to Vienna to conclude the treaty.
There, he met Leopold I, the Holy Roman Emperor, who had succeeded his father six years earlier at the age of 18. The Habsburgs were famously ugly, partly as a result of centuries of marrying cousins to keep the money in the family, and Leopold was clearly not in the same league as Charlemagne - the Frankish first HRE [also see].
I loved Celebi’s description of Leopold. I guess it was written for a Turkish audience, so it will be exaggerated (a little, perhaps):
He is of medium height with a slim waist and neither corpulent, nor solid, nor skinny; a youth as hairless as a self-sacrificing young brave.
God made his skull in the shape of a bonnet of a Mevlevi dervish or a gourd or a water bottle. His forehead is as flat as a board. His eyebrows are thick and black, but there is a decent space between them. His eyes as as round as an owl’s and reddish; his eyelashes are long and black; his face is as long as that of Mr Fox; his ears are as large as a child’s slippers.
His nose is as large and red as an aubergine of the Peloponnese; three fingers could fit inside each nostril and from these extensive nostrils protrude black hairs like those of the beard of a 30-year-old brave, which mix in confusion with his moustache, which reaches to his ears.
His lips are like those of a camel (a loaf of bread could fit in his mouth) and his teeth are likewise - huge, white camel’s teeth. Whenever he speaks, saliva pours from his camel’s lips and the many servitors beside him wipe it away with red cloths like towels, and he combs his beard and moustache continually.
His fingers are like cucumbers of Langa (a market garden area in Istanbul) ... all his dynasty are as ugly as him and his hideous image is found in all churches and houses and on coinage ...
 |
| A handsome chap - Leopold I, known to his friends as old camel lips |
No comments:
Post a Comment