The South-eastern part of the peninsula was inhabited by Arabs allied to the Turks, so no need for conquest.
The Empire controlled the more densely inhabited areas of the West and East which were the largest trading establishments, included the holy islamic cities of Mecca and Medina and also much of the coastline and ports. Stationing troops in the middle of the desert to guard sand wasn’t really a good investment move. Had they attempted to do that, they would have succeeded but they would have to defend against raids from indomitable bedouin tribes which would drain manpower and resources best used elsewhere. Oil wasn’t a big thing back then.
Instead the Ottomans traded with the bedouins coming and going to and fro. This way they got what the land had to offer without expending themselves.
The occupants of Istanbul were the Greeks, prior to the Turks. However Istanbul had different inhabitants prior to the Greeks as well. A timeline for Istanbul is as follows:
1930 – to date: Istanbul, a city in the Republic of Turkiye
1923 -1930: Konstantiniyye, a city in the Republic of Turkiye
1453 – 1923: Konstantiniyye, a city in the Ottoman Empire
476 – 1453: Constantinople, a city in the Eastern Roman Empire
330 – 476: Constantinople, a city in the Roman Empire
272 – 330: Byzantium, a city in the Roman Empire Byzantium (Byzantion) was founded by Greek Megarians in the 7th century, BC and Chalcedon was also founded by Greek Megarians at about the same time. Two different cities on either side of the Bosphorus, the first evolved into Istanbul the other into Uskudar/Kadikoy, both now of “metropolitan” Istanbul.
BC 657 – 272:, Chalcedon (the city only at the Asian side of the Bosphorus), a city in the state of Megara
BC 1300: Lygos, a city hosting some Thracian people
Before BC 1300: Many ancient people have lived in this area. Most of them are unnamed due to lack of documentation. During the excavations of Marmaray tunnels, many artifacts have been found, some of which are dated back 6,000 BC.
Marmaray dig reveals glasswork in ottoman, 2011-11-24
KEXP presents Gaye Su Akyol performing live in the KEXP studio. Recorded September 20, 2023
Songs: Vurgunum Ama Acelesi Yok Böyle Olur Mu Martılar Öpüşür, Kediler Sevişir Love Buzz
Gaye Su Akyol – Vocals Ali Güçlü Şimşek – Guitar Görkem Karabudak – Bass, Keyboard Berke Özcan – Drums
Host: Darek Mazzone Audio Engineer: Kevin Suggs Audio Mixer: Görkem Karabudak Mastering: Matt Ogaz Cameras: Jim Beckmann, Carlos Cruz, Jonathan Jacobson, Scott Holpainen Editor: Jim Beckmann
KEXP
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KEXP is an international community of music lovers and music makers, and a nonprofit organization fostering relationship and community building through broadcast, online, and in-person music experiences.
Since our founding at the University of Washington in 1972, we’ve remained focused on championing music from all around the globe – spanning eras, styles and traditions. KEXP operates one of the most influential listener-supported music radio stations in the world, broadcasting at 90.3 KEXP-FM, Seattle and through our website and mobile apps. On KEXP’s YouTube channel, our world-renowned Live on KEXP sessions feature exclusive in-studio performances and interviews from emerging and established artists. From a public facility at Seattle Center, KEXP produces hundreds of live performances and music events each year, many of which are open to public audiences at no charge.
Gaye Su Akyol
Gaye Su Akyol (born 30 January 1985) is a Turkish singer, painter and anthropologist.
Biography Akyol’s father is the painter Muzaffer Akyol; her mother was a civil servant, but she passed away in 2014. She graduated from the anthropology department of Yeditepe University in 2007. After that she built her career as a painter with exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad. Before her solo career, she also performed in music bands Mai, Toz ve Toz and Seni Görmem İmkansız alongside Tuğçe Şenoğul.
In 2017, she composed a few songs for the soundtrack of Red Istanbul a film directed by Ferzan Özpetek. In November 2023 they recorded their first performance for the Seattle radio station KEXP.
Inspirations include singer-songwriter Selda Bağcan and the grunge band Nirvana.
Do you remember this commercial with a German coast guard on his first day who receives an SOS message by radio saying: “Help us we are sinking”. The German coast guard answers back: “Vat are you tinking about?”
Osman is a Turkish name and Osmanlı was the name of the empire ruled by Osman’s family.
Ottoman script was etymological just like English, unlike the Modern Turkish script which is phonological, that is written just as pronounced. Osman is actually spelled in Ottoman Turkish as Othman. It’s read as Osman while written as Othman. Just like reading “asthma” as “asma”.
“th” is pronounced like an “s” in Persian and Ottoman Turkish, while it is pronounced as a “t” like people in the Italic Peninsula opted for in the Middle Ages for the name Othman.
Voiceless “th” is a dental fricative and the closest to that is either the voiceless coronal sibilant “s” or the voiceless dental plosive sound “t”.
Where does the word Ottoman come from?
Ottoman script was etymological just like English and Osman was actually written as Othman in Ottoman Turkish.
The Palaiologos family was a Byzantine Greek imperial family that ruled the Byzantine Empire from the 11th century until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. They held the throne for over two centuries. The last reigning member of the Palaiologos dynasty was Constantine XI Palaiologos.
By the 14th century, the Ottoman Turks were rapidly expanding their empire, encroaching upon Byzantine territory. The Byzantines, under the rule of the Palaiologos family, found themselves in a precarious position, struggling to defend their lands against the rising power of the Ottomans.
One of the pivotal moments came in 1354 when the Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos sought Ottoman assistance against rival factions within his own empire. While the Ottomans helped him regain his throne, they gradually gained influence and control over Byzantine affairs.
Over the years, the Byzantine Empire continued to decline, facing internal divisions and external pressures. The Ottomans exploited these weaknesses, launching military campaigns and gradually capturing Byzantine territories.
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks, led by Mehmed II, besieged Constantinople. Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine Emperor, fought bravely during the defense of the city. However, on May 29, 1453, the Ottomans breached the walls of Constantinople, leading to the fall of the city. According to historical accounts, Constantine XI died in battle, fighting on the front lines. The fate of his body is not entirely clear, and there are different accounts of what happened to it.
After the fall of Constantinople, members of the Palaiologos family faced various fates. Some were captured by the Ottomans, while others managed to escape and sought refuge in other parts of Europe. The diaspora of Byzantine nobility contributed to the spread of Greek culture and learning during the Renaissance.
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 marked the end of the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire replaced it as the dominant power in the region. The Palaiologos family’s political influence came to an end with the fall of Constantinople, and its surviving members scattered throughout Europe.
No, the Urartu, probably the source of the biblical placeholder Ararat, despite sharing an anachronistic geographical overlap with the Armenians, are not related to them. The Urartu had a written language in cuneiform script and that language is not Indo-European, the group Armenian is in, or Semitic or Sumerian-related. After long time belief that it is a language isolate or at best had been related to some proto-Caucasian, as a result of coincidence, it has lately been detected as closely resembling the highly complex North Caucasian language Chechen, widely spoken today in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Daghestan.
Mr. Mehmet Kushman, an ethnic Chechen Turkish national, who convinced the archeological group after seeing them transliterate cuneiform to give it a go at modern Chechen language. After striking similarities detected between the two, the security guard dedicated his life to learning cuneiform, Assyrian and Urartu language and became one of the leading experts in Urartu culture. He is the carbon Rosetta stone of Urartu inscriptions.
