🇹🇷Ottoman Empire Podcast 🇹🇷
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The legacy of the Ottoman Empire extends..
to my backyard here in the United States. In Texas, along the border with Mexica is a town (or two) named in honor of the epic wars between Islam and Christianity in the 15th through 18th century. Two of the absolute towering figures of Ottoman history is Bayezid II, and Selim I. Both deeply complex men who were driven to survive and expand their Ottoman Empire.
(Sultan Bayezid II)
Centered around Selim, Alan Mikhail's book "God's Shadow" tells the story of Ottoman princes in exile in Europe, the political intrigues of life as young Ottoman prince growing up. Along the way he sheds light on real life of the Ottoman Empire.
Here is an extract from Part Two: Governor (1487-1500)
"To win the Ottoman throne, Selim and his half-brothers had to first prove their mettle by governing a city in the east of the empire. As Bayezit's sons scattered across Anatolia, Selim was particularly disadvantaged, being appointed governor of the city of Trabzon, almost as far from Istanbul as one could go and still be in the empire."
continued.. "Trabzon (formerly Trebizond), sits at the southeastern corner of the Black Sea, at the junction of trade routes to the East. Selim arrived there aged seventeen, in 1487- about eighteen months before Cam was transferred from France to Rome- accompanied, as was the custom by his mother. He was tasked with integrating this recently conquered city into the imperial administration, but more important, from his point of view, was the job of building the foundation of independent support he would need if he were to compete for the sultan's throne."
(Sultan Selim I)
continued.. "As he sailed along the Black Sea to Trabzon- perhaps occasionally spotting the famous Black Sea dolphin, remarked on since antiquity- Selim absorbed the verdant green of the soaring Pontic Mountains, which push so close to the coast that the settlements of the northern Anatolian shore appear like a ribbon of humanity between water and stone. Like most of the region's towns, Trabzon grew the only way that geography allowed, up into the hills, but still the port city's drab sand colored streets and buildings held close to the deep indigo sea, its source of sustenance and commerce, its primary connection to the world."
I am continually picking my jaw up off the floor every time I close "God's Shadow" after researching. The author, Mikhail, has a mastery of language you just have to read for yourself. So far.. in all my readings and research for this podcast I haven't found any other author who has a way of bringing the world of the Ottomans to life through prose. It's almost like a magical alchemist experience each time I crack this book.
So, with that said your call to action today is to BUY A COPY HERE ➡️Buy a copy here of "God's Shadow"⬅️
Thanks for sticking with me and this podcast.
-Frank
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