Transcript- EXTRA 08: Akşemseddin

So Apple... 

Has been using an AI generated program to automatically generate a script of each episode (without my knowledge, consent, yet total approval). 

Moving forward as soon as the AI Generated script is made... I'll be posting it here. So visit the blog whenever an episode drops. 

Transcript Source Apple Podcasts: Apple Podcast Episode on Akşemseddin

EXTRA Episode 08

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“Welcome to Empires Podcast, the Ottomans. I am Frank, your host. I urge you to check out the show's website at www.ottomanempirepodcast.com

And you can shoot me an email and the show notes. Oh boy, what a year we've got ahead of us. We still need to get Sultan Mehmed II up and over the Theodosian walls of Constantinople.

And then we're going to do a good purging of the Ottoman Old Guard. A new world is dawning for Europe and the Middle East. What history would go on to call the Ottoman centuries.

I am really excited. Before all of that, a few housekeeping items though. First, I know it's been months, but I am a family man and this is a side project.

Sometimes the commitment of family eat into my time working on this podcast. With all that being said, here's what to watch out for coming up. I will be dialing back episodes to about two a month, as opposed to the one episode a week I was doing before.

This will enable me to dive a bit deeper into the source material. As we roll on Ottoman history, it is increasingly becoming ever more complex and multifaceted and has taken me longer to tease out a common narrative like I have been. You can expect an extra episode, like this one.

And yes, I plan on finishing our Dracula special episodes as well. If you would like to support the podcast, I am putting a link in the show notes that goes straight to my Amazon wish list. On this list, you will find books on the Ottoman Empire.

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of every single book I would love to get, but it is going to be a good starting point. And if you're feeling generous and you want to make a purchase, please shoot me an email after you've purchased a book and I'll be happy to give you credit in future episodes. Also, I will be putting a link on Patreon, but please don't feel obliged to join just yet.

I'm working on the logistics of offering good premium content on that platform. And of course, if you don't want to support me through the wish list or a Patreon, if you could, leaving me a five-star review and sharing the podcast with your favorite friend, well, that's the best way to help out at the end of the day. I'd like to give a show shoutout to listener John Demelayak.

John was gracious and he helped me with some of the Turkish word pronunciations. So John, I thank you, sir. And now let's get on with it.

The Ottoman, a man for all seasons, Akşemseddin, Visionary and Mystic, of Sultan Mehmed II, Extra Episode 8.

For those of you picking up in Episode 25, Parts 1 through 3, in which we are detailing the conquest of Constantinople, you will have no doubt have heard the name Akşemseddin. In Episode 25, Part 3, I mentioned how Akşemseddin was instrumental in instilling within the young Sultan Mehmed II, a sense of mystic and religious purpose to his campaign against the Byzantines.

He would also pop up for a few seconds, way back in Episode 22, in which I covered Sultan Murad's campaign and what history would call the Second Battle of Kosovo. But, just who was Akşemseddin? Well, he was born in Damascus in 1389 and was of Arab descent.

“He is known today as a Sunni scholar, poet and mystic saint of sorts. During his day, he was tutored to the young Mehmed II. He traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and parts of Europe and Persia.

He was highly educated in what we'd consider the classics. Languages such as Persian, Greek, Arab, Turkish and even some Latin. And if you're a physician listening to this podcast, he advanced germ theory two centuries before it was invented.

The whole germ theory thing isn't just some history or nationalistic urban legend either. In a direct quote, as well as a direct quote from Arabic, Persian as you can get, he said in his book, The Material of Life, quote, "it is incorrect to assume that diseases appear one by one in humans. Disease infect by spreading from one person to another.

This infection occurs through seeds that are so small they cannot be seen, but are alive. End quote. Wow, I didn't know that."

It was this basic mastery of medical sciences, which earns him his most well-known contemporaneous reputation, that of healer. At a time when microbes were unknown, sanitation lacking, it's easy to see how an individual didn't need to nail down the science behind it all, 100%, if he was going to set himself apart from the crowd. He was summoned to the court of Murad II, to treat top officials and the Sultan's family members.

After the Second Battle of Kosovo, Akşemseddin treated the wounded and never left the Ottoman court. In addition to treating top Ottoman families and officials, Akşemseddin's advanced knowledge of philosophy, math, religion and languages drew him close to a certain young headstrong youth named Mehmed, our aforementioned future Sultan. Mehmed, which I've covered in previous episodes, was a rebellious teenager when he was a young adult.

In the early years, the only teacher who seemed capable of putting up with the crazy lad was Akşemseddin. It is said that he never directly confronted or berated Mehmed. Instead, he'd back off when the youth was in a fighting mood and reappear to help patch up and repair whatever damages were done by Mehmed's often violent mood swings and rage.

Over time, Mehmed grew to trust this older, wise adult, who seemed to want absolutely nothing from him, yet was chock-full of wisdom. Well, it wasn't just wisdom, it was, above all, stories.

During Mehmed's virtual lockdown, when he was governor of Mansiyah, Akşemseddin was there in his corner. Not only did the wise sage advise the young ruler in the finer arts of rulership and administration, but by night around the campfire, he'd regale Mehmed what tells of Islamic mystic visionaries of the future great Muslim leader who would lead the navies and armies of Islam up against the mightiest Christian stronghold in the world, Constantinople. The red apple of the west would fall to the conqueror's eager fingers, but only if Mehmed started to get his head straight and began playing his cards right.

All through these lonely and uncertain times, from when Mehmed was forced by his father to step down as sultan, which you can learn about in episode 22, to when he made the fateful and wise decision to support his father at the Second Battle of Kosovo, Mehmed listened to the advice from Akşemseddin. It were as though the old sage had a crystal ball and could tell the future. It must have seemed from the vantage point of Mehmed.

Eventually, in episode 25, parts 1 through 3, we see Moral falling a little bit in the sultan's camp, but it was Akşemseddin in the background, working the morale of the soldiers at night. And by day, he would remind Mehmed that he had God's favor and he was not to falter in his mission.

“was not to falter in his mission.

There is much more one could say about the ever great Akşemseddin. However, I want to get back into the main script and bring our Mehmed over the walls sooner rather than later. In closing, I'd like to read out the latest Apple Podcast review.

This one is a three-star review left by TJ Wheely. I'd like to point out upfront that I plan on reading all of my reviews left to me by my listeners. Both the good and the bad.

And while TJ's review isn't bad, so to say, I'd like to read his words and then add a few thoughts. TJ, if you're listening, thank you, and I appreciate your review, and this isn't me offering any excuses on my part. A review from TJ, quote, great history, but host is so laid back. 

This is one of the most interesting podcasts I've come across, especially as this amount of detail just isn't taught in school. But the host's voice is so pleasant and soothing, it's so easy to fall asleep to. But I want the information, history and podcast form should be interesting.

First, as I said, TJ, thank you. As for my voice, well, what can I say? I was born and raised in South Carolina, which is in the deep American South.

Laid back is, for better or worse, in my DNA at this point and there's no changing it. Although I have been told that I would make a great villain in some fiction podcast. So TJ, thanks for listening.

You guys can expect part four of the Conquest of Constantinople to drop the second week of June. And thereafter, we'll be back on our new schedule. Thank you."