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Who Were the "Turks"?
Ghazis and Janissaries
History of Constantinople
Mehmet the Conqueror and The Siege of Istanbul
Topkapi Palace
Suleiman the Magnificent and Selim the Drunkard
The Ottoman State
Structure of Ottoman Goverment
Turks vs. Europeans, and the Battle of Lepanto
Sieges of Vienna (1529 and 1683)
Shah Ismail and the Hidden Imam
Shah Abbas I and Isfahan
The Origin of the Mughals: Babur
Akbar
Decline of Islamic Empires

Topkapi Palace

 http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/topkapi.html
History Behind the Palace

Topkapi Palace was the ornately beautiful palace that was the home of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire for almost 400 years.  It was built in Istanbul ca. 1453, after the Ottomans successful seige on the city.  This city was formerly known as Constantinople, and had been the center of government for the powerful Byzantine Empire for centuries.  The Ottomans had been attacking the people of this empire almost since the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, because the Byzantines were a Christian empire on the borders of their Islamic country.  The Byzantine empire had been in a slow decline, aided by the repeated harassment of the Ottomans.  Finally, in 1453, Mehmet the Conquerer succeeded in a feat his predecessors had been unable to achieve-- he took Constantinople, the capital and last refuge for this waning Christian empire.

http://www.phoenixexpeditions.co.uk/routes/pages/images

/istanbul-amman-map.jpg

 The city was the Byzantine capital for very good reasons-  it was strategically placed on the land that connected Asia and Europe.  Mehmet knew this, and decided to make it the Ottoman capital as well, renaming it Istanbul.  But, because of siege, the original city and palace were in ruins.  He had to build a new palace to house his government and himself.  He had a new palace constructed, but abandoned it to the women of his father's harem, and began construction of another palace--Topkapi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.wright-photo.com/istanbul6.htm
The Four Courtyards

Topkapi Palace was divided into 4 main sectoins.  The first courtyard was open to the public, and housed part of the Treasury, the mint, hospital, bakery, arsenal, and part of the Divan.  On the left is the Imperial Gate, the entrance to the palace and the first courtyard. 

http://www.guideistanbul.net/topkapi.htm
The second courtyard was open to people had business with the Divan-- the council.  On the right is the gate that is the entrance to this courtyard. 

http://www.guideistanbul.net/topkapi.htm
The third courtyard was only open to the sultans household and the palace children.  This picture shows this gateway. 

http://www.guideistanbul.net/topkapi.htm

http://www.guideistanbul.net/court4.htm

The fourth courtyard housed the sultan and was solely open to him or those who he invited inside.  On the right is a picture of the sultan's rooms. 

 

For more pictures of ornate Topkapi Palace, go to:  http://www.wright-photo.com/istanbul6.htm

 

 

 

Topkapi Palace continued to be the home of the Ottoman sultans, and the center of the Ottoman government, for nearly 400 years.  Eventually, Sultan Abdul Mecid built a new palace on the Bosphorus, ca. 1853, and left the old palace to his predecessors' harem.  The Harem was disbanded in 1909, and in 1924 the palace was converted into a museum.  Visitors can still go there today. 

Topkapi was an important palace because it housed the Ottoman government and sultans for 4 centuries.  It was the central power city for one of the most influencial Islamic empires of the 15th and 16th centuries.  This palace also demonstrates the architectural  ability of the Ottomans--in Topkapi they attended to the most minute details. 

Bibliography
http://www.wright-photo.com/istanbul6.htm http://www.guideistanbul.net/topkapi.htm
http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/topkapi.html