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Aslihan Hatun of Devlet-i Orhanliyye (Ottoman)

Gambargin

Published: Jun 15, 2015

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femalewarrior medieval ottoman turkish turks womenwarrior middeages gambargin historicallywrongsketch ottomanempire oghuzturks

Description

A Concept Drawing of a Ottoman/Anatolian Turkish Woman Warrior in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited, which is roughly based on the Middle ages covering 800s AD to 1400s AD She represents not only the various Anatolian Turkish Beyliks in the 14th century, but also the Ottoman Empire who were carving their territories in Balkan and Anatolia in the 15th century, including the city of world's desire, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Nevertheless, I took liberty naming the faction as State of Orhan, which is the HWS equivalent of the Ottoman State.

Inspired by: March, March for the Glory of Our Eternal Ottoman State!

INTRODUCTION

The Ottoman Empire is no doubt, one of the most remarkable state that has ever been founded in human history. What originated as a small tribe of Oghuz Turks who fled from the Mongols to Asia minor, they had succeeded in building an Empire that not only was one of the biggest, but also one of the most feared, especially by its European neighbors. The undertaking of creating and ruling such a vast territory with multitudes of religions, cultures and language was no ordinary task; the Ottomans knew how to wage war and ruled their subjects impressively with both the resources and administration that saw its zenith in the late 15th to 16th century. The Ottomans were famous for many things, but they were also feared at its height, both of which became the Ottoman legacy that was built by its extraordinary military, diplomacy and administrative skills.

DRAWING COMMENTARIES

The Ottoman Empire was effectively an Empire lived for war. Every governor in the Empire was a general and every policeman was a Janissary. Every mountain pass had its guard and every road had a military destination. So it's no exaggeration that they fielded some of the best military force in late medieval to early modern era. The advantage of such reputation is that, the Ottoman Army is one of the most widely studied by the western world and as such, finding references about what they did, who joined their ranks and what they wore was a much easier task as compared to finding for other drawings in the series. Museums such as that in Topkapi Palace, Florence and England, have plenty of collections or Ottoman Arms and Armors, so technically speaking, I had an easy time finding references that I need.

In this drawing, Lady Aslihan is depicted in a late 14th-15th century Ottoman Heavy Infantry fashion. Her full Mail and Splints armor is covered by richly decorated thick coat. Her çiçak helmet may be anachronistic, but I decided to use it to give a more feminine figure. Both of her hands are equipped with different greaves (due to my error), but nevertheless reflect the protective equipments worn both by heavy infantry and cavalry force. There's almost no historical record of Ottoman Turkish women having fought in battle, so this drawing is historically wrong indeed. On the other hand, to the left of the drawing, I have included a 15th century Janissary equipped in the typical Janissary tunic uniform on top of a mail hauberk. To the right, a heavily armed Ghazi warrior or Sipahi, dressed in Ottoman Plated-mail armor and "Turban" helmet as well as being armed with composite bow, sabre and long mace. There's also a badly drawn Hagia sophia in the background to give that "Ottoman Flavor", maybe during the capture of Constantinople.

I dedicate this drawing to my watchers and friends from Turkey. In my opinion, despite whatever shortcomings there maybe, the Ottoman legacy is something that deserve admiration, especially to the Turkish people