A Prelude to the French Occupation of Tunisia

Tunisia entered the 19th century under the reign of Hammouda ibn Ali, the Bey of Tunis, as a minor Mediterranean power thanks to trade and extortion of European states through piracy (see the Barbary States), enjoying its quasi-independent autonomy from the Ottoman Porte in Constantinople. By the end...

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Una Fatalia Storica - The Italian invasion of Libya

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Ottoman Greece, Independence and the World Wars

An artist's impression of the Battle of Lepanto (from National Maritime Museum)By the start of the 1500s, much of mainland Greece and its islands were under Ottoman control, with the notable exceptions of Cyprus and Crete which were under the control of Venice (these two islands would later be conquered...

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The Great Franco-Russian Rivalry in Jerusalem

Jerusalem was always thought of as a sacred place, after all, it was a holy city to the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Being the capital of the promised land to the Jews, being the city where Jesus Christ was crucified in and being the city where the Prophet Mohammed ascended...

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Şeker Ahmed Pasha : The Works of a Military Artist

A portrait of Şeker Ahmed We have another Ottoman joining the ranks of the posts (I'm biased as you might already know!), Şeker Ahmed Pasha (1841–1907) is a classic example. Born in Istanbul, and initially enrolled in Medical School, he switched to the local military academy where he would later develop...

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History of the Fez

Continuing with the recent trend of Ottoman history and culture (I'm biased, I know!), in this post we shall find out about the history of the Fez, a classical example of Ottoman culture. And one more thing... this post won't be a fashion post !A simple Fez.The Fez is, in essence, a hat. It's called...

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Who were the Ottomans ? A Brief Introduction

Yes, apparently I'm that much annoyed by the survey's results. So I thought it's time for a real and proper introduction to the Ottomans (and hopefully, I might slim down the margin!), so let's get started !The Ottoman insignia (they had style , no ?)The Ottomans were, in essence, Turks. The Turks are...

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