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  • Essay / The history of sport in the Ottoman Empire

    Table of contentsIntroductionHistory of Ottoman sportSports institutionsConclusionIntroductionThe history of sport bases its work on historiographical traditions and its functions within physical education where research publications describe the he story of institutional history, achievements and organization. athletes. This work comprehensively addresses the origin of sport and physical culture, describing events and phenomena in detail. We will study the last period of the Ottoman Empire to consider the status of sports history. This article seeks to examine sports education in the Ottoman Empire. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essaySports have fostered civic and ethnoreligious ties between Muslims, Jews, and Christians. For example, athletic clubs that were religiously and ethnically homogenous were structured around sport being a civic activity. Jewish, Armenian and Turkish athletes, educators and government officials used sports and gymnastics to build a strong nation. The expansion of civic and private schools led to the spread of sports in Istanbul. Athletics and sports were integrated into the school curriculum. The establishment of Robert and Sultan Mekteb I College exposed students to the culture of sports and significantly led to its development (“Introduction: The Last Days of Ottoman Rule 1876-1918”)History of Ottoman SportsHistory The development of Ottoman sports and gymnastics began in the late 19th century. It was at this time that the first sports societies and clubs were formed. The Kutlus Sports Club was the first club established for young Greek men. In fact, due to the growing popularity of football in Constantinople in the 19th century, European model sports clubs were established. At the beginning of the founding of the Ottoman Empire, the main sports practiced by the Ottomans were rock climbing, horse riding, swimming, arm wrestling, hunting, Turkish wrestling, fencing, hunting, Turkish archery and equestrian javelin throwing (Yildiz and Murat, 2018). Among the main clubs are Galatasaray Sports Club, Gymnastics Club, Fernabache Sports Club and Besiktas. According to historians such as Bernard Lewis, team sports are fundamentally an invention of Western culture. The roots of cricket also go back to the British who lived in the Ottoman Empire. One of the earliest references is in a travel memoir by Robert Walpole which records a British merchant playing cricket in 1806 at ancient ruins. The Illustrated London News of November 1980 describes a game played in the Ottoman Empire as part of the show of British superiority. This led to the development of the first Ottoman cricket club, the Fenerbache Cricket Club, from 1911 to 1914. The second Ottoman Sultan, Orhan Bey, placed the sport in state affairs because he considered the sport very important. His successors were also encouraged to view the sport as as important as he did. As a result, sports education began to take place in educational institutions in Medresen and in the schools of the Enderun Royal Palace (DailySabah. 2018). Sport and physical education in the Ottoman Empire were not taught in theoretical form but in the form of practice and physical exercise in educational institutions. The Kirkpinar wrestling competition, one of the earliest sporting organizations, first appeared in the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century. They were organized and practiced for purposesfor military training and as war games. An example of an educational establishment was known as Tekkes or dervish lodges. The centers were also called informal education schools and public schools. These centers of Turkish Islamic Sufism were used to train and educate common people in areas such as linguistics, religion, philosophy, arts and sports (Lapidus, Ira 2014). Some Tekkes in the Ottoman Empire were solely structured as a sports center.Sports InstitutionsWrestling was a national sport inherited from the Ottomans. However, horse riding, iron mace, taunting and archery were taught and practiced among the Tekkes. The sporting association of our time is believed to have originated from the Tekkes which were also the first Ottoman centers (Google Books. 2018). They offered more opportunities and better social insurance to athletes, which differentiates them from today's sports associations. The sporting Tekkes began to lose their functions during the period of decline of the empire. However, they existed until the 20th century as the most important among the three sporting institutions facilitating the development of sport. The second sporting institution was the Waqifs. These were foundations and charitable organizations. They constituted a structure similar to the institutions of the Ottoman foundation system and were associated with waqifs. It was created as a place where wrestlers could train and practice their wrestling skills in championships and thus entertain the audience (Yildiz, Murat 2018). These institutions used their resources and means without requiring help from other institutions. They served people in need, especially those involved in business and sporting activities. Bey's orphaned wife established the first Waqif in the southern part of the city in Pinarbasi after an invasion from Bursa. Sultans, the rich, viziers, pashas, ​​masters and large landowners supported the athletes during the waqifs. Later, the waqifs associated with the Tekkes and will be known as the Tekkes of the wrestlers. A good example of Tekkes includes Ahmet Effendi Remote Tekke in Siraseviler in Istanbul. The Aga system or lordship system was the third sporting institution of the Ottoman Empire. This type of lordship system hosted the Kirkpinar wrestling championship and was identical with the greatest generosity. It is still considered temporary, even though, surprisingly, it existed over 650 years ago. The main objective of this system was to support sport. This institution was created at the beginning of the 14th century. Aga was the person responsible for inviting spectators and wrestlers by providing free accommodation for athletes, welcoming guests, granting awards and providing security for the wrestling championship. Tarcan Selim Sirri was the pioneer of modern sports in the Ottoman Empire (The Sport Journal. 2018). ). He was born in 1874 in Yenisehir, Greece. He was a graduate of the Military Engineering School and Galatasaray High School. He later served as a sports instructor in public schools. He also worked as a sports editor for Servet I Funun. He then went to Sweden between 1909 and 1911 where he studied physical education and gymnastics at the Royal Military Academy. On his return, he opened the first private sports school. He also contributed to the development of teaching in Ottoman gymnastics schools. The sporting culture of the Ottoman people first manifested itself in preparation for war in peacetime. After adopting Islam, Turks generally preferred sports that were useful during war and therefore paid little attention to othersbranches of sport. War sports were in great demand both in the palace and among people living in the countryside. Young men were given priority for training in shooting and horse riding. The sons of sultans and young people skilled in sports were taken to palace schools to train as statesmen (Google Books. 2018). Rowing races on the Bosphorus and especially on the Golden Horn were very popular. Sultan Abdul-Aziz founded rowing teams and races because he was very passionate about everything related to the sea. The Ottoman Navy Association took the lead in organizing the rowing races from Moda. In 1915, navigation began in Istanbul with sailing ships seized from European sailing ships. On the other hand, the Kirkpinal wrestling competition continued to take place in Erdine, the capital. Wrestling has long been considered Turkey's national sport. It is actually considered an ancestral competition. The Ottoman made them a common product and they won international awards while paving the way for modern sports. Likewise, cycling competitions took place in the Ottoman Empire, for example in Fernabache in 1912 (Introduction: The last days of Ottoman rule 1876-1918). Archery, on the other hand, attracted the interest of the sultans. Sultans are said to have joined and won the competitions. Their names were engraved on the stones marking their success. In 1361, the first oil wrestling tournament, also known as the Kirkpinar competition, took place in the Turkish city of Edirne. The Kirkpinar competition is also practiced today. Even when the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, the Kirkpinar competition was already a centuries-old tradition. This oil wrestling involves spraying the body and clothing of the wrestlers with a mixture of water and olive oil. Ottoman sultans and elites were actively involved in organizing competitions and wrestling (Google Books. 2018). Some sultans even became wrestlers themselves, for example Murad IV. Some of these sports, such as the Kirkpinar competition, were spiritually linked through prayers. In fact, the oil struggle of the Ottoman era survived the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Shooting became a popular sport after swords declined in popularity and guns became common. Shooting has become a sport. In European royal families and high society, fencing was very popular. Fencing was made compulsory in military schools by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul in mid-2000. Selim Sirri Tarcan also contributed to the history of the sport in the Ottoman Empire. After 1908, he specialized in gymnastics and was very passionate about non-apparatus styles of calisthenics. He went to Sweden and brought these styles back when he returned to the beanbag. After 1868, gymnastics was taught in the classroom. Before the Republican period, the Ottoman Empire was constantly fighting against its enemies between the 1650s and 1920s. This weakened the political and economic strength of the nation, so much so that sports did not receive due attention in due to the war crisis. However, the sports Agas and Tekkes provided sports management and accommodation (DailySabah. 2018). For example, the Istanbul was the largest of all Tekkes and housed around 300 athletes, mostly wrestlers. The Sultan's Palace also provided sports services in some cases. In Turkish sports history, this period is called protectionism. Although no effort was made to develop sports institutions, services improved sports performance during this period. At the beginning of the 20th century, attention was focused on specific issues related to sports.