Topic > The history of sport in the Ottoman Empire

IndexIntroductionHistory of Ottoman sportsSports institutionsConclusionIntroductionThe history of sport bases its work in the traditions and historiographical functions within physical education where research publications describe the history of institutional history, of the results and organization of athletes. This work comprehensively addresses the origin of sport and physical culture by describing events and phenomena in detail. We will study the last period of the Ottoman Empire to imagine the status of sports history. This article aims to examine sports education in the Ottoman Empire. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essaySports have fostered civic and ethnoreligious bonds between Muslims, Jews, and Christians. For example, athletics clubs that were religious and ethnically homogeneous 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 incorporated into the school curriculum. The establishment of Robert College and Sultan Mekteb I 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 SportsThe history of the development of sports and Ottoman gymnastics began at the end of the 19th century. It is in this period that the first sports clubs and clubs were formed. The Kutlus sports club was the first club founded for Greek youth. Indeed, due to the growing popularity of football in 19th century Constantinople, European model sports clubs were formed. At the beginning of the founding of the Ottoman Empire, the main sports practiced by the Ottomans were mountain climbing, horse riding, swimming, arm wrestling, hunting, Turkish wrestling, fencing, hunting, shooting Turkish bow and equestrian javelin throwing (Yildiz & Murat, 2018). Some examples of leading clubs include 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 can also be traced back to the English who lived in the Ottoman Empire. One of the earliest references is found in a travel memoir by Robert Walpole which reported a British trader playing cricket in 1806 in ancient ruins. The Illustrated London News of November 1980 describes a match played in the Ottoman Empire as part of the demonstration 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 the affairs of the state because he considered sport to be very important. His successors were also encouraged to consider sport as important as he was. As a result, sports education began to take place in educational institutions in Medresen and in schools at the royal palace in Enderun (DailySabah. 2018). Sports and physical education in the Ottoman were not imparted theoretically but as practice and physical exercise in educational institutions. The Kirkpinar wrestling competition, one of the first sports organizations, first appeared in the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century. They were organized and played for military training purposes and as war games. An example of an educational institution was known as Tekkes or dervish lodges. The centers were also called schools of educationinformal and public schools. These centers for Turkish Islam Sufism were used to train and educate ordinary people in fields such as linguistics, religion, philosophy, arts and sports (Lapidus, Ira 2014). Some of the Tekke in the Ottoman Empire were structured exclusively as a sports center, an inherited national sport for the Ottomans. However, horse riding, iron mace, taunting and archery were taught and practiced in the Tekke. The sports association of our time is believed to have originated from the Tekke who were also the first Ottoman centers (Google Books. 2018). They offered more opportunities and better social insurance to athletes, which makes them different from today's sports associations. Sporting Tekkes began to lose their functions during the empire's period of decline. However, they existed until the 20th century as the most important of the three sports institutions that facilitated the development of sport. The second sporting institution was the Waqif. These were foundations and charitable organizations. They were a structure like institutions in the Ottoman foundation system and were associated with waqifs. It was established as a place where wrestlers could train and perform their wrestling skills in championships and thus entertain the public (Yildiz, Murat 2018). These institutions used their own resources and means without asking for help from other institutions. They served people in need, especially those involved in business and sports activities. Bey's orphaned wife established the first Waqif in the southern part of the city at Pinarbasi after the invasion of Bursa. Sultans, rich people, viziers, pashas, ​​masters and large landowners supported athletes in waqifs. Subsequently, the waqifs associated with Tekkes and were known as Wrestlers' Tekkes. A good example of Tekkes includes Ahmet Effendi Remote Tekke at 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 remained identical with utmost generosity. It is still considered temporary even though surprisingly it existed more than 650 years ago. The main goal of this system was to support sports. This institution was founded in the early 14th century. Aga was the person responsible for inviting spectators and wrestlers, welcoming athletes free of charge, welcoming guests, rewarding and providing security for holding 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 graduated from the Military Engineering School and Galatasaray High School. Subsequently he worked 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. Upon his return he opened the first private sports school. He also contributed to the expansion of teaching in Ottoman gymnastics schools. Sports culture among the Ottoman people initially manifested itself in the preparation for war in peacetime. After adopting Islam, Turks normally preferred sports useful during war and therefore paid little attention to other branches of sports. War sports were in demand both at the palace and among locals living in the countryside. Young people were given priority in shooting and riding training. Sultans' sons and youths skilled in sports were taken to palace schools to train as statesmen (Google Books. 2018). The competitions were very popularrowing on the Bosphorus and especially on the Golden Horn. Sultan Abdul-Aziz founded rowing teams and competitions because he was very passionate about everything related to the sea. The Ottoman Navy Association took the lead in organizing the Moda rowing races. In 1915 sailing began in Istanbul with sailboats seized from European sailboats. On the other hand, the Kirkpinal Wrestling competition continued to take place in the Erdine capital, Erdine. For a long time, wrestling has been considered the national sport of Türkiye. It is actually considered an ancestral competition. The beanbag made it a common object and they won international awards, while at the same time paving the way for modern sports. Similarly, cycling competitions were held in the Ottoman Empire, for example in Fernabache in 1912 (Introduction: The Last Days Of Ottoman Rule 1876-1918). Archery, however, attracted the interests of the sultans. In fact, it is said that the sultans participated in and won the competitions. Their names were engraved on the stones that marked their success. In 1361, the first oil wrestling tournament also known as the Kirkpinar competition was held in the Turkish city of Edirne. Today the Kirkpinar competition is also practiced. Even when the first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896, the Kirkpinar competition was already a centuries-old tradition. This oil fight involves dousing the wrestlers' bodies and clothes 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 become wrestlers themselves, for example Murad IV. Some of these sports, such as the Kirkpinar competition, were spiritually linked through prayers. Indeed, the oil struggle of the Ottoman era survived the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Shooting becomes a popular sport after swords lost their popularity and firearms became common. Shooting emerged as a sport. In the royal families of Europe and high society, fencing was very popular. Fencing was made compulsory in military schools by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul in 2. Selim Sirri Tarcan also contributed to the history of sport in the Ottoman Empire. After 1908 he specialized in gymnastics and was very fond of Swedish gymnastics styles without apparatus. He went to Sweden and brought the styles back when he returned to Ottoman. After 1868, gymnastics was taught in the classroom. Before the Republican period, between 1650 and 1920, the Ottoman Empire was constantly at war with its enemies. This weakened the political and economic strength of the nation to the point that sport was not given due attention due to the war crisis. However, the sporting Aga and Tekke provided sporting management and shelter (DailySabah. 2018). For example, Istanbul was the largest of all the Tekke and provided shelter for approximately 300 athletes, most of whom were wrestlers. In some cases the sultan's palace also provided sports facilities. In the history of Turkish sports, this period is called protectionism. Although there was no effort to develop sports institutions, facilities improved athletic performance during this period. In the early 20th century attention was turned to specific issues surrounding sport as European-educated Turks returned with a Western view of sport. Strong nationalistic feelings were evoked after the Tanzimat declaration and Turks were inspired towards greater participation in political life, cultural and educational spheres. Ottoman sultans often suppressed such development, including participation in sports (DailySabah. 2018). Despite Sultan A. Hamit II's efforts to dismantle cultural, social and intellectual societies and clubs,.