Hello, I was redirected here from /k/, I'm an artist looking to discuss the Ottoman Empire, mainly the weapons and armor they used. Bonus points if it's within the late 1500s-1700. With enough help I could draw some stuff.
I can't tell if they influenced East Europe or if East Europe influenced them, in terms of armour.
>>318587
The Ottomans adopted a lot when they started becoming an Empire. When they fought with Europe, gunpowder did enter their arsenal.
An effective military society/caste (depends who you talk to) called Janissaries arose during this time. They were men taken as children from Christian families in the Balkans and the Middle East. They were trained to be strong Islamic men, and fought against the various enemies of the Empire.
>>318597
So to answer this, Eastern Europe was not so much an influence. If you count the Balkans as Eastern Europe, then yes the influence was great. Modern day hatred between the various Balkan groups came from Ottoman cleverness. Remember those Janissaries? Well, the Ottomans would deploy, say, 1000 Serbian Janissaries against Albanian targets.
The locals began to mistrust one another rather than their overlord. A brilliant tactic really.
The Ottomans learned the power of gunpowder from fighting larger European powers over the Balkans and parts of Eastern Europe
>>318587
>>318597
The armor slowly left the Ottoman armory a little after Europe. Uniforms - both parade and field - evolved in the Empire over time. Look at some of these fellows
>>318587
>>318597
Some things stayed with the Ottoman military for its entire history. A sword that influenced even armies as far as Russia was the yatagan sword. The guy on the right is holding one up. It has a forward curve with a decent length. Infantry and cavalry both could use it to devastating effect.
The Janissaries used a shorter, lighter version of the yatagan sword. Someone with more knowledge on the Ottomans can let you know why (or a careful google search).
>>318587
>>318597
The Turks very much wanted to be like Europe. The effectiveness of both the European military and their colonial efforts were much to envy. The Turks reformed their government time and time again, they altered their appearances to appear less like the Muslim men of old, and they even reformed their language to appear more European.
As the Empire declined out of the 1800s, the Ottoman people were rising out of the old styles. This was true for the military as well. Compare the soldiers I posted earlier to this Turkish soldier from the steppe days
>>318587
Mamluk empire not Ottoman- but they were incorporated into the Ottoman army after they were annexed
OP here, I just wanted to say than you for the insight. Especially on the turks being more euro-inspired than other groups.
the other thing I'm noticing is that there doesn't seem to be a strict dress code, there's trends and beyond that the infantry seem to just deck themselves out in whatever accessories they felt like, however they felt like. How far off am I from the reality?
Search images of ornate jezails. Some of they were very beautiful.
>>319136
there were usually standart uniforms for infantry however başıbozuk corps were irregulars and they did wear whatever they wanted and pretty much did whatever they wanted on the battlefield as well and their services were used regularly.
>>319136
>>320538
by regularly i meant really a lot, they were cheap to use.
>>319136
The ottomans basically fight like a medieval army untill the 19th century, that means maybe some elite units like the janisarries might get uniforms, but most of the army looks very diverse.
>>318768
I suppose it's because being on foot requires you to fence more. In (gunpowder era) Europe, cavalry and infantry sabres were the same way.
>>318587
I would recommend checking out the armor of the byzantine empire as well, they being a big influence on ottoman military practice
>>320538
>there were usually standard uniforms for infantry however başıbozuk corps were irregulars and they did wear whatever they wanted and pretty much did whatever they wanted on the battlefield as well and their services were used regularly
Oh my god, that's perfect for the story I have in mind. These cheap forces for-hire could be swayed back and forth by royalty paying them to go after desert thieves, and desert thieves paying them as well to not do their job, and so on. This is great in that I also have the liberty to dress them in any mix-matched pattern cloth I could think of. Since I'm home from work, I'll try to whip up some sketches.
>>321203
Well, Başıbozuk corps (Başıbozuk means "without a leader") weren't for hire exactly, they just get their share from plunder.
Their equipment was issued by the state tho.
>>318597
Feathers as ornaments were adopted by Eastern Europe from Ottoman Raiders (Akinjis) and cavalry forces afaik, but don't know about the rest.
