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Description

This Drawing is Outdated - Please see the Updated version in the Gallery Folder of Women Warriors of Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited

A concept drawing for the Turkish Women Warriors in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series, belonging to the Orhan Empire, based on the early Ottoman Dynasty before the fall of Constantinople. Well...i thought i had finished the Historically Wrong Sketch Series...but there's no harm in making a few more drawings, no?

The concept was born from a discussion I had with my friend from Cyprus, about his opinion in regards to Turkey (the country, not the bird). Although, it ended up in debate and a nice Turkish kebab for lunch, we discussed quite a lot of aspect about the Ottoman Empire, from the rise to fall. After looking through the sketches i've made, I decided to create one as a tribute to the ottomans, just for the sake of interest.

The Ottomans had their humble beginning in Anatolia as Turkish governors, who recognized the sovereignty of Seljuks and Sultanate of Rum. It was not until the rise of Murad in mid 1300s that he claimed himself to be Sultan, therefore starting the legacy that created one of the world's largest and powerful intercontinental empire, challenging that of the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate.

If I was to put them in context with the Historically Wrong Series, we can say that most of middle east and Africa was ruled by the Arabic Sarravids, but the turkish beys that ruled the Mesopotamian region became increasingly powerful and demanded more autonomy from the ruling padshah in Al-Qahira. The demand was met with military intervention by the Arabs and the empire was thrown into civil war. The alliance of Turkish beys under the leadership of the Orhan eventually emerged victorious, and began to exert their influence over the remaining sarravids, before launching themselves for the biggest invasion of Europe (which i will explain in the Next project: Blood and Steel that covers 1600s to 1700s)

As for the 2 characters depicted in the drawing, Aydin is pictured with a stylized ottoman mail and partial plate armor, commonly worn by the Sipahi Turks. Although, in this case, i applied a bit of artistic license to the decoration and the overall style. The armor itself is one of the most expensive gear that the ottomans could field, made by the finest blacksmith and worn by the rich and powerful. Whereas Ipek is depicted with the traditional early attires worn by the Janissaries. Her clothing is inspired from the ones worn by Janisarry officers, with stylistic headgear, taken from the ones worn by the Bektashis, one of the tariqat of Sufism originated in Anatolia.

It's quite funny to depict the two together, as historically speaking they were always at each others throat due to their rivalries. Nevertheless, the status of women amongst the Turkish people were often mixed. Their tribal and nomadic origin would have influence women to take up arms in times of needs, becoming horse archers and light cavalry. After the Ottomans settled, it was more common for women to participate in political game and power play, especially within the High Porte of the Ottoman Empire. There was a time called the "Sultanate of Women" in the Ottoman history where the High Porte was highly influenced by the women of the Harem, a period that last for 130 years.

Nevertheless, this is just an anachronistic drawing drawn purely for fun. I would prefer that we put aside our opinion about the Ottomans, given their history that maybe sensitive to people that came in contact with them.

=======================================================================================================

Inspired by the Music - Ottoman Music by Dimitry Kandemiroglu

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPI8FZ…

Developed from the attires of Ahu Durquba of Sarravids and Rani Indira Kshyatriyapati

Description

This Drawing is Outdated - Please see the Updated version in the Gallery Folder of Women Warriors of Historically Wrong Sketch Series: Medieval Revisited

A concept drawing for the Turkish Women Warriors in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series, belonging to the Orhan Empire, based on the early Ottoman Dynasty before the fall of Constantinople. Well...i thought i had finished the Historically Wrong Sketch Series...but there's no harm in making a few more drawings, no?

The concept was born from a discussion I had with my friend from Cyprus, about his opinion in regards to Turkey (the country, not the bird). Although, it ended up in debate and a nice Turkish kebab for lunch, we discussed quite a lot of aspect about the Ottoman Empire, from the rise to fall. After looking through the sketches i've made, I decided to create one as a tribute to the ottomans, just for the sake of interest.

The Ottomans had their humble beginning in Anatolia as Turkish governors, who recognized the sovereignty of Seljuks and Sultanate of Rum. It was not until the rise of Murad in mid 1300s that he claimed himself to be Sultan, therefore starting the legacy that created one of the world's largest and powerful intercontinental empire, challenging that of the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate.

If I was to put them in context with the Historically Wrong Series, we can say that most of middle east and Africa was ruled by the Arabic Sarravids, but the turkish beys that ruled the Mesopotamian region became increasingly powerful and demanded more autonomy from the ruling padshah in Al-Qahira. The demand was met with military intervention by the Arabs and the empire was thrown into civil war. The alliance of Turkish beys under the leadership of the Orhan eventually emerged victorious, and began to exert their influence over the remaining sarravids, before launching themselves for the biggest invasion of Europe (which i will explain in the Next project: Blood and Steel that covers 1600s to 1700s)

As for the 2 characters depicted in the drawing, Aydin is pictured with a stylized ottoman mail and partial plate armor, commonly worn by the Sipahi Turks. Although, in this case, i applied a bit of artistic license to the decoration and the overall style. The armor itself is one of the most expensive gear that the ottomans could field, made by the finest blacksmith and worn by the rich and powerful. Whereas Ipek is depicted with the traditional early attires worn by the Janissaries. Her clothing is inspired from the ones worn by Janisarry officers, with stylistic headgear, taken from the ones worn by the Bektashis, one of the tariqat of Sufism originated in Anatolia.

It's quite funny to depict the two together, as historically speaking they were always at each others throat due to their rivalries. Nevertheless, the status of women amongst the Turkish people were often mixed. Their tribal and nomadic origin would have influence women to take up arms in times of needs, becoming horse archers and light cavalry. After the Ottomans settled, it was more common for women to participate in political game and power play, especially within the High Porte of the Ottoman Empire. There was a time called the "Sultanate of Women" in the Ottoman history where the High Porte was highly influenced by the women of the Harem, a period that last for 130 years.

Nevertheless, this is just an anachronistic drawing drawn purely for fun. I would prefer that we put aside our opinion about the Ottomans, given their history that maybe sensitive to people that came in contact with them.

=======================================================================================================

Inspired by the Music - Ottoman Music by Dimitry Kandemiroglu

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPI8FZ…

Developed from the attires of Ahu Durquba of Sarravids and Rani Indira Kshyatriyapati