12
/ Aug. 2014
AROUND THE WORLD
In Search of the Sultan’s Heart
By SYEDA AFJALINA WASI
Many noteworthy buildings of architectural
importance, dams, fountains and aqueducts,
Turkish baths, botanical gardens, bridges,
mosques, fortresses, theoretical schools
(madrasas) and other public works of
importance were constructed during his
time.
His reign for almost half a century marked
the substantial extension of his Ottoman
Empire that included strongholds of Rhodes,
Belgrade, most parts of Hungary, Egypt and
Persia, with his Ottoman fleet dominating the
Mediterranean to Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
In 1566, the sultan led his Ottoman army on
an expedition against the Hapsburgs in
Hungary. Though the Ottomans won the
battle but the demise of Sultan Süleyman a
day before the victory, marked the tragic
point in the fortunes of the Turks -an end to
what historians would consider the Golden
Era of Ottoman Empire.
To pre-empt any disorientation that the news
of the Sultan’s demise may cause the
Ottoman troops, the Grand Vizier kept the
sultan’s death a secret for almost one and
half months, until they managed to grapple
the situation with the sultan’s son Selim II
taking charge.
Today, when the Turks are rediscovering,
embracing and celebrating their rich
Ottoman heritage, with year 2016 marking
the 450th anniversary of the sultan’s demise,
it is of the utmost historical and symbolic
significance, if the whereabouts of the
sultan’s heart and lost tomb could be
discovered – the prime reason why the
Turkish government is very proactively and
enthusiastically
funding
this
research
encouraging
and
facilitating
scientific
approach and modern methods for the
research.
Furthermore,
Turkish
International
Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA),
with their heavy investments in an
attempt to aid this quest, have
Contents
brought other Turkish journalists,
researchers and scholars to the city.
Sources claim that after the sultan’s demise,
his heart and organs were removed, his body
was temporarily mummified and buried under
his bed in a golden casket at the tent near the
fortress.
However, present-day researchers refute this
claim of his organs being buried in a “golden
casket” citing the violation of Islamic tradition
of burial rites in doing so. After Selim II
constructed a shrine in 1570s at the tent site
to commemorate his deceased father, this site
became a popular pilgrimage sanctum drawing
devoted travelers to pay homage to the sultan.
To serve the needs of the pilgrims a small but
thriving settlement sprung up. This settlement,
(identified in the maps as Turbek, derived from
Turkish word türbe meaning "tomb”) continued
to thrive for the next 120 years before being
completely destroyed by the vengeful Habsburg
army when they drove the Turks out of
Hungary in 1693. The Habsburg army
demolished Turbek to such extents of
unrecognizable destruction that even to this
day this lost town of Turbek remains a mystery
– adding to the already existing confusion
around the sultan’s heart, making this quest a
challenge for the researchers.
Photo courtesy: kanunisultansuleyman.bilgim.net