Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
LIVENARCH VI, Trabzon, Türkiye, 25 Eylül 2019, ss.103-111
Numerous changes were experienced in sociocultural, economic,
administrative, and military fields throughout the Ottoman geography,
especially in Istanbul, thanks to the process defined as westernization or
modernization which started in the 18th century and gained its momentum
throughout the 19th century in the Ottoman Empire. Previously implemented to
ameliorate the inconveniences, innovations were now being carried out as
fundamental changes. These innovations were especially reflected in the
architecture of the 19th century and the western architecture design principles
manifested themselves in architectural style and building types.
The innovations in question were directly reflected in the architectural
practices with stylistic changes in such buildings as barracks, military
hospitals, municipal buildings, jails, educational buildings, and residences,
especially in the 19th century. Up until the 19th century, soldiers bound by the
bound by the Kapıkulu household troops, one of the fundamental military
forces of the Ottoman Empire, housed in buildings composed of rooms
leading into a yard, built with wooden construction materials, and surrounded
by high walls, similarly called “barracks” back in that period. With the removal
of the Kapıkulu troops, architectural traces left behind by them were
eliminated as well, and the places they lived in were turned into shops with
commercial functions. New buildings where the newly formed systematic army
would live and be subjected to disciplinary training were needed. The military
system of Europe, whose superiority and success were accepted, was
adopted by the Ottoman Empire and the architectural practices of this system
were copied. The barrack buildings built accordingly became different from the
Kapıkulu barracks in terms of architectural organization; thus, a new planning
type and architectural style emerged.
In this study, the transfer of the military knowledge from Europe to the
Ottoman Empire has been assessed with regard to the barrack buildings, one
of its early reflections in the architectural practices. Having started during the
reign of Selim the Third and continued to be seen throughout the later periods,
the barrack buildings are an example of this military knowledge transfer never
seen in the architectural practices before. This study discusses how military knowledge was transferred to the Ottoman
Empire and how it was accepted in this geography. The architectural features
of barrack buildings have been examined as a trace of the thoughts and ideas
of the 19th century Europe in the Ottoman geography. The interpretation style
of the transferred knowledge as seen in the Ottoman barrack buildings have
been analyzed by comparing them to their examples in Europe.
Key Words: Modernization; Military Knowledge; Replacing Ottoman Empire;
Ottoman Empire; Barrack Building