Table of contents for Issue 161 in All About History

One of the most striking regions of modern Istanbul is the Sultanahmet district, home to several of the city’s historic landmarks. Here you will find the Topkapi Palace, the site of the Hippodrome, the Hagia Sophia and what is known as The Blue Mosque. More properly named the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii), it was commissioned by the young emperor Sultan Ahmed I and constructed under architect Mehmed Ağa between 1609 and 1616. Bringing together elements of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture and design, the mosque was both a hugely symbolic and somewhat controversial project on a number of fronts. For a start, it was deliberately designed and located to rival the famous Hagia Sophia, the former cathedral that had been converted into a mosque. Second, it was customary for a…

What drew so many 18th century travellers from far and wide to the city of Istanbul? They were drawn to Istanbul (which most referred to by its old name of Constantinople) because of its reputation as a place of outstanding beauty and exotic fascination. The inhabitants of this magnificent city were an astonishingly cosmopolitan group, coming from every corner of the vast Ottoman Empire and beyond. This was evident in the wide variety of picturesque clothes they wore. Every aspect of their lives was far removed from life in western Europe: the hustle of the bazaars, the way they prayed in the mosques, their love of coffee shops and opium dens, and the manner in which Turkish women wore veils covering their faces. The popularity of the Grand Tour meant…

Director: Tim Fehlbaum Starring: John Magaro, Peter Sarsgaard, Leonie Benesch Country: Germany Year: 2024 01 The film follows the Munich massacre, which saw Israeli athletes and staff at the 1972 Olympics taken hostage by Black September. As in the film, it fell on the ABC Sports broadcasting team to show events live around the world, which had never happened before. 02 Roone Arledge (Sarsgaard), Geoffrey Mason (Magaro) and Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin) discuss if they can or should show someone being shot. This debate really took place. It was agreed they could delay a decision as the cameras that might see it were not broadcasting live. 03 Thanks to their German translator Marianne Gebhardt (Benesch) listening to the German police radio they realise the cops are unprepared for this kind…

Serves: 4 Prep time: 70 mins Cooking time: 15 mins 300g bread flour1 tbsp salt1 tbsp sugar4g fast-action dried yeast150g warm water (add more if needed)150g sesame seeds2 tbsp molasses (pomegranate molasses is preferable) Often referred to as a Turkish Bagel, simit is a circular snack popular on the streets of Istanbul. Any visitor to the city will find numerous vendors selling this traditional treat to hungry locals. Simit gained popularity during the Ottoman Empire, as its ease of production and affordability made it a staple in the diet of both the rich and poor. The 17th century traveller Evliya Celebi recorded much of what we know about simit’s history. He observed that, during the 1630s, Istanbul was home to 70 bakeries producing simit, and 300 street vendors. It’s also…

13 October 1972 CRASH SURVIVORS EAT THE DEAD While travelling from Montevideo in Uruguay to Santiago in Chile, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes mountains in Argentina. The aircraft had been chartered by a Uruguayan rugby team and was carrying 45 people when the accident occurred. Twelve passengers died on the impact, with many more perishing over the following days due to the freezing conditions. The incident became infamous after the plane wreckage and 16 survivors were discovered over two months after the crash – they had resorted to cannibalism to survive the 72-day ordeal. 3 October 1995 OJ SIMPSON ACQUITTED After a high-profile trial that lasted 11 months, football player and actor Orenthal James ‘OJ’ Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife…

Among the legacies of Emperor Justinian I, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565, are his colossal building projects such as the Hagia Sophia. However, for centuries one of the most impressive of his structures lay hidden from view and forgotten. The Basilica Cistern, constructed in 532, was designed to provide water to Justinian’s palace in Constantinople and was able to hold 80,000 cubic metres of water. In 1545, the cistern was rediscovered by Frenchman Peter Gyllius after he heard bizarre tales of locals being able to catch fish from holes in their basements. There are many mysteries within this underground labyrinth, but one of the most confounding is the origins of the two stone heads depicting the monstrous snake-headed Medusa of Greek mythology. Some historians theorise that…

1 BASILICA CISTERN ALEMDAR, YEREBATAN CD 1/3, 34110 FATIH Located below the streets of Istanbul is an ancient water storage facility that was first built in the 6th century. Constructed during the reign of Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian I in 532 CE, the expansive cistern is called the Basilica Cistern because it was originally built underneath the Stoa Basilica, a large public square. The initial purpose of the cistern was to supply water to Constantinople’s Great Palace and possibly its surrounding areas too, though now it’s purely a historic monument rather than a functioning water source. Visitors can explore the subterranean labyrinth, which is sometimes referred to as the Sunken Palace due to its magnificent architecture, using the wooden walkways that were added during restoration work in the 1980s. The…

The plane descends. The Fireflash – an atomic-powered hypersonic aircraft. If it lands, it will detonate a bomb onboard. If it doesn’t, then the passengers will die from radiation poisoning. But there is hope. International Rescue are on their way in their special rocket vehicles – the Thunderbirds. To the generations of children who watched that first episode, it didn’t matter that their heroes were not in fact actors but puppets. Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, Thunderbirds was just one of a number shows produced by the legendary Gerry Anderson that utilised a unique style of puppetry, nicknamed Supermarionation. From the underwater escapades of Stingray to the intergalactic war of Captain Scarlet, chances are if you saw these programmes during their original broadcast, then you have fond memories of these…

Today we in Britain don’t have a lot of exposure to guns. Unless we enter into the armed services, policing or have some special need for them, most people will go their entire life without touching a firearm. But we don’t need to go far back – perhaps just a generation – and that was not the case. As David Olusoga OBE is exploring in his new touring show, A Gun Through Time, Britain’s national relationship with guns is more involved and complex than you might think and, in reality, our lack of exposure to these weapons makes us outliers, not the norm. Can you explain a little about the genesis of this tour, A Gun Through Time? The starting point for the tour is that we, both geographically and…

324 CE CONSTANTINOPLE FOUNDED Constantine selects Byzantium as the capital of his Roman Empire, renaming it Constantinople in his honour. He rebuilds the city to four-times its original size. He also heavily fortifies his new capital, adding walls that surround it. 1204 CRUSADERS SACK CONSTANTINOPLE During the Fourth Crusade, the Christian Crusaders of the West attack and raid the city. Many artworks of historic and cultural importance are lost or destroyed during the siege. Constantinople is divided among various powers following the attack. 1453 FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE Sultan Mehmed II captures the city following a 55-day siege. Constantine XI is killed during the onslaught, effectively ending the Byzantium Empire. Following this victory, Mehmed II relocates his capital and the city is renamed Istanbul. C.600 BCE BYZANTIUM FOUNDED On the European…

Aliye Berger Turkish 24 Dec 1903 – 9 Aug 1973 Considered to be the first female Turkish engraver, Berger only took up the form in 1947 following the death of her lover of 23 years – but her husband of only six months – Karl Berger. Living in London at the time, it was her sister who encouraged her to explore new artistic avenues, including sculpture and, most importantly, engraving. In 1951 she returned to her native Turkey, where she held her first exhibition. In 1954 she entered the Labour and Production painting competition and won the coveted prize, angering her rivals and critics. Nonetheless, Berger’s star continued to rise and in the years following her death she remains one of Istanbul’s most celebrated artists. PRINCESS FAHRELNISSA ZEID TURKISH, 6…

The pinnacle of ancient Chinese history began with a teenage prince ascending the throne with his mother’s blessing. The landlocked kingdom of Qin (pronounced ‘cheen’) was at a crucial juncture now the youthful Ying Zheng, barely 13 years old, was at the helm of government. But for all intents and purposes the boy, for he was indisputably a child, was a stand-in for an ill-defined regency shared by his mother the queen and that cunning and misunderstood figure behind the throne – the minister Lu Buwei. These two people could not have been a greater contrast for the teenage king. Lu Buwei himself, for his airs of breeding and sophistication, was a professional administrator, the kind of which flourished in China’s years of disorder among seven rival kingdoms. But Lu…

A TURNING TIDE The Germans advanced rapidly in 1941 before coming to a halt before Moscow. In 1942, partly by concentrating their resources in the southern sector, they were able to resume their advance and reached Stalingrad and the Caucasus. Thereafter, the tide was almost constantly flowing in the other direction. After a disastrous start, the Red Army had learned how to fight a modern war in the most difficult circumstances imaginable, and fought with increasing confidence and capability. At the same time, the Germans found themselves operating under ever tighter constraints. Fuel had always been critically short, and earlier German advances were largely possible through the careful stockpiling of fuel supplies beforehand; by late 1942, there were few opportunities for this. The highly trained and skilled NCOs on whom…

By early November 1862, anxious that his administration was rapidly losing public support in the north, an impatient President Abraham Lincoln had grown weary of the Army of the Potomac’s popular commander – Major General George B McClellan – and installed his subordinate and close friend Major General Ambrose Burnside as his reluctant successor. Though a capable corps-level commander, Burnside himself admitted he was not capable of commanding an army in the field. The daunting figure of General Robert E Lee and his victorious Army of Northern Virginia only added to his lack of confidence. Yet Burnside was damned if he would step aside to allow his fellow corps commander, and political intriguer, Brigadier General Joe Hooker, to be given the promotion instead. Against his better judgement, Burnside acquiesced to…

CAT TALES: A HISTORY An archaeological romp through our relationship with our feline friends Author: Jerry D Moore Publisher: Thames & Hudson Price: £30 Released: Out now In Cat Tales: A History, archaeologist and anthropologist Jerry D Moore takes a deep dive into the long and enduring relationship between humans and cats. The book’s subtitle – How we learned to live with them… and they learned to live with us – is something that anyone who has ever cared for a cat has doubtless pondered. The book takes an archaeological perspective and explores the fascinating and sometimes stranger-than-fiction story that has evolved over the last two million years. Within these pages readers will see felines evolve from fearsome foes of mankind to pampered pets, curled up beside the fire. From…