This well the reading we did about the Fall of Constantinople was very interesting. Out of three, my guesses were all wrong. The first I thought was from the point of view of an Ottoman soldier, I was close because it was someone under the Sultan’s rule but it was a Greek. The Greek man clearly had loyalties to both sides, which is evident by the critical description he has for the Ottoman soldiers and the way they behaved. But a point I found important was the loyalty the Greek man had to the Sultan. However badly the soldiers behaved had no influence on this mans vision of the Sultan. He clearly found him to be compassionate and educated (this is evident by his high esteem of the city the conquered). The second paragraph was written by an Ottoman Officer 40 years after the fall of Constantinople. I thought this paragraph was written by a history teacher or someone very removed. Clearly someone with an interest in military behavior wrote this because it was very technical and descriptive of the city. It also explained properly how both sides acted and reacted. The clue that it was from someone on the Ottoman side was when he described how the poor became rich because he is clearly describing his own side, from the losing side it could be seen as the rich become poor. The last paragraph was from the viewpoint of a German in during the 1700’s I originally thought it was someone on the Greek side. The German writer was very harsh and judgmental of the Ottoman behavior and I question the validity of the Sultan’s quote. Although I am sure many of the facts are not 100 percent true all three paragraphs put together really do help give an understanding of people’s feelings and behaviors during the fall of Constantinople.

Islamic Art

I have studied a little bit about the Moors during their rule in Spain. Specifically the Islamic art in Spain. The foundations that we have built in class about the beginning of Islam and about Muhammad have helped me with further understanding ideas about Islamic art. Islamic art appears in many facets, including architecture, painting, ceramics and calligraphy. I have always known about the idea that depicting Allah and people in an idolatry fashion was not allowed but I never understood exactly why. In class and through the film Islam: Empire of Faith I learned that this is because Allah in his nature is infinite and to depict him in human form would go against his transcendent nature. Because of this tradition of not depicting people the beautiful, decorative calligraphy often seen in Mosques and private homes was developed. Since Allah came to Muhammad in words then the word of God is the most important and was his chosen manifestation. The calligraphy often expresses different passages from the Qu’ran. They often adorn minbars (pulpits) and surrounding the mihrab on the qiblah wall (the wall facing Mecca). The calligraphy is used to help worshipers concentrate on the word of God as well as for its beauty. They also developed the arabesque (calligraphy can be a form of arabesque), which is a motif of geometric shapes repeating into a pattern often reminiscent of flowers and plants. These patterns often are taken as forming an infinite pattern inferring the idea of God’s infinity. These arabesques can be seen in many mosques; the ones I know about are in Spain at the Alhambra and Cordoba. The details of the arabesques are really beautiful and amazing. I have enjoyed being able to elaborate and better understand the art however; I am really looking forward to reading more about the Janissaries in our readings!