Page 33 - Журнал «Русский Берег» #10-2022

RUSSIAN COAST | № 2/9 2022 ПРОГНОЗЫ | PREDICTION

wind, fire, and air. Astrology 2‑ İshak, müneccim, 14 akça the date of the beginning of the month of
ENG in their spells was present in 3‑ Sinan, müneccim, 10 akça Ramadan and abuse of authority.
the form of luminaries ‑ the (approx. müneccim ‑ fortune teller, In the second half of the XVI century.
favor of the Moon and the Sun promised astrologer; akça ‑ Turkish coin) the observatory was at the disposal of the
a rich harvest and fertility of livestock. A Under Sultan Murad IV, astrologers took capital's stargazers. It did not last long ‑
frequent motif of drawings on shamanic pride of place in parades and official exits a few years later Sultan Murad III gave
tambourines is the sickle of the waning or of the ruler ‑ another confirmation of respect the order to shoot the building from ship
growing Moon as a symbol of the cyclicity and trust in their occupation. guns. Researchers call the dissatisfaction
of life. An important part of the work of of the people of Istanbul Pichina. The fact
Among the few ancient treatises, the work scientists was the calculation of "Eşref is that the astronomer and mathematician
of the soothsayer Al‑Konevi “Ahkâm‑ç Sâl‑i saati" ‑ a favorable time for the start of Takiyuddin, observing the sky with the help
Türkân”, written in Sivas in the XIV century, events. Astrologers determined the hours of of instruments, saw a comet in the sky,
has come down to us. It describes a 12‑year laying the foundation for the construction a “tailed star”. He declared it a sign of
calendar, where the years are named after of mosques, the day the army went on a prosperity and happiness for the empire.
animals. The roots of such a system are not military campaign, the date of launching a When the prophecy did not come true and
connected with the Chinese tradition, but new ship. The schedule of palace events, an epidemic struck Istanbul, the inhabitants
with the beliefs of the ancient Turkic peoples. such as the wedding of the Sultan and his considered the tower the cause of their
The annual astro‑calendar, familiar to us, associates or the issuance of a seal to the misfortunes. The new observatory appeared
with 12 constellations of the zodiac from Grand Vizier, was drawn up after a careful in the Turkish capital only in 1868 and
Aries to Pisces, came to the Ottoman Empire calculation of the positions of the stars and served more as a meteorological center
as an influence of Arab teachings. The very luminaries. than for astronomical purposes.
first known calculation dates back to 1452. The duties of palace astrologers included The predictive department at the palace
the compilation of Muslim calendars. They existed until the beginning of the 20th
ASTROLOGY IN OTTOMAN entered the time of the beginning of prayers, century. When the power of the Sultan was
TURKEY the days of Ramadan, or the onset of the replaced by the Republic of Turkey, the
Under the Ottoman Turks, whose dynasty Hajj ‑ a period of pilgrimage. Soothsayers position of müneccimbaşı was abolished.
began with the reign of Osman I Gazi, since announced prophecies about supposed The last chief soothsayer of the Ottoman
1299, astrology received the status of natural earthquakes, periods of crop failure and Empire, Hussein Ilmi Efendi, died in 1924.
science. It became known as "Ilm‑i Nücum" disease, solar and lunar eclipses. They also
‑ the science of the stars. The rulers listened to calculated birth horoscopes.
the advice of stargazers ‑ for example, Fatih Ottoman astrologers in many ways
the Conqueror began military campaigns considered the positions of the planets
on dates calculated by the personal relative to each other in the same way as
astrologer Ali Kushchu. After the conquest of modern astrologers: whether the celestial
Constantinople and the transfer of the capital bodies converge or “run away” from each
of the state to Istanbul, a whole “predictive other, how visually close in the sky, in what
department" was formed at the palace. degrees. And then they compared the
Madrassas provided personnel to work results with the signification: the Sun is the
at the court. Applicants were waiting for sultan, the Moon is the vizier, Venus is the
a serious exam ‑ they had to understand manager of the ceremonies, Jupiter is the
astronomy, astrology, and mathematics. judge, Mercury is the secretary, Saturn is the
Those who passed the tests with dignity treasurer, Mars is the commander in chief.
were enrolled in the court staff. Astrologers Ephemerides were used for calculations
had their hierarchy and distribution of ‑ tables of apparent positions of stars,
responsibilities. Over time, the newcomer adopted in the European astronomical
had a chance to climb the career ladder ‑ tradition since 1474.
up to "müneccimbaşı", the position of the Turkish historians have found references
chief predictor. The first to take this place was in the documents of the Ottoman period to
Seydi Ibrahim Seyiddin during the reign of 37 soothsayers who at various times held
Sultan Bayezid II. the post of “müneccimbaşı.” Not all of
Accounting was also conducted ‑ in the them expected only awards and honors.
archives of the Topkapi Palace of that period, For incorrect predictions, several major
an expense sheet was preserved, where the astrologers went into exile. And one ‑
amount issued for their work was indicated Hussein Efendi ‑ having served in the palace
opposite the names of the predictors: for 20 years, was imprisoned in 1650 and
1‑ Seydi İbrahim bin Seyyid, müneccim, later executed. The reason for such a severe
15 akça punishment was the incorrect calculation of

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