Ottoman Rescue of Europe from Smallpox

There were many famous medical people such as Akşemseddin, Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin and Ahi Mehmed Çelebi who lived in the Ottoman Empire. Thanks to these important medical people, the Ottoman Empire cholera and smallpox epidemic It was a state that was able to take measures on its own in many epidemics, including the epidemic, and was able to heal the world from time to time.

with you today Smallpox in the Ottoman PeriodWe will cover a variety of topics, such as the vaccination process, the vaccination process, and the public response.

Origin of smallpox

Smallpox for the first time 10,000 BC began to appear in Africa. Various sources state that smallpox can be traced back even further, with detailed historical research.

Description of smallpox in Turks

Today, the people of the Sakha Republic, which is an autonomous administration affiliated to the Russian Federation, were called “Yakut Turks”.a Russian woman with red hair and a red dresssmallpox described as ”; “it is such a disgusting disease; In the hereafter, the soul will refuse to return to the body”.

Smallpox in the Ottoman Empire

According to many sources, smallpox first appeared in the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 19th century.as an epidemic‘ begins to appear. Many people die with the onset of the disease. Survivors, on the other hand, could go blind or have various scars on their bodies until they died.

Among those who got smallpox, Ahmed I, III. There were names such as Ahmed, Abdülmecid, Şehzade Mehmet Nusret, and even the daughter of Abdülhamit I. Fatma Sultandied of smallpox.

Treatment of smallpox in the Ottoman Empire

Smallpox was first discovered in the Ottoman Empire in 1801. Chief Physician Mustafa Behçet Efendi It was officially described by a medical book published by According to the sources, a method called blooming was developed due to the increasing deaths in the Ottoman Empire and the lack of a vaccine yet.

According to History-i Cevdet, this method was developed by Anatolian Yoruks and they were brought to Istanbul in order to control the epidemic. The flowering method was previously established in 1630. Vaccinator Physician Ali Çelebi was also applied.

Flowering and grafting method

In the flowering method, the clothes of people who have had a mild disease are dressed for children who have not yet had the disease. children are expected to acquire immunityken; a more modern method was followed for grafting.

Doctor Emanuel Timonius and the wife of the British ambassador to Istanbul Edward Montagu Lady MontaguAccording to what is written in the book of “Oriental Letters”;

“Children who have not yet contracted smallpox at the end of the summer preserved in walnut shell and flower yeast taken from various animals are injected with the logic of vaccination by opening a vascular access in the arm and the area is covered with walnut shell. In this way, the child is vaccinated in 3 different places. Since there would be scars in the area, grafting was usually applied to the invisible parts of the body. One week after vaccination, the child had developed up to 30 harmless pimples on his face, and the child would have been free from scars, blindness, and death. The same method could be done with dried hazelnut shells and rose water, but that method had to be repeated every 2 years.”

Lady Montagu’s work saved Europe from death

While Europe was stricken with smallpox; On the work of Lady Montagu son of the British heir Many Britons, including the British, were protected from smallpox by the Turkish-type vaccination. Until the discovery of modern vaccination in 1796, all of Europe used the Ottoman method.

Vaccine mobility in the Ottoman Empire

Vaccination was given great importance in the Ottoman Empire, especially since the sultans also suffered from smallpox and there was a serious epidemic. especially children, 3 times until age 19 was inoculated. The first vaccination was done within 6 months from birth, while the other vaccinations were done between the ages of 7 and 15-19.

As a warning to families who do not have their children vaccinated or who have them incompletely vaccinated. 1 majid fine was given. Larger fines were imposed if vaccination was not carried out despite the warning. In addition, applications such as mobile physicians and vaccination stations were started in order for the public to be vaccinated faster.

Anti-vaccination all the time

As it is today, there were always anti-vaccine opponents, and the Ottomans also had difficulties in this regard. Especially the ignorant mass, “quarantine is not permissible, The vaccine found by non-Muslims will not cure us.The superstitions such as “vaccination is forbidden, it destroys faith” were prevented by the fatwas given by Sheikhulislam Mekkizade Asım Efendi, and it was focused on accelerating the vaccination.

Especially in Erzurum and its surroundings, there were many groups that resisted the physicians who wanted to do the vaccination duty. Mistake, for violence against physicians security forces began to accompany each vaccine team.

what about you Smallpox in the Ottoman Empire What do you think about the developments?

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*Prof. Dr. Miracle Celebrity and Doctorate Zarife AlbayrakThanks for your contribution.