The Story of Hundreds of Monkeys Executed in Istanbul

When we look at our history, we see that it is full of successes. Indeed, we have a magnificent history that has spread over 3 continents and turned into a huge empire. Ottoman Empire, is among the most powerful empires that have ever reigned on this earth. Of course, the empire with such a variety of people and regions contains countless stories. We are shown the battles, deals, and failures we’ve made in our history in schools. So is history just that?

Although there are many moments and stories in our history to rejoice, there are also stories that are wrong and regret. one of them III. Monkey massacre in Murat period. The Ottoman Empire, like many other things, brought monkeys to Istanbul from the African lands it conquered during the reign of Yavuz Sultan Selim. The 12th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, III. During the Murat period, the number of monkeys increased considerably and they were used in many useful areas. So what happened that these monkeys were brutally slaughtered? Let’s take a look at these events.

For what purposes were the monkeys in the Ottoman Empire?

Monkeys, which were included in the Ottoman Empire after the African conquests of Yavuz Sultan Selim, became extremely popular in terms of both their very smartness and some physical superiority. In addition to being a pet due to its various qualities, it was also used for vital purposes in the Ottoman navy, which was the strongest of that period. Monkeys, thanks to their eyesight, were keeping watch on Ottoman ships. Thanks to their easy training and their ability to see much farther than humans, they were able to see distant warships while traveling on the seas and inform the Ottoman soldiers.

Monkeys used for many purposes in the Ottoman Empire, III. It was also attracting the attention of the people who got rich during the Murat period. Even to be trained and sold on purpose. Monkey shops appeared. Although monkeys, one of the many positive effects Africa contributed to the Ottoman Empire, got along very well with humans, of course some people were uncomfortable with these creatures. III, which will cause all these events to turn into massacres. Murat’s imam Mullah Abdulkerim Efendi from Manisa was one of them.

The targeting of monkeys and the resulting massacre

Manisalı, who was the imam of Sultan Murat and later became a judge of Rumelia Mullah Abdulkerim Efendi hated monkeys as if they were his enemies. He thought that the monkeys were used by people for games and entertainment and would lead the Muslim people astray. Molla Abdulkerim Efendi, one of the most famous clergymen of his time, gave a Friday sermon at Fatih Mosque, The cleric said that monkeys can lead Muslims astray, that monkeys are used for prostitution and women are used to provoke them, He caught monkeys all over Istanbul and had them hanged on trees, with a fiery crowd of thousands behind him.

This angry crowd first raided the monkey sellers in Azapkapı and Galata. With an unexpected hatred of the clergy, the monkeys were killed and hanged in the trees, and even Mullah Abdulkerim Efendi, who even had special execution stands prepared for large monkeys, public after this incident. “Maymunkesh imam” became known by his nickname. Because of this hatred of Molla Abdulkerim, who pulled the ropes of hundreds of poor monkeys with his own hands, there are almost no monkeys left in Istanbul. According to some important sources, it is said that “there is almost no tree left in Istanbul on which monkeys are not hung”.

If this event had never happenedperhaps we would be able to adopt monkeys as pets, as well as our lovely friends such as cats and dogs. There are always people in the world who see killing as their right, no matter what. Now they do these things to cats, dogs and other animals. We should not forget that we are not alone in the world and we should try to protect our animal friends at every point.

Source: 1, 2, 3