Ottoman Military Band - History

History

It is believed that individual instrumentalists may have been mentioned in the 8th century Orkhon inscriptions. Such military bands as the mehters, however, were not definitively mentioned until the 13th century. It is believed that the first "mehter" was sent to Osman I by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad III as a present along with a letter that salutes the newly formed state. From then on every day after the afternoon prayer; "mehter" played for the Ottoman ruler. The notion of a military marching band, such as those in use even today, began to be borrowed from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The sound associated with the mehterân also exercised an influence on European classical music, with composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven all writing compositions inspired by or designed to imitate the music of the mehters.

In 1826, the music of the mehters fell into disfavor following Sultan Mahmud II's abolition of the Janissary corps, who had formed the core of the bands. Subsequent to this, in the mid and late 19th century, the genre went into decline along with the Ottoman Empire. In 1911, as the empire was beginning to collapse, the director of Istanbul's military museum attempted a somewhat successful revival of the tradition, and by 1953—so as to celebrate the 500-year anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople to the forces of Sultan Mehmed II—the tradition had been fully restored as a band of the Turkish Armed Forces.

Today, the music of the mehters is largely ceremonial and considered by many Turks as a stirring example of heroism and a reminder of Turkey's historical past. Though the majority of the pieces performed by them are newer compositions.

Today, Mehter Troop (Mehter Bölüğü) is the band of the Turkish Armed Forces and it performs at the Military Museum (Askeri Müze) in Istanbul. See also: The Ministry of Culture Istanbul Historical Music Ensemble.