An Evaluation of Turkish Wrestling History during the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

The aim of this research is to answer questions about the history of wrestling, how it was interpreted by local sports historians and how it was institutionalized during the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans, who gave great importance to wrestling and wrestlers, had traditional institutions that could surpass the contemporary club phenomenon. A descriptive research and comparison model, which is one of the designs included in the qualitative approach, was used in the study. The research of M. Turkmen, the subject expert, was taken to the centre of the study and the research was limited to the Ottoman period. We conclude that wrestling was the first sport that was formatted and institutionalized by the Ottoman Empire with the knowledge it carried from its predecessor Turkic states; it has been generally understood that it is mostly organized with its institutions called Wrestling Lodges. Specifically, the institutionalization of wrestling in the Ottoman Empire increased the power of this sport. Wrestling in the Ottoman palaces seemed to be part of military training rather than a sports format until the middle of the fifteenth century. Subsequently, wrestling has been equated with worship and transformed into a sports discipline with a mystical education in wrestling lodges.