17 Nov: The Last Sultan
Rerun. Mehmet VI stepped on to a British warship to seek refuge in Malta on 17th November, 1922 – thereby becoming the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, a dynasty stretching back to the 14th Century.
He was accompanied by his first Chamberlain, his doctor, two secretaries, a velt, a barber, two eunuchs, and a bandmaster.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dig into the archives to see how the event was portrayed in the triumphant West; consider the fate of the Royals left behind in modern-day Turkey; and ponder what ‘cautiously optimistic exile music’ might sound like…
Further Reading:
• ‘Great Ottoman Empire in Turkey’ (Go Turkey Tourism):
https://www.goturkeytourism.com/about-turkey/great-ottoman-empire-in-turkey.html
• ‘CONSTANTINOPLE 1922-1923, WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS AS ONE EXPECTS’, (Major P A J Wright OBE, The Guards Magazine, 2016): http://guardsmagazine.com/features/Autumn2016/16autumn_04Constantinople.html
• ‘Ten Minute History – The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Birth of the Balkans’ (History Matters, 2018):
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