How Court Astrologers Shaped Ottoman Rule for Five Centuries

Court astrologers, known as müneccimbaşı and munajjims, were institutionalized under Sultan Bayezid II in the late 15th century, serving as key advisors to Ottoman sultans. They underwent rigorous training at medreses in geometry, astronomy, and law. Astrology influenced military campaigns, such as Mehmed II's conquest of Constantinople in 1453, where a lunar eclipse was interpreted as a prophecy, leading to the final assault. Astrologers also advised on imperial politics, including appointments of grand viziers and issuing decrees, and interpreted celestial events like comets and eclipses as omens. For dynastic planning, they provided horoscopes and timing for weddings, births, and ceremonies. Timekeeping was another duty: the chief astrologer oversaw muvakkithanes (timekeeping offices) and produced annual takvim calendars, merging Islamic dates with planetary calculations, presented to the sultan during Nevruz festivities. However, astrologers risked arrest or execution if they fell out of favor; Taqi al-Din's observatory was destroyed in 1580 after his comet interpretation was blamed for a plague. Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807) was skeptical but maintained the practice as custom.