A camel skeleton left over from the age of the Ottoman Empire has been discovered intact in a garbage pile within a basement in Austria. The creature was an adult male, roughly seven years old, and likely died around the year 1643.
The Ottoman Empire, centered in modern-day Turkey, was a Sunni Islamic state founded in the year 1299 under the command of Osman the First. Between 1362 and 1389, the nation successfully invaded the Balkans, establishing itself as a growing empire, with holdings in Asia and Europe. In 1453, the empire, led by Mehmed the Second, invaded Constantinople, overthrowing the Byzantine Empire.
The camel lived during the time of the second Ottoman-Habsurg War, one of a series of conflicts that raged between the the Ottomans and Habsurg emperors during the 16th and 18th centuries. This animal, imported to the region, would have been highly unusual for an area where camels were rarely seen.
"Camels are alien species in Europe and Austria, [and] the town of Tulln is closely situated to the large river/stream of the Danube," Alfred Galik from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna said.
The animal was likely a prized mount, rather than a beast of burden. Researchers found no evidence of arthritis in the bones, suggesting the creature was not used as a pack animal.
Analysis of the DNA of the camel shows it was born from a dromedary mother, possessing one hump, and a two-humped Bactrian father. Cross-breeds like these were larger and easier to handle than either standard variety, making them ideal for military purposes.
At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Ottomans controlled vast portions of western Asia and southwestern Europe, along with portions of the Caucasus and northern Africa. The empire became the center of trade and diplomacy during interactions between the people of eastern and western nations.
"In the wake of Suleiman's death in 1566, Selim the Sot (1566-74) and his successor, Murad III (1574-95), called a halt to the landward advances and, for much of this period, the Turks concentrated on defense rather than expansion. Like other European states, they were feeling the strain of administering their massive empire, a fact reflected by the state debts recorded every year after 1592," Geoffrey Woodward writes for History Today.
When the Ottomans refused to pay a required tribute, war began once more against the Habsurg emperors.
Subject to a series of invasions from the outside world, the Ottoman Empire fell into centuries of decline. Following the end of the First World War, the once-mighty empire was divided up in several nations, including Turkey, and several countries in the Middle East and the Balkans.
Study of the ancient camel skeleton was detailed in the journal PLOS ONE.
Photo: Nelo Hotsuma | Flickr
