Insane Indulgences Of The Rich & Powerful From History

A Lavish Ottoman Wedding

Hatice Sultan (1660 – 1743) had a lavish wedding for the ages. The daughter of Sultan Mehmed IV, and sister of sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III, she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. In 1675, fourteen-year-old Hatice was married to Musahip Mustafa Pasha, the Ottoman Navy’s Admiral of the Fleet. Her imperial family and the groom pulled out all the stops to make sure that the princess would kick off her marriage with celebrations of unrivaled opulence. The wedding, which took place in Edirne, lasted for twenty days, and the city was decorated with artificial trees that featured silver leaves. The biggest one was about sixteen-feet-wide, and was pulled by 200 slaves. To avoid navigating the city’s warren of twisting streets, all buildings in its path, including houses, were razed.

There were parades, fireworks, wrestling, and other athletic contests, in addition to daily banquets and ceremonies. Musicians, artists, and actors were brought in from all across the Ottoman Empire and beyond, to put on concerts, and other performances. The bride’s dowry was carried by eighty-six mules, each covered in expensive fabrics. Their haul included an abundance of diamonds, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and other jewelry and precious stones. That was aside from delicate porcelain, gold candlesticks, pearl-covered stools, and the era’s finest and most expensive shoes, slippers, and boots. Also prominently featured were the priciest Persian rugs, carpets, beds and table cloths. It was the era’s most lavish marriage celebration, bar none.

_________________

Where Did We Find This Stuff? Here Are Our Sources:

Africa Today, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jul. – Sep., 1978) – The Coronation of Emperor Bokassa

Alpha History – Marie Antoinette

Ancient Origins – Adolf Frederick: The Swedish King Who Ate Himself to Death

Ars Orientalis, Vol. 39, 2010 – Eighteenth Century Ottoman Princesses as Collectors: Chinese and European Porcelains in the Topkapi Palace Museum

Clements, Jonathan – The First Emperor of China (2006)

Delamere Manor – The Five Most Expensive Weddings of All Time

Ehrenberg, Victor – From Solon to Socrates: Greek History and Civilization During the 6^th and 5^th Centuries BC (2010)

Encyclopedia Britannica – Giles de Rais

Encyclopedia Britannica – Musa I of Mali

Gonick, Larry – The Cartoon History of the Universe (1990)

Gonick, Larry – The Cartoon History of the Universe, Volume II (1994)

Guardian, The, August 28^th, 2001 – Jane Greer

Head Stuff – Crassus, the Richest Man in Rome

History Collection – Successful and Unsuccessful Lovers of the Rich and Powerful in History

History Network – How America’s Most Powerful Men Caused America’s Deadliest Flood

Johnstown Pennsylvania Information Source Online – Archived New York Times Coverage of the Johnstown Flood, June 1 – 7, 1889

Library of Congress – Women in the French Revolution Resource Guides: Marie Antoinette

Listverse – 10 Bizarre Tales of The First Emperor of China’s Quest For Immortality

Los Angeles Times, August 28^th, 2001 – Jane Greer, Star of Film Noir ‘Out of the Past’

McCullough, David G. – The Johnstown Flood (2004)

New Yorker, The, September 17^th, 2006 – The Fashions and Follies of Marie Antoinette

Nordstjernan – King-Sized Meal: A Cautionary Tale

Plutarch – Parallel Lives: Alcibiades

Plutarch – Parallel Lives: Life of Crassus

Shaw, Karl – Power Mad! A Book of Deranged Dictators (2004)

Thucydides – History of the Peloponnesian War

Twitchett, Denis, et al – The Cambridge History of China: The Chin and Han Empires, 221 BC – AD 220, 3rd Edition (1986)

Wolf, Leonard – Bluebeard: The Life and Times of Gilles de Rais (1980)