Supernatural or paranormal phenomena have existed throughout history. It is known that vampires feed on human blood, disturb people by coming out of their graves, and demons and witches in mythological stories are told by people. The Tarnova Incident; It is an interesting and mysterious event in the official newspaper of the Ottoman Empire. Tarnova is a city located within the borders of Bulgaria today. To the west is Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The city was conquered in 1393 during the reign of Bayezid I, during the Ottoman Empire.
The Tırnova Incident, which took place in Tırnova in 1833, is a witch hunt to eliminate the Ottoman janissary culture. Upon the allegations that some dead janissaries haunted the city as vampires at night and spread fear, they were removed from their graves and stakes were driven into their chests, and the corpses were later burned. The Kadi of Tırnova, Ahmet Şükrü Efendi, reported the incident to the government headquarters and was published in the 69th issue of the first Ottoman official newspaper, Calendar-i Vekayi.
Letter from Kadi Ahmet Sukru Effendi
Our information on the incident known as the Tarnova Incident is limited. This event is based on the news of several columns in the newspaper Calendar-i Vekai dated October 6, 1833. In the news, it is said that a letter written by Tırnova Naibi Ahmet Şükrü Efendi was published exactly. However, there is no certainty about what is told in this letter and news.
The event that Kadi Ahmet Şükrü Efendi told in his letter is as follows;
In the incident that took place in Tırnova, the witches who entered the houses after sunset made a meal by mixing ingredients such as flour, oil, sugar and honey, and mixed the quilts, mattresses, pillows and bundles inside the houses. Some people said they saw nothing, even though they felt stones, earth or pottery being thrown at them. Witches attacking some people forced people to move their homes to other places. After all, the public considered this situation as witchcraft.
Nikola, a Greek who lives in İslimye, near Tırnova, and is famous for witchcraft, was summoned to the town. Nikola agreed to get the job done in exchange for 800 cents. He took the picture board he brought with him to the town cemetery. Turning the board on his finger, he showed that whichever grave he stood in, that grave had a witch.
The people lying in the identified graves, two bandits named Ali Alemdar and Abdi Alemdar, were members of the Janissary Corps. These people died naturally during the removal of the hearth, without falling into the hands of the executioner, because of their advanced age. However, the tombs they opened revealed a gruesome sight. Both have grown to half their size, with hair and fingernails three to four times larger.
There was a large group of spectators at the time the tombs were opened, and they were all faced with this sight. These two bandits, identified with their bullying when they were healthy, and now they have begun to disturb the townspeople with their evil spirits. According to Nicholas the Witcher, in order to destroy these two dead forever, a wooden stake had to be inserted into their bellies and their hearts had to be scalded in boiling water. Wood stakes were inserted into the bellies of the dead, whose graves were opened, and their hearts were ripped out and boiled in boiling water. However, as this process did not yield results, Nikola said that the bodies should be cremated. This action was approved by the Shari’ah and the corpses were burned right there. In this way, the town was saved from the witch’s scourge.
A Similar Event Described in Evliya Çelebi’s Travel Book
A supernatural event similar to the Tırnova Incident is also included in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname. Evliya Çelebi talks about “gluttons”, which are mythological creatures. He says that these gluttons are living dead that come out of their graves and suck the blood of people. He states that while he was on Obur Mountain, he witnessed Circassian and Abaza gluttons fighting in the sky and clashing until sunrise. He also adds that war tools, weapons, human and horse limbs fell to the earth. While such unbelievable writings can be found in his travelogue, Evliya Çelebi described the places and regions he visited in a realistic way.
The Main Purpose of the Tarnova Witch Incident
The Tarnova Incident, according to historical sources, II. It happened after Mahmud’s decision to abolish the janissary corps in 1826. It is thought that the main purpose of this event was to increase the hatred of the people against the Janissaries and to destroy the culture of the Janissaries. As a result of this frightening event, the people began to hate the janissaries even more, and the janissary tombs and tombstones were removed and destroyed. This situation is remembered as an important historical event that is still discussed today and on which there are different opinions.
In the period when the belief about the existence of witches was widespread among the people, this event was interpreted by some as a supernatural event. There is no conclusive evidence that the purpose of the incident, as claimed, was to destroy the Janissaries and their culture. The claim that the cultural heritage was destroyed by removing the janissary graves and tombstones has not been conclusively proven either. Historical sources, II. He states that Mahmud’s decision to abolish the janissary corps was a decision taken for the modernization efforts and strengthening of the Ottoman Empire.
The opinion of İlber Ortaylı, one of the important historians of our country, on this subject is that the event is not a supernatural event that actually happened, but rather a reflection of the social and cultural changes that occurred after the abolition of the Janissary Corps. Considering the fact that such events can often be used as a propaganda tool, this view can be accepted as a very reasonable explanation. However, the reality or supernatural dimension of the event is still controversial and it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion.
