Begzadi Aydin Tahir of Devleti Aliyyei Orhaniyye

Another concept sketch of the Turkish Woman Warrior in the Historically Wrong Sketch Series, from the Project: Blood and Steel which is based on the Historical 17th Century Warfare. She is part of the Orhan Trio that served the Turkish Orhan Empire in the series, all of which are powerful women, both martially and politically.

Looking back at my earliest sketch in the series, especially Ikhal Effendi Apek. Initially i wanted to create the Turkish Woman Warrior as one of the most powerful and intimidating character in the series. However, many of the Woman warriors drawn after that are more heavily armed and better represented. So, given that the series setting is based on the Zenith of Ottoman Empire (although, 17th century is an anachronism, ottoman powers by this time was already waning), I wanted to create and recreate the characters to give them equal footing with the rest of the characters.

I tried to create a dynamic pose, but not sure if anatomy is accurate, and what effect would the exclusion of some facial parts would do to the overall drawing.

Begzadi Aydin, or in a badly translated Turkish "Duaghter of Bey, Aydin", is drawn in a stylized Ottoman Sipahi armor, which may or may not be that accurate. Sipahi was the equivalent of European feudal knights, whose status was given along with land to govern by the sultan, in exchange for military support. For the most part in history of the Ottoman Empire, its army consisted mainly of mounted troops, including Sipahi, Deli, and auxiliaries, whereas Janissary and Infantry retained less percentage, but of equally important position like the Sipahi. Unlike the Jannisaries, whose recruit were drawn from the christian non-turkish population, the Sipahis were ethnically Turkish. As such, both parties relationship were cordial, or not worst, due to the rivalries that existed between them. This was an advantage to the High Porte, because the hatred between the Jannisaries and the Sipahis prevented them from working together in deposing the ruling sultan, eliminating the chance of full-scale rebellion.

I can say, she is probably half Turkish (Father Side) and half Circassian (Mother Side), owing to her origins in Anatolia. Unlike Ikhal Effendi Apek whose home lies inside the harem section of the Orhan's Porte and more concerned of Palace Politics , Aydin is a Turkish Noble, with a strong tradition of horsemanship and martial prowess. As such, her approach in battle would differ, therefore the Sultan has asked her to helped the Orhan to set up defense against the growing threat of the Persian, and if she succeeds, she would have the honor of being part in the Orhan Invasion force of Eastern Europe.

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