Tribute for Sultan A. Aziz: Imperial Anthem of Ottoman Empire Aziziye Marsi (1861 1876)

Imperial Anthem of Ottoman Empire Aziziye Marsi (18611876) The Ottoman Empire used anthems since its foundation in the late 13th century, but did not use a specific royal or national anthem until the 19th century. During the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, when the military and imperial band were reorganized along Western lines, Giuseppe Donizetti was invited to head the process. Donizetti Pasha, as he was known in the Ottoman Empire, composed the first Westernstyle imperial anthem, the Mahmudiye. Like in many other monarchies of its time, the anthem of the Ottoman Empire was a royal anthem, not a national one. Hence it paid homage to a specific ruler and a new anthem was composed at each imperial succession. However, in 1844, with the Tanzimat reforms, the Mecidiye March was recognized as the first official Ottoman national anthem. The first official Ottoman national flag (which was in essence identical to the presentday Turkish flag) was also adopted in 1844. Mahmudiye for Sultan