From Mystery to the Mummy in Topkapı Palace, a Strange Figure in Ottomans: Crocodile

Abstract

Threatening the life of mankind as a predator reptile in its habitual regions caused crocodiles to be a symbol of power in belief systems since Ancient Egypt. Ottomans were very interested in this exotic animal, which they met after the conquest of Egypt, and although it was foreign to the climate of central authority, they adopted it both with its own existence and the images it reminded within the aspects they could associate with. As it was the peak of wonder itself at the begining, crocodiles were later brought to Istanbul to be exhibited, and with the images they inspired, they became motifs in many facts and fictions such as remedies for sufferings, inspiration for ships, marks for chocolates and finally, the leading actor of a mystery mummy fiction. This study aims to following the traces of the wondrous mysteries evoked by crocodiles within the context of their effects to Ottoman cultural life, still present today.