page_title: Imperial Arsenal
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Arsenal / History
caption_attribution_description: Mahmudiye (1829), ordered by the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II and built by the Imperial Naval Arsenal on the Golden Horn in Istanbul, was for many years the largest warship in the world. The 201 x 56 kadem (1 kadem = 37.887 cm) or 76.15&#160;m ×&#160;21.22&#160;m (249.8&#160;ft ×&#160;69.6&#160;ft) (kadem, which translates as "foot", is often misinterpreted as equivalent in length to one imperial foot, hence the wrongly converted dimensions of "201 x 56 ft, or 62 x 17 m" in some sources) ship-of-the-line was armed with 128 cannons on 3 decks and carried 1,280 sailors on board. She participated in many important naval battles, including the Siege of Sevastopol (1854-1855) during the Crimean War (1854-1856). She was decommissioned in 1874.
context_page_description: The Imperial Arsenal was the main base and naval shipyard of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century to the end of the Empire. It was located on the Golden Horn in the Ottoman capital, Constantinople.
context_section_description: In the course of their expansion, the Ottomans captured a number of ports and shipyards on both the Aegean and the Black Sea shores, such as those of Iznikmid (Nicomedia, modern İzmit), Gemlik (Cius), and Aydincik (Kyzikos). The main naval base and arsenal of the Ottoman navy during the early period, however, was at Gallipoli, which was definitively occupied by the Ottomans in 1377.
  After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481) established an imperial shipyard across the Golden Horn from Constantinople proper, in the formerly Genoese suburb of Galata, probably on the same site as the Genoese vetus tersana ("old shipyard"). Work on the new arsenal was completed under the reign of Mehmed's successor Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512), but in winter 1513/4 Selim I (r. 1512–1520) began a major expansion, for which 200,000 ducats were allocated by the treasury. In addition to shipyards, covered dry docks were built to facilitate maintenance of warships during winter. By 1515, with 160 docks constructed, the Galata arsenal had surpassed Gallipoli, and the main Ottoman naval base was moved there. In the 1526 map of Piri Reis, the arsenal is shown as a continuous line of docks lining the northern shore of the Golden Horn, from the gate of Azab Kapisi to the vicinity of Hasköy. The name "Tershane" was officially applied to the Galata shipyard at about the same time.
  In 1546–49, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha built a small stone storehouse, with a flat, lead-covered roof, behind each dock, for the storing of the ship's gear and shipbuilding materials. He also walled off the arsenal grounds from their landward side to conceal its activity from prying eyes. In addition, during this period the arsenal contained a storehouse for oars, the "store of the seventy captains" housing equipment for 70 ships and seven other storehouses, the offices (divanhane) of the Kapudan Pasha (the fleet's chief admiral), the powder magazine tower, the Sanbola dungeon, the Cirid Meydan pavilion, the gates of Şahkulu and the Meyyit harbour. By 1557, the arsenal counted 123 docks. Following the destruction of the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), the Imperial Arsenal was extensively renovated, with eight new dockyards built inland, surrounding the royal garden (has bahçe). By the end of the 16th century, two large storehouses had been built: the Kurşunlu storehouse, for shipbuilding and rigging materials and other ship equipment, and a storehouse for timber.
  By the mid-17th century, the number of docks had risen to 140. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Imperial Arsenal was a major industrial concern, "with dry docks, shipyards, storehouses, a spinning mill for making cordage, and iron foundries (for making anchors), supplemented by public buildings, including a mosque, fountains, a hospital, and a prison, all clustered in the Golden Horn". Nevertheless, the 17th century saw decline: in 1601 the shipyard had 3524 employees but this number steadily fell, reaching 726 in 1700. During this period an increasing amount of work was done by other shipyards. This was facilitated by the fact that galleys, which formed the bulk of the Ottoman navy until the late 17th century, could be built by any skilled shipwright, and that consequently they were frequently built in the provinces at coastal or river sites, and only brought to the Imperial Arsenal for outfitting.
  With the introduction of galleons in the late 17th century, and later with steamships and ironclads, this was no longer possible, and the Empire's shipbuilding efforts were concentrated in the Imperial Arsenal at Galata. However, during the 18th century the warships built there were not of high quality, as displayed during the confrontations with the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74. This resulted in another round of reforms under the Kapudan Pasha Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha, including the establishment of a naval engineering school in 1775/6 (Hendese Odası, later the Mühendishane-i Bahr-i Hümâyûn). At the same time, French naval ex
caption: Mahmudiye (1829), built by the Imperial Arsenal, was for many years the largest warship in the world
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