{{short description|Turkish army barracks}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox military installation | name = Selimiye Barracks | native_name = Selimiye Kışlası | partof = | location = [[Harem, Üsküdar|Harem]], [[Üsküdar]], [[Istanbul]], Turkey | image = Istanbul Bosphorus IMG 8555 1970.jpg | caption = Selimiye Barracks | map_type = Turkey Istanbul | map_relief = | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_caption = | type = | coordinates = {{coord|41|0|29|N|29|0|57|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | code = | built = {{Start date and age|1828}} | builder = Sultan [[Mahmud II]] | materials = | height = | used = | demolished = | condition = | ownership = | open_to_public = | controlledby = [[Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye]]<br/>[[Turkish Land Forces]] | garrison = | current_commander = | commanders = | operator = [[Turkish First Army|First Army]] HQ, [[Turkish Land Forces]] | battles = [[Crimean War]] (1854–56), | events = | image2 = | caption2 = }}
'''Selimiye Barracks''' ({{langx|tr|Selimiye Kışlası}}), also known as '''Scutari Barracks''', is a [[Turkish Army]] [[barracks]] located in [[Selimiye, Üsküdar|Selimiye]] in the [[Üsküdar]] district on the [[Asia]]n side of [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]. It was originally built in 1800 by Sultan [[Selim III]] for the soldiers of the newly established ''[[Nizam-ı Cedid]]'' (literally "New Order") within the framework of the [[Ottoman military reform efforts]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20130127093153/http://www.istanbul.com/YaziDetail.aspx?Cat=159&ColId=12639 Istanbul] {{in lang|tr}} Being the world's largest barracks of it time, it was where Florence Nightingale laid the foundation for modern nursing during the Crimean War.</ref> Today, it serves as the headquarters of the [[Turkish First Army|First Army]] of [[Turkish Land Forces]].
[[File:Photo of the Selimiye Barracks, photo taken from Topkapı Palace..jpg|right|thumb|Photo of the Selimiye Barracks, photo taken from Topkapı Palace. The Barracks can be seen on the right side, right behind the ship with a yellow hull. ]]
The Barracks is situated in the [[Harem, Üsküdar|Harem]] neighbourhood between Üsküdar and [[Kadıköy]], close to the [[Sea of Marmara]]. The highway connecting the ferry terminal and the overland bus terminal to the motorway [[Otoyol 2|O.2]] Istanbul-Ankara runs right past the barracks.
==Construction== The original wooden barracks was designed by [[Krikor Balyan]] but was burnt down in 1806 by rebel [[Janissaries]], who were resisting the sultan's reforms. Sultan [[Mahmud II]] commissioned the rebuilding of the barracks in stone in 1825 and the work was completed on 6 February 1828. During the reign of Sultan [[Abdülmecid I]], the barracks were renovated twice, first in 1842–43 and again in 1849–50. During this process, a tower seven stories in height was added to each of the four corners, giving the barracks its current appearance. The barracks is a vast rectangular building measuring {{convert|200|x|267|m|ft|abbr=on}} with a large parade ground in the centre. Three of the wings have three floors but the eastern wing only has two floors due to the sloping terrain.<ref>[http://www.ibb.gov.tr/tr-TR/KenteBakis/GunlukYasam/GeziRehberi/KamuBinalari/ Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070530053922/http://www.ibb.gov.tr/tr-TR/KenteBakis/GunlukYasam/GeziRehberi/KamuBinalari/|date=2007-05-30}} {{in lang|tr}}</ref>
==Crimean War== :''See also [[Renkioi Hospital]]'' During the [[Crimean War]] (1854–56), the barracks were allocated to the [[British Army]], which was on its way from [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] to the [[Crimea]]. After the troops of its [[33rd Regiment of Foot|33rd]] and [[41st (Welsh) Regiment of Foot|41st]] foot regiments<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rrw.org.uk/museums/cardiff/fact_sheets/1.htm|title=The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh (Brecon)|author=The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh|work=rrw.org.uk|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20011124152853/http://www.rrw.org.uk/museums/cardiff/fact_sheets/1.htm|archivedate=2001-11-24}}</ref> left for the front, the barracks was converted into a temporary military hospital.
On 4 November 1854, [[Florence Nightingale]] arrived in [[Üsküdar|Scutari]] with 37 volunteer nurses. They cared for thousands of wounded and infected soldiers until she returned home in 1857 as a heroine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Death of Miss Florence Nightingale. {{!}} 1910-1919 {{!}} Guardian Century |url=https://www.theguardian.com/century/1910-1919/Story/0,,126410,00.html |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=www.theguardian.com}}</ref>
During the war around 6,000 soldiers died in the Selimiye Barracks, mostly as the result of a [[cholera]] epidemic. The dead were buried at a plot near the barracks, which later became the [[Haydarpaşa Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geliboluyuanlamak.com/makale_detay.php?haber_id=15|title=Çanakkale Savaþlarý Gelibolu, 1.Dünya Savaþý, Çanakkale Savaþlarý, Makaleler, Osmanlý Savaþlarý, Osmanlý, osmanlý, Gerçek Tarih, Gelibolu|author=Tuncay Yýlmazer|work=geliboluyuanlamak.com}}</ref>
Today, the northernmost tower of the barracks houses a small museum partly in memory of Nightingale.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.florence-nightingale-avenging-angel.co.uk/tower.htm|title=Tower|work=florence-nightingale-avenging-angel.co.uk}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="101px" perrow="3" caption="Crimean War"> File:93rd officers in the Crimea - photo.jpg|An early photo, taken at Scutari, of officers and men of the [[93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|93rd Highland Regiment]], shortly before their engagement in the Crimean War, 1854. File:Vittorio Amedeo - The British army at Scutari, 1854 (cropped).jpg|The British Army at Scutari, 1854, by [[Amedeo Preziosi]] File:'One of the wards in the hospital at Scutari'. Wellcome M0007724 - restoration, cropped.jpg|An 1856 lithograph of the Selimiye barracks as a hospital during the Crimean War. File:Charles Dickens by Herbert Watkins 29 April 1858 (alternate).jpg|[[Charles Dickens]] was one of the more famous donors to the hospital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/charles-dickens-1812-1870/|title=Florence the Woman|author=Florence Nightingale Museum|work=florence-nightingale.co.uk|date=17 February 2020|access-date=15 October 2023|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208151330/https://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/charles-dickens-1812-1870/|url-status=dead}}</ref> </gallery>
==References== {{Commons category|Selimiye Barracks}} {{reflist}} {{Üsküdar}}
[[Category:Üsküdar]] [[Category:Military installations established in 1800]] [[Category:Krikor Amira Balyan buildings]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Crimean War]] [[Category:Florence Nightingale]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Istanbul]] [[Category:Barracks in Turkey]] [[Category:Military history of the Ottoman Empire]] [[Category:Military in Istanbul]] [[Category:Military history of Istanbul]] [[Category:19th-century architecture in Turkey]]