Coffee Or Your Life: The Ottomans Punished Coffee Drinkers With Death Penalty In 1600s

Coffee is popular. That’s not a controversial opinion. Collectively, the world consumes over 100 million kg of coffee every year. In just one year, from April 2020 to March 2021, 167 million kilograms of coffee were consumed worldwide. And that was when most of us were cooped up at home and required less caffeine than usual on account of a persistent flu.

Coffee has been around as a lesser-known plant and beverage since the 9th or 10th centuries, when an Egyptian goatherder was believed to have discovered the coffee bean. There are other legends as well: the plant is thought to have been in use by Ethiopian nomads for several centuries, if not millennia. The roasting of coffee beans is a more recent phenomenon, having its origins in the 15th century. By the 16th century, the people of the Ottoman Empire had taken a liking to the beverage, and the first coffeehouses were opened in the 1550s. The coffeehouses became so popular that they commonly saw large numbers of the public debate popular issues and politics. The people in charge noticed how popular coffeehouses and coffee were, and there was a lot of talk about whether or not coffee could be considered halal in Ottoman society.

The coffeehouses of Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman empire from the 15th century on, were not well liked by the sultans or his nobles. They did not enjoy the dissent they saw emanating from the coffee drinkers who frequented Istanbul’s coffee houses. Murad IV, the sultan of the Ottoman empire from 1623 to 1640, became ruler at just age 11 after the assassination of his brother Osman II in 1622. He was a ruthless ruler known for his brutal punishments. Since he ascended to the throne at a tender age, the matters of the court were managed by his mother’s relatives, who were, it is said, more experienced in the machinations of a royal court. The Ottomans were also in conflict with the Safavid empire in Iran. Selim I, the Ottoman ruler in the early 1500s, had the Safavid rulers declared heretics in an attempt to delegitimize their authority. The Safavids returned the favor, kicking off a centuries-long rivalry that frequently crossed over into a Sunni-Shia conflict that played out in the region we know as Iraq. In such a vitiated atmosphere—war, accusations and counteraccusations of heresy and illegitimacy, assassinations—it’s not hard to understand why the Ottoman sultans were given to paranoia and abhorred dissent.

So, Murad IV did what paranoid rulers do: he cracked down on dissent. The Ottoman authorities believed, like many other rulers in Europe and Western Asia at the time, that coffee was something of a narcotic. One Grand Vizier (the head of the government within the Ottoman empire’s realm) believed that while alcohol consumers were light-hearted after consuming alcohol, coffee drinkers remained sober and, if anything, became graver. That’s right, the benefit for which we drink coffee every day in the 21st century—concentration, energy, and the ability to shrug off any oncoming slumber—is the very same "narcotic effect" that spooked the highest government official of the Ottoman empire in the 16th century.

All of this came to a head, and Murad IV had had enough of this indecency, disunity, and "social decay." He had little patience for the sober irreverence and dissent of his subjects and banned the public consumption of coffee, alcohol, and smoking. He believed those substances, especially coffee (and coffeehouses), led to seditious plotting and fomented dangerous thoughts. Apparently not quite the Starbucks of its day, the average Istanbul coffeehouse is more of a seedy den. Conservative elements joined in, accusing these coffee houses of prostitution, gambling, and other unseemly behaviors.

That said, the main reasons for the ban on coffee consumption were political. Before coffee houses existed, common people had few places to gather and discuss politics and other secular matters that cut across social lines and strata. They were inexpensive, had few restrictions, and, unlike

Muslims were allowed to drink coffee. The brewing method in the coffeehouses also meant that customers had to wait, and when a number of people stood around bored, they began talking. In 16th-century Istanbul, coffee was brewed slowly in a special pot for around 20 minutes, then served so hot that it could only be consumed in tiny sips. Hence, many people sat around sipping on hot coffee for a long time. Coffee houses became an open environment where different social classes mixed and enjoyed coffee in the same space. And, inevitably, most public talk turns to the powers that be.

The elites noticed and began cracking down. They spoke out against coffeehouse gossip and poor sections of society patronizing art. Murad IV also knew that the Janissaries, the elite infantry units that assassinated his brother and uncle, gathered in the coffee houses to converse privately.

As a conservative backlash against coffee houses grew, he seized the moment and made coffee houses illegal. Anyone caught drinking coffee publicly could be beheaded immediately. Some stories claim that Murad IV himself scoured the streets of Istanbul, walking in disguise with a 50-kilo broadsword in hand, looking for sinners to behead. But his interest was in stopping coups and plotters. Murad IV did not actually ban coffee and enjoyed the black brew himself. He allowed the consumption of the beverage in "decent" households. He died in 1640 of cirrhosis, but his policies were embraced by his successors for another century or more. Newer, less strict rules about public consumption evolved from immediate beheadings to a two-strike policy. The first time an offender was caught, he was beaten. A repeat offense meant he would be sewed into a leather bag and dropped into the 110-meter-deep waters of the Bosporus strait that separated the two halves of Istanbul. Over time, as and when the rulers felt less secure, they’d reinstate the coffeehouse ban sporadically, and by the late 18th century, the practice had almost ended because the people loved coffee too much and found ways to gather and drink the beverage in the alleyways and backstreets of Istanbul. But it does stick out that coffee houses were so heavily policed and coffee so stigmatized that an empire dedicated time, mental space, and resources to regulating the coffee-drinking habits of its population multiple times over three centuries. I wonder what Murad IV would think if he saw that coffee continues to be present-day Turkey’s beverage of choice.

Coffee is popular. That’s not a controversial opinion. Collectively, the world consumes over 100 million kg of coffee every year. In just one year, from April 2020 to March 2021, 167 million kilograms of coffee were consumed worldwide. And that was when most of us were cooped up at home and required less caffeine than usual on account of a persistent flu.

Coffee has been around as a lesser-known plant and beverage since the 9th or 10th centuries, when an Egyptian goatherder was believed to have discovered the coffee bean. There are other legends as well: the plant is thought to have been in use by Ethiopian nomads for several centuries, if not millennia. The roasting of coffee beans is a more recent phenomenon, having its origins in the 15th century. By the 16th century, the people of the Ottoman Empire had taken a liking to the beverage, and the first coffeehouses were opened in the 1550s. The coffeehouses became so popular that they commonly saw large numbers of the public debate popular issues and politics. The people in charge noticed how popular coffeehouses and coffee were, and there was a lot of talk about whether or not coffee could be considered halal in Ottoman society.

The coffeehouses of Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman empire from the 15th century on, were not well liked by the sultans or his nobles. They did not enjoy the dissent they saw emanating from the coffee drinkers who frequented Istanbul’s coffee houses. Murad IV, the sultan of the Ottoman empire from 1623 to 1640, became ruler at just age 11 after the assassination of his brother Osman II in 1622. He was a ruthless ruler known for his brutal punishments. Since he ascended to the throne at a tender age, the matters of the court were managed by his mother’s relatives, who were, it is said, more experienced in the machinations of a royal court. The Ottomans were also in conflict with the Safavid empire in Iran. Selim I, the Ottoman ruler in the early 1500s, had the Safavid rulers declared heretics in an attempt to delegitimize their authority. The Safavids returned the favor, kicking off a centuries-long rivalry that frequently crossed over into a Sunni-Shia conflict that played out in the region we know as Iraq. In such a vitiated atmosphere—war, accusations and counteraccusations of heresy and illegitimacy, assassinations—it’s not hard to understand why the Ottoman sultans were given to paranoia and abhorred dissent.

So, Murad IV did what paranoid rulers do: he cracked down on dissent. The Ottoman authorities believed, like many other rulers in Europe and Western Asia at the time, that coffee was something of a narcotic. One Grand Vizier (the head of the government within the Ottoman empire’s realm) believed that while alcohol consumers were light-hearted after consuming alcohol, coffee drinkers remained sober and, if anything, became graver. That’s right, the benefit for which we drink coffee every day in the 21st century—concentration, energy, and the ability to shrug off any oncoming slumber—is the very same "narcotic effect" that spooked the highest government official of the Ottoman empire in the 16th century.

All of this came to a head, and Murad IV had had enough of this indecency, disunity, and "social decay." He had little patience for the sober irreverence and dissent of his subjects and banned the public consumption of coffee, alcohol, and smoking. He believed those substances, especially coffee (and coffeehouses), led to seditious plotting and fomented dangerous thoughts. Apparently not quite the Starbucks of its day, the average Istanbul coffeehouse is more of a seedy den. Conservative elements joined in, accusing these coffee houses of prostitution, gambling, and other unseemly behaviors.

That said, the main reasons for the ban on coffee consumption were political. Before coffee houses existed, common people had few places to gather and discuss politics and other secular matters that cut across social lines and strata. They were inexpensive, had few restrictions, and, unlike

Muslims were allowed to drink coffee. The brewing method in the coffeehouses also meant that customers had to wait, and when a number of people stood around bored, they began talking. In 16th-century Istanbul, coffee was brewed slowly in a special pot for around 20 minutes, then served so hot that it could only be consumed in tiny sips. Hence, many people sat around sipping on hot coffee for a long time. Coffee houses became an open environment where different social classes mixed and enjoyed coffee in the same space. And, inevitably, most public talk turns to the powers that be.

The elites noticed and began cracking down. They spoke out against coffeehouse gossip and poor sections of society patronizing art. Murad IV also knew that the Janissaries, the elite infantry units that assassinated his brother and uncle, gathered in the coffee houses to converse privately.

As a conservative backlash against coffee houses grew, he seized the moment and made coffee houses illegal. Anyone caught drinking coffee publicly could be beheaded immediately. Some stories claim that Murad IV himself scoured the streets of Istanbul, walking in disguise with a 50-kilo broadsword in hand, looking for sinners to behead. But his interest was in stopping coups and plotters. Murad IV did not actually ban coffee and enjoyed the black brew himself. He allowed the consumption of the beverage in "decent" households. He died in 1640 of cirrhosis, but his policies were embraced by his successors for another century or more. Newer, less strict rules about public consumption evolved from immediate beheadings to a two-strike policy. The first time an offender was caught, he was beaten. A repeat offense meant he would be sewed into a leather bag and dropped into the 110-meter-deep waters of the Bosporus strait that separated the two halves of Istanbul. Over time, as and when the rulers felt less secure, they’d reinstate the coffeehouse ban sporadically, and by the late 18th century, the practice had almost ended because the people loved coffee too much and found ways to gather and drink the beverage in the alleyways and backstreets of Istanbul. But it does stick out that coffee houses were so heavily policed and coffee so stigmatized that an empire dedicated time, mental space, and resources to regulating the coffee-drinking habits of its population multiple times over three centuries. I wonder what Murad IV would think if he saw that coffee continues to be present-day Turkey’s beverage of choice.