--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But why should 1299 CE be considered the…" description: "\"“But why should 1299 CE be considered the founding date of the empire? – there were no famous battles, no declarations of independence or storming of a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg" --- # But why should 1299 CE be considered the founding date of… ![“But why should 1299 CE be considered the founding date of the empire? – there were no famous battles, no declarations of independence or storming of a bastille. The simplest explanations are often the most convincing: that year corresponds to the years 699–700 in the Islamic calendar. By rare…” quote by Caroline Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg) > ““But why should 1299 CE be considered the founding date of the empire? – there were no famous battles, no declarations of independence or storming of a bastille. The simplest explanations are often the most convincing: that year corresponds to the years 699–700 in the Islamic calendar. By rare mathematical coincidence, the centuries turned at the same time in both the Christian and Islamic calendars. What more auspicious year to mark the founding of an empire that spanned Europe and the Middle East?”” Caroline Finkel ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The empire’s founding date aligns with a rare calendar coincidence, linking Christian and Islamic centuries, giving symbolic legitimacy. **In simple terms:** A calendar coincidence gave a symbolic founding year. Key Takeaway Use symbolic dates to unify diverse cultures. Themes history symbolism legitimacy Mood reflective analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - national celebrations - educational curricula - cultural diplomacy - branding campaigns Key Concepts Calendrical alignment imperial narrative Questions to Reflect On - How do symbolic dates influence national identity? - Can calendar coincidences legitimize political narratives? A Different Perspective Historical dates may lack concrete events, making symbolic choices arbitrary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Middle east](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-east/) [Muslims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muslims/) [Ottomans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ottomans/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“To understand those who are culturally and historically different from us – rather than resorting to such labels as ‘evil empire’, ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘terrorist’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/to-understand-those-who-are-culturally-and-historically-different/) Caroline Finkel > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [From May until October, the Ottoman Government pursued methodically a plan of extermination far more hellish than the worst possible massacre. Orders for deportation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-adams-gibbons/from-may-until-october-the-ottoman-government-pursued-methodically-a/) Herbert Adams Gibbons > [The Ottoman Empire whose sick body was not supported by a mild and regular diet, but by a powerful treatment, which continually exhausted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/the-ottoman-empire-whose-sick-body-was-not-supported-by-a-mild-and/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Sublime tobacco! which from east to west, Cheers the tar's labour or the Turkman's rest; Which on the Moslem's ottoman divides His hours, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/sublime-tobacco-which-from-east-to-west-cheers-the-tar-s-labour-or/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Peace is an Excellent Thing, and War is a great Misfortune. But there are Many things More valuable than Peace, and many Things Much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-john-temple-3rd-viscount-palmerston/peace-is-an-excellent-thing-and-war-is-a-great-misfortune-but-there/) [Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-john-temple-3rd-viscount-palmerston/) > [When Turkey began approaching the EU, I wasn't the only one who worried that the dark stain in Turkey's history - or rather the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/when-turkey-began-approaching-the-eu-i-wasn-t-the-only-one-who/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [In April, 1915, the Ottoman Government began to put into execution throughout Turkey a systematic and carefully-prepared plan to exterminate the Armenian race. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-adams-gibbons/in-april-1915-the-ottoman-government-began-to-put-into-execution/) Herbert Adams Gibbons > [On the eve of World War I, an estimated two million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire. Well over a million were deported and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-engel/on-the-eve-of-world-war-i-an-estimated-two-million-armenians-lived-in/) [Eliot Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-engel/) > [But worse things were about to be found in the bedroom: on the jeweller’s wife’s ottoman, in a casual pose, sprawled a third party-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/but-worse-things-were-about-to-be-found-in-the-bedroom-on-the/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [Israel, the Israelis, and the rest of the world have been brainwashed. They don't think of pre-1948, they have no idea Palestinians were in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elia-suleiman/israel-the-israelis-and-the-rest-of-the-world-have-been-brainwashed/) [Elia Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elia-suleiman/) > [We're stuck. We're stuck between the East and the West. Between the past and the future. On the one hand there are the secular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-stuck-we-re-stuck-between-the-east-and-the-west-between-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just don't think it's very dignified to ask people to like you. You can just wind up being somebody's ottoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/i-just-don-t-think-it-s-very-dignified-to-ask-people-to-like-you-you/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [The Ottoman Empire . . . The rulers in Turkey were fortunately so corrupt that they left people alone pretty much - were mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-ottoman-empire-the-rulers-in-turkey-were-fortunately-so-corrupt/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [An American-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein - and the replacement of the radical Baathist dictatorship with a new government more closely aligned with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/an-american-led-overthrow-of-saddam-hussein-and-the-replacement-of/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) ## More by Caroline Finkel > [“To understand those who are culturally and historically different from us – rather than resorting to such labels as ‘evil empire’, ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘terrorist’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/to-understand-those-who-are-culturally-and-historically-different/) Caroline Finkel > [“He saw that a moon arose from the holy man’s breast and came to sink in his own breast. A tree then sprouted from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/he-saw-that-a-moon-arose-from-the-holy-man-s-breast-and-came-to-sink/) Caroline Finkel Explore all 3 Caroline Finkel quotes ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But why should 1299 CE be considered the founding date of the empire? – there were no famous battles, no declarations of independence or storming of a bastille. The simplest explanations are often the most convincing: that year corresponds to the years 699–700 in the Islamic calendar. By rare mathematical coincidence, the centuries turned at the same time in both the Christian and Islamic calendars. What more auspicious year to mark the founding of an empire that spanned Europe and the Middle East?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Caroline Finkel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the-founding-date-of-the-empire/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Freedom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the-founding-date-of-the-empire/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/caroline-finkel-85599_freedom_but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the_1591633.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But why should 1299 CE be considered the founding date of the empire? – there were no famous battles, no…” — Caroline Finkel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Caroline Finkel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-finkel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But why should 1299 CE be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the-founding-date-of-the-empire/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-finkel/but-why-should-1299-ce-be-considered-the-founding-date-of-the-empire/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```