Mehter is the Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching band in the world. It is believed that the first "mehter" was sent (seven centuries ago) to Osman Gazi by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin III as a present along with a letter that salutes the newly formed state . From then on every day after the afternoon prayer; "mehter" played for the Ottoman ruler. The notion of a military marching band, such as those in use even today, began to be borrowed from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.