Muzika-i Hümayun, which was established within the Westernization movement during the Ottoman period as an equivalent to the Mehter Bandosu, was a highly supported institution where the early stages of Western classical music were founded. Although many studies have been conducted on this institution, few have focused on a specific point. Unfortunately, research conducted on instruments in general does not provide sufficient information for musicians, music students, and music lovers who are curious about the histories of instruments. As an educator, I wanted my students to embrace the double bass more; thus, the main focus of this study is to teach them its history as well as help them find traces of their own culture in it. Research has shown that the double bass was first introduced to the Ottoman Empire through concerts given by a Western classical orchestrasent by the French king François I as a gift to Sultan Süleyman II in 1543. A striking point was that the double bass was not yet in its current form and structure; further, an instrument belonging to the viol family, considered the ancestor of the double bass, was also present in this orchestra. The aforementioned orchestra performed three concerts with the permission of Sultan Süleyman II, and all the musicians were later presented with gifts. The exhibition of the two double basses used by the Makam-ı Hilafet Philharmonic Orchestra the music room of the Dolmabahçe Palace has been an important resource for this study. On investigation of the double bassses, no labels or signs showing the name of the workshop and the country in which these instruments were produced were found inside the instruments. The T.B.M.M. inventory numbers were 64/1890 and 64/1891, with the numbers 1890 and 1891indicating the possible purchase dates. The luthier (a string instrument repairman) who was consulted for more detailed information revealed that these double basses had “pear shoulders which was a feature of the ones produced in Germany at the end of the 19th century. Photographs obtained from historical documents showed that aside from the two double basses found in the Dolmabahçe Palace, another one, built by the luthier family Jaquet, and quite different with its broad shoulder, could be registered at the Istanbul University State Conservatory. This study also suggests that the whole bibliography on the history of the double bass within Turkey shouldbe included in our syllabus. Based on the most valuable surveys on the double bass and double bass players, this study is also the first research on the history of the instrument in Turkey. The Makam-ı Hilafet Philharmonic Orchestra which flourished after the development of the Muzika-i Hümayun providedvaluable data on the double bass and double bass players. It was seen that all the players were Levantine musicians of Italian origin. As a result, it can be ssumed that the Italian style of playing was used. It can also be concluded that this style of playing was taught in institutions like the Sıbyan Mektebi, where Levantine teachers used to work. With the great efforts of Donizetti Pasha, who was the founder of Muzika-i Hümayun, the orchestra had reached a professional level and had started to give regular concerts. After his death soon after, he was succeeded by Callisto Guatelli, also known as Guatelli Pasha. Research shows that Guatelli was the first musician with a double bass education to work officially for the Ottoman Empire. Guatelli Pasha had studied with Francesco Hiserich, the author of “Metodo per Double bassso” (Double basss Method) in Parma, Italy. The orchestra, whose repertoire during the establishment of the Mızıka-i Hümayun mostly included military anthems, began performing a more complex repertoire throughout the following years. When the double bass parts of a march from the repertoire of the first years of the Muzika-i Hümayun was compared with those of a piece chosen from the repertoire of Makam-ı Hilafet’s European tour, it was seen from the comparative difficulties that the level of proficiency in playing had increased. Undoubtedly, this increase was made possibleby the facilities provided for Western classical music. Overall, this article, by focusing on the role of the double basss in Western classical music during the Ottoman period double bassbefore the proclamation of the Republicdouble bass sheds light on how the first stepstoward the Republic were taken and which instruments were played by whom in which styles.