The design for Asar-i Tevfik was based on contemporary French warships like the Colbert-class ironclads, although significantly reduced in size.

[1] The designers adopted a two-story arrangement of the main battery, which allowed for a shorter hull and in turn provided for a more maneuverable vessel.

Three 150 mm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns in single shielded mounts were placed forward, with one on the forecastle and the other two abreast of the conning tower.

[7] Upon completion, Asar-i Tevfik and the other ironclads then being built in Britain and France were sent to Crete to assist in stabilizing the island in the aftermath of the Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869.

During this period, the Ottoman fleet, under Hobart Pasha, remained largely inactive, with training confined to reading translated British instruction manuals.

[8] Early in the ship's career, the Ottoman ironclad fleet was activated every summer for short cruises from the Golden Horn to the Bosporus to ensure their propulsion systems were in operable condition.

[12] Hobart Pasha took the fleet to the western Black Sea, where he was able to make a more aggressive use of it to support the Ottoman forces battling the Russians in the Caucasus.

Sinop detonated her torpedo against a boat that was protecting Asar-i Tevfik, causing only minor damage to the ironclad, though the Russians initially believed they had sunk her.

During a period of tension with Greece in 1886, the fleet was brought to full crews and the ships were prepared to go to sea, but none actually left the Golden Horn, and they were quickly laid up again.

[5] In 1892, Asar-i Tevfik and the ironclad Feth-i Bülend were ordered to reinforce the Cretan Squadron during a period of unrest on the island, but neither vessel was capable of going to sea, owing to leaky boiler tubes.

[20] Following the Greco-Turkish War in 1897, which highlighted the seriously degraded state of the Ottoman fleet, the government decided to begin a naval reconstruction program.

Instead, Asar-i Tevfik was transferred to the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, Germany for a major reconstruction, arriving on 29 May 1900, with the transport İzmir.

By mid-1901, the men had accumulated significant debt and the Ottoman government had made no effort to return them or pay the installments for the modernization program.

Even Kaiser Wilhelm II became involved in an attempt to press the Ottoman government to settle the debts incurred by the sailors.

Instead, the Ottomans demanded that Krupp, the owner of the Germaniawerft shipyard, make an advance of 6,000 lira so that İzmir could be prepared for the voyage back to Constantinople.

With the armament contract still under negotiation, Krupp was forced to concede, despite the significant financial loss the reconstruction deal represented.

The reconstructed ship departed Kiel on 19 November, and arrived in Constantinople on 4 January 1907[23] In 1909, she participated in the first fleet maneuver conducted by the Ottoman Navy in twenty years.

[24] During the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–1912, Asar-i Tevfik was assigned to the Reserve Division, along with Mesudiye and the torpedo cruiser Berk-i Satvet.

At the start of the war, Asar-i Tevfik was suffering from boiler trouble, which necessitated repairs that lasted until 9 November.

[27] She took part in the Battle of Elli, the first Ottoman surface action involving major warships since the Russo-Turkish War, on 16 December 1912.

Asar-i Tevfik joined a fleet consisting of the pre-dreadnought battleships Barbaros Hayreddin and Turgut Reis, Mesudiye, and several smaller warships.

[28] The Ottoman fleet sortied from the Dardanelles at 9:30; the smaller craft remained at the mouth of the straits while the battleships sailed north, hugging the coast.

The Greek flotilla, which included the armored cruiser Georgios Averof and three Hydra-class ironclads, sailing from the island of Lemnos, altered course to the northeast to block the advance of the Ottoman battleships.

At 9:50 and under heavy pressure from the Greek fleet, the Ottoman ships completed a 16-point turn, which reversed their course, and headed for the safety of the straits.