Week-6

Istanbul: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Istanbul of the late 17th and early 18th

centuries
Main text:

• Tülay Artan, “Istanbul in the 18th century: Days of Reconciliation and

Consolidation”, From Byzantion to İstanbul 8000 Years of A Capital,
Exhibition Catalogue (İstanbul: SSM Press, 2010): 300-312.

1
 The capital's decline and reconstruction
Capital of the Ottoman Empire:
• In the 17th century and
afterwards, Istanbul
continued to be the official
capital of the Ottoman
Empire, but the Ottoman
court ruled from Edirne (1658-
1703).
WHY?
Most importantly:
• To keep the young sultan
away from disturbances and
court intrigue.
• For the urgency of cutting
down the court's relatively
enormous expenses in the
imperial capital.
• Sultan of the time was Mehmed IV (r. 1648-1687),
known also as “Mehmed the Hunter.”
• When he became the sultan after the overthrown
of his father (İbrahim) by a coup, he was 6-7 years
old.
• At the time, the city witnessed several revolts that
were threatening the palace and even the sultan,
himself.
• The grand vizier Köprülü advised him to change his
settlement.
(Although initial and final years of Mehmed IV’s reign
witnessed military defeat and political instability, in
the period between them, the empire reached the
height of its territorial expansion in Europe.)
 The capital's decline and reconstruction
Istanbul vs Edirne
• Edirne:
Over the second half of the 17th century Edirne developed from a
provincial outpost into a modest and self-contained court city, attracting
settlement, creating outlets for charity and worship, and fostering
economic growth.
• Istanbul:
Many parts of the city permanently ruined by fires* or earthquakes and
the city, in general, entered into a progressive deterioration.
• During this period, only a few more buildings were completed with the
effort of Hadice Turhan Sultan.
*Due to fires, in the 1660s almost two-thirds of Istanbul was turned to ash and about forty
thousand people were killed.
 The capital's decline and reconstruction
Minor reconstructions in Istanbul
• The Harem quarters of the Topkapı Palace had been destroyed in a
disastrous fire caused by arson (1665).
• But, unlike the rest of the declining city, the royal women's
apartments were immediately rebuilt, enlarged and renovated.
• Additionally, the two privy rooms (has oda) known as the Twin
Pavilions (Çifte Kasır) were renovated and completely reverted
with tiles (çini).
• Also exclusively tile-reverted building was the Tiled Kiosk (Çinili Köşk)
at Beşiktaş. A new reception hall was built on the waterfront of the
summer palace in 1680.
 The capital's decline and reconstruction
Mehmed IV, the Hunter (r. 1648-87)
• Mehmed IV entrusted the administration to the powerful
Köprülü dynasty of grand viziers. He visited Istanbul only to
attend some state ceremonies.
• Even then, he hardly ever stayed at the Topkapı Palace or the
summer palace in Beşiktaş.
• He usually did not really enter Istanbul, his imperial capital.
Instead, he camped with the army at the Davud Paşa Palace, a
hunting station outside the city walls.
 Davud Paşa Plain
• The Davutpaşa Campus of Yıldız Technical University was then called Davud
Paşa Sahrası (Davut Paşa Plain). (In the time of the Byzantine Empire, it was
known as a place to spend time in summers.)
• It was constructed during the reign of Beyazid II (r. 1481-1512), and named
after the grand vizier Davud Paşa (g.v. 1483-1497).
• It was used for the military campaigns directed towards Europe, especially
the Balkans.
• Otağ-ı Hümayun (Imperial Pavillion) was the building in which the sultans
resided in their vizits to this area, or during some of the military
campaigns.
• Otağ-ı Hümayun is also known as Stone Pavillion or Stone Castle (Taşköşk,
Taşkasır).
• For further information, see: https://mehmethacisalihoglu.com/davut-pasa-kislasi/
Otağ-ı Hümayun (Imperial Pavillion)

http://ceit2018.yildiz.edu.tr/social-program

https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/davud-pasa-sarayi
Davud Paşa
Plain, 1890s
(Davud Paşa Kışlası/
Davud Paşa Barracks
were built (1820s) for
the new army
founded by Mahmut
II (r. 1808-1839),
called Asakir-i
Mansure-i
Muhammediye)

Photograph:
https://twitter.com/hayalleme
/status/47088913211460403
2/photo/1

*For a tour on the

campus to locate
historical places, you
may visit:
https://kulturenvanteri.com/y
er/davutpasa-
kislasi/#16/41.023735/28.894
26
 Davud Paşa Plain,
1898
https://kulturenvanteri.com/yer/davutpasa-
kislasi/davutpasa-kislasi-topcular-abdullah-
biraderler-1898/

Davud Paşa Plain, 1900s

https://tr-
tr.facebook.com/EskiZamanlardaIstanbulunEnGuzelFotograflari/photos/davutpaşa-
kışlası-sahrasında-osmanlı-süvari-zabitleri-1900lerdavutpaşa-kışlası-
v/977913195625674
 Tiled Kiosk
Antoine-Ignace Melling (1763-1831), the Summer Palace at Beşiktaş,
which disappeared after the 18th century.
 Re-inscribing the House of Osman into Istanbul
• Losing land in Europe:
Following the disastrous Vienna campaign (1683) and signing the
Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), the Ottomans left most of the territories
they had conquered from Hungary.
• Janissary Revolt:
Due to the janissary revolt in 1703, Mustafa II (r. 1695-1703)
abandoned the throne to his brother Ahmed III.
• Demands of janissaries and artisans of Istanbul:
Let the court immediately return to Istanbul.
Afterwards, Istanbul’s feature as a capital
has flourished, including architecture, music, feasts, etc.
 Rites and ceremonies
• Although there were still political problems, Ahmed III started a series
of new rites and ceremonies to make the capital, Istanbul, busy and
alive.
• In order to upgrade royal rituals and reinstate them as urban
ceremonies accessible to the general public, several royal weddings
were organized over the first quarter of the 18th century.
• In theatrical processions (gösteri alayı) moving along carefully designed
routes, bridal gifts were displayed.
• İbrahim Paşa, the sultan's favourite, and son-in-law (Damat İbrahim
Paşa), arranged several royal marriages and circumcision ceremonies in
the 1720s.
 Rites and
ceremonies
• An illustrated Festival
Book that recorded
circumcision festivities
seems to indicate that
the natural harbor of
the Golden Horn (Haliç)
was now turning into a
gigantic urban "plaza",
crowded by numerous
waterfront palaces, piers
(dock, wharf), and boats
of various kinds.
 A big change in Divanyolu  The site of the
Byzantine
Hippodrome, the
single most
important public
arena in the
Ottoman capital,
was reinvented in
this festive
context.
 Divanyolu (Mese
in the Byzantium
period) was rebuilt
as a major
gateway
connecting the
Hagia Sophia with
the Adrianople
Divanyolu (mainstreet in the time of the Byzantine Empire-Mese) Gate (Edirnekapı)
 Waterfront palaces and their gardens
Golden Horn & Bosphorus
• The sultan Ahmed III (r. 1703-30) and the grand vizier İbrahim Paşa
allowed, and even encouraged, royal women to engage in public
manifestations of dynastic sovereignty on their own.
• These royal, quasi-royal and sub-royal constructions were in turn
followed and emulated by the summer houses of lesser dignitaries
(like retired jurists, Islamic scholars, non-Muslim merchants,
goldsmiths, moneylenders or physicians), who were closely
connected to the court.
• Thus, just as the Golden Horn had proved to be an extensive urban
"plaza" for stately gatherings and processions, the Bosphorus, too,
evolved into a new ceremonial avenue lined with large and small
palaces or kiosks.
 Waterfront palaces and their gardens
Sadabad (Abode of Felicity) compound
• A magnificent summer palace was constructed in the countryside at the far
end of the Golden Horn, from where the Sweet Waters of Europe (Kağıthane
Deresi) ran into the inlet (bay, creek).
• Sadabad compound was a stage for many royal parties, often lasting for
several days. And in contrast to the earlier ones, the sultan was attending
them.
• The park developed into a setting that would strengthen the relationship of
the royalty and the elites of the administrative unit.
• European/French impact: Sadabad was probably inspired by Versailles in terms of
the relation formed between the kings and the aristocracy.
In general, Sadabad compound became the symbol of the
Tulip Period (Lale Devri - 1718-30).
Sweet Waters of
Europe

(Kağıthane
Deresi)

1880s

http://www.eskiistanbul
.net/2188/sadabad-ve-
kagithane-deresi-
abdullah-freres-1880s
 Sadabad (Abode of Felicity) compound
Drawing, Gudenus, 1740

Engraving, Hilaire

http://www.hayal-et.org/i.php/site/building/sadabad_saray
 Sadabad (Abode of Felicity) compound
• The Tulip Age (Lale Devri) was
considered as a period of conspicuous
extravagance and constant festivity. It
had an effect on the rise of 1730
revolt, during which Ahmed III was
overthrown.
• Following the 1730 (Patrona Halil)
revolt, Mahmud I ordered the
demolition of the kiosks in accordance
with the rebels' wishes. But the royal
pavilion was saved.
• It was re-modelled and rebuilt during
the reigns of Selim III (1789-1807) and
later, of Mahmud II (1808-1839) with a
few more structures. M. Pringer, 1817
https://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=56052
 Final notes…
• Selim III (1789-1807), enforced laws by prohibiting the use of
excessively pretentious materials or provocatively daring
designs in women’s clothing.
• In contrast to princesses' growing symbolic visibility in the Tulip
Period, outdoor life was limited for elite or non-elite Istanbulite
women through the greater part of the 18th century.
• Over the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, as the empire
made several and wide-ranging attempts towards
reconciliation and consolidation, Istanbul, repeatedly renewed
itself and continued to offer yet another characteristic of its
imperial nature.