The Ottoman Ceremony of the Royal Purse
2005; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 41; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00263200500035116
ISSN1743-7881
Autores Tópico(s)Cultural and Sociopolitical Studies
ResumoClick to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes The Knighthood of the Garter could be considered a suitable example. M. Zeki Pakalın, Osmanlı Tarih Deyimleri ve Terimleri Sözlüğü [Dictionary of Ottoman Historical Expressions and Terms], (Istanbul: Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı Yayınları, 3 vols, 1993). Abdülaziz Bey, in K. Arısan & D.A. Günay (eds.), Osmanlı Adet, Merasim ve Tabirleri [Ottoman Customs, Ceremonies and Terms], (Istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yayınları, 2002), 612 pp. The selâmlık was the colourful official procession of the Sultan along with high-ranking officials for the Friday congregational prayers. On important occasions, the mosque of Eyüp was chosen by the sultan as the venue for this weekly prayer. This mosque and a large cemetery surround the venerated tomb of Abu Ayyub b. Zayd al-Ansari, a Companion of the Prophet, who died while on one of the first military missions (in the late 7th century) to capture Constantinople. Several descriptive accounts of the selâmlık ceremony may be found in the travel diaries of visitors to Istanbul from South Asia. Among them may be mentioned the book in Urdu: Sir Sheikh Abdul Qadir, Maqām-e-Khilāfat [The Seat of the Caliphate], subtitled Safar-e-Istanbul ke Hālāt [Account of the journey to Istanbul], (Delhi: Makhzan Press, n.d.), 274 pp. See also S.T. Wasti, ‘Two Muslim Travelogues: To and From Istanbul’, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.27, No.3 (1991), pp.457–76. The Hırka-yı Saadet [the Cloak of Happiness]is a cloak belonging to the prophet Muhammed and was brought to Istanbul by the sultan Yavuz Selim (often referred to in European sources as Selim the Grim) when he assumed the title of Caliph. It has been the custom ever since to exhibit the cloak (in a sealed glass container) to visitors in special precincts in the Topkapı Palace for several days starting in the middle of Ramadan. Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, q.v., writes that the sight of the cloak of the Prophet whose name had been proclaimed for centuries from every minaret to millions in every Muslim country caused every visitor regardless of rank to tremble with spiritual emotion. The ceremony of the kılıç alayı consisted of the girding of the sword (either that of the Prophet or of Osman, the founder of the Ottoman dynasty) in the mausoleum of Halid ibn-i Zeyd at Eyüp, and it was one of the several ceremonies forming part of the coronation festivities for a sultan. The baklava alayı or baklava procession involved the ceremonial offering by the sultan of a tray of baklava (a well-known Turkish dessert of flaky pastry interlaced with crushed pistachios and honey] for every ten janissaries and coincided with the fifteenth day of Ramadan. This ceremony was discontinued after the disbanding of the janissaries by sultan Mahmud II. Surre literally means a purse of the traditional type closed by drawn strings; alay means regiment and in this context would be rendered more accurately as procession. The official designation of the observance was Surre–i Hümâyûn; the word hümâyûn, meaning auspicious, was added to most royal activities, letters, property, etc. Here it should also be noted that the word surre is frequently spelled (not entirely correctly) as sürre. The Haremeyn is used for the two holy places of Islam, i.e. Mecca and Medina. The title Hâdim ül Haremeyn [Servant or Servitor of the Haremeyn] goes back to the Ottoman sultan Yavuz Selim [Selim the Grim] (1467–1520) who was once addressed by a preacher as Master of the Haremeyn and immediately responded by calling himself ‘Hâdim ül Haremeyn’. Çelebi Sultan Mehmed reigned in the then Ottoman capital of Bursa during AD 1413–21. Other sources claim that it was the Sultan Yıldırım Bayazıt (reigned AD 1389–1403) who was the first Ottoman ruler to send the surre, or purse of 80,000 gold coins, from Edirne [Adrianople] to Mecca and Medina. N.R. Farooqi, Mughal–Ottoman Relations (a study of political & diplomatic relations between Mughal India and the Ottoman empire, 1556–1748), (Delhi: Idarah-i Adabiyat-i Dilli, 1989), pp.107–43. Mahmil (often written as Mahmel or Mahmal) is used for a palanquin or camel litter. Traditionally, a camel with a decorated litter was often sent to Mecca around the Hajj season by the head of a Muslim state to indicate his assumption of rule. The mahmil was therefore a symbol both of the sovereignty and legitimacy of the ruler. For the Ottoman surre procession, the mahmil was also used as a term for the vehicles or camel litters containing the surre and presents sent by the sultan. Münir Atalar, Osmanlı Devletinde Surre- i Hümâyûn ve Surre Alayları [The Royal Purse and Purse Processions in the Ottoman State], (Ankara: Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı Yayınları, 1991), 377 pp. Ignatius Mouradgea D'Ohsson (1740–1807), referred to occasionally as Muradcan Tosunyan, was of Armenian origin and served for many years as a diplomat in the Swedish Embassy in Istanbul. Mouradgea D'Ohsson, Tableau Général de l'Empire Othoman, (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1788–1824), 7 volumes. It has not been possible to access this reference. In order, the 12 months of the lunar Muslim calendar (in modern Turkish orthography) are as follows: Muharrem, Safer, Rebiülevvel, Rebiülahir, Cemaziülevvel, Cemaziülahir, Recep, Şaban, Ramazan, Şevval, Zilkade and Zilhicce. Of these, Muharrem, Safer, Recep, Şaban and Ramazan are often used as names for male children born in these months. Called the kiswah [Kâbe kisvesi or Setre-i şerif in Turkish], this gold-embroidered black silk curtain or covering of the Ka'ba has an interesting history over the centuries. Otherwise famous as the Blue Mosque, because of the exquisite light blue colouring of the tiles that decorate its interior. Mehmed Ali Pasha (1769–1849) as Pasha and Viceroy of Egypt also undertook to send the kiswah during his reign. The Royal Ottoman Secretariat. Atalar gives the names of many sultans, queens and princes whose graves even at this date have coverings made from the Ka'ba covering. See Atalar, p.122 (note 14). Beytullah, or House of Allah, is often used to refer to the Ka'ba. Ayşe Osmanoğlu, Babam Sultan Abdülhamid (Hatıralar) [My father, the Sultan Abdülhamid (Memoirs)] (Istanbul: Selçuk Yayınları, 1984), pp.67–8. One of four important annual Muslim religious festivals in Turkey apart from the main feasts of ‘Id al Fitr [Şeker Bayramı in Turkish]at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and the ‘Id al Adha [Kurban Bayramı in Turkish]which is the feast commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham. The Berat Kandili which heralds the arrival of the fasting month of Ramadan falls on the night of 15 Şaban in the lunar calendar. Literally, Allah is the Greatest. The expression forms part of the call to prayer and is also used as a pious exclamation. The Trustee of the Surre, or the Keeper of the Royal Purse. This was a privileged position, and among many illustrious holders was Ahmed Pasha of Manastır, father of Enver Pasha who became the Ottoman War Minister during the First World War. A corruption of the word ‘akkâm meaning a camel driver, but also used for the ushers or drummers taking part in the surre ceremony. A short distance across the Bosphorus, from the Dolmabahçe palace (in Europe) to Üsküdar (Scutari) on the Asian shore. Ayrılık Çeşmesi (literally, the fountain of parting) was one of the main points (within the district of Üsküdar, not far from the Haydarpaşa railway terminus) where friendly goodbyes were waved to the departing caravans that left Istanbul for the depths of Asia. Another such point was the nearby mosque of Ibrahim Ağa, built in AD 1580. The Trustee of the Hajj pilgrimage. The construction of the Hijaz Railway began on orders of the Sultan Abdülhamid in May 1900 and the line reached Medina in 1908. For more details, see S.T. Wasti, ‘Muhammad Inshaullah and the Hijaz Railway’, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.34, No.2 (1998), pp.60–72. Militant followers of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab (died 1792) temporarily occupied Mecca and Medina between 1801 and 1804. Mustafa IV reigned for 14 months between 1807 and 1808. The first quatrain of the poem composed by Aşık Necati reads: The House of God we wished to see Near the Black Stone we asked to be To stand on plain of Arafat But Fortune did not grant us that. Beytullah, or the house of God, is commonly used for the Ka'ba, in one corner of which the hajarul aswad or Black Stone is encrusted like a jewel. The plain of Arafat is where pilgrims congregate as part of the Hajj ceremony. A location just outside Mecca. One of the four festivals referred to in Note 20, the Mevlid Kandili celebrates the birthday of the Prophet of Islam and falls on 12 Rebiül evvel. S. Faroqhi, Pilgrims and Sultans (The Hajj under the Ottomans, 1517–1683) (London: I.B. Tauris,1994), pp.54–5. Atalar, p.245. The expression literally means the Bedouin purse. Faroqhi, p.7. Ercüment Ekrem Talu (1888–1956), a poet, novelist, critic, professor, diplomat and all-round man of letters. He was the son of Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem (1846–1913), also a famous civil servant and writer. See Atalar, pp.103–4. The well of Zamzam is located in Mecca, only a few metres east of the Ka'ba. The well, which is 35 metres deep and in continuous use, is also known as the well of Ismael, a son of the prophet Abraham. It has been suggested that the name is onomatopoeic, to imitate the sound of bubbling water. See note 26. Sultan Mehmed Reşad (1844–1918), a mild and pious ruler who was the second last Ottoman sultan. Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil (1866–1945), man of letters and civil servant, belonged to a well-known Turkish family. His novels, which are still in print, include Aşkı Memnu’ [Forbidden Love] and Ma'i ve Siyah [Blue and Black]. His recollections of life at the Ottoman court were collected as one volume of his autobiographical reminiscences under the title Saray ve Ötesi [The Palace and Beyond] (Istanbul: İnkılap ve Aka Kitabevleri Koll. Şirketi, 1981), 432 pp. For further information see S.T. Wasti, ‘The Last Chroniclers of the Mabeyn’, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.32, No.2 (1996), pp.1–29. The date of the Hajj is the 10th of the month of Zil Hicce, which is the last month of the Islamic calendar. As this calendar is lunar resulting in a year of about 354 days, the Hajj feast moves through the seasons, returning to any stated time period roughly once every 33 years. Here Uşaklıgil mischievously recalls that in those days, women who wore much jewellery and gaudy make-up were often referred to as ‘surre camels’. See Atalar, p.244. See S.T. Wasti, ‘The Defence of Medina, 1916–19’, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.27, No.4 (1991), pp.642–53. Sultan Mehmed Vahideddin (1861–1926) (1991), last Ottoman sultan, who reigned as Mehmed VI between 1918 and 1922. He died in exile in San Remo, Italy and lies buried in Damascus.
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