Ottoman court

Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the treasury and the armoury, maintaining the sultan's treasures and weapons. There was also a branch of servants that were said to serve the chamber of campaign, i.e. they accompanied the sultan and his court while on campaign. The best of the pages were chosen to serve the sultan in person. One was responsible for the sultan's clothing, one served him with drinks, one carried his weaponry, one helped him mount his horse, one was responsible for making his turban and a barber shaved the sultan every day. At the palace served also a great number of stewards who carried food, water and wood throughout the palace and lit the fireplaces and braziers. Doorkeepers (Kapıcı) numbered several hundreds and were responsible for opening the doors throughout the entire palace. The chief doorkeeper was responsible for escorting important guests to the sultan.

Formally, the sultan's household was divided between inner and outer services. The outer service attended to the daily needs and life of the sultan, serving roles as gardeners, launderers, and cooks. These servants were male Christian captives, aged 18 or younger and educated by teachers within the palace. They were managed by the head of the white eunuchs, who also served as an intermediary between the sultan, who stayed in the private chambers of the palace, and the rest of the world. Similarly, the inner service was managed by the head of the black eunuchs (Kızlar Ağası or Harem Ağası), and consisted of only Christian (or formerly Christian) women. These servants lived in the "House of Felicity" (dar-i saadet), located past the third gate in the part of the palace and hidden from the public.^[1]

The harem was under the administration of the eunuchs, of which there were two categories, black and white eunuchs. An important figure in the Ottoman court was the Chief Black Eunuch (Kızlar Ağası or Harem Ağası). In control of the harem and a perfect net of spies in the black eunuchs, the chief eunuch was involved in almost every palace intrigue and could thereby gain power over either the sultan or one of his viziers, ministers or other court officials.

The harem was a small world in itself. Often the mother of the current sultan (valide sultan) was a politically influential person. She also selected the concubines for her son. The concubines could live in or around the palace for their entire life, and it supported them with whatever they needed. Women not found suitable for the sultan were married off to eligible bachelors from the Ottoman nobility or sent back home. Female servants did all the chores such as serving food and making the beds.

In the court, clothing signified status, occupation, and religion. The color of one's dress and shoes was used to differentiate positions and roles in court, with the viziers wearing green, "the chamberlains scarlet, the ülema purple, the mullahs light blue".^[1] Different garments signified religion: turbans and yellow shoes, for example, were restricted to muslims,^[1] though the enforcement of this custom varied over time.

^ ^a ^b ^c Babinger, Franz (1978). Mehmed the Conqueror and his time. Bollingen series (in engger). Bollingen Foundation Collection (Library of Congress). Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-09900-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

[:0-1] Babinger, Franz (1978). Mehmed the Conqueror and his time. Bollingen series (in engger). Bollingen Foundation Collection (Library of Congress). Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-09900-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

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