Multidimensional Relations Between Sultan ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd II and Pope Leo XIII and the Reflections of These Relations in the Ottoman Empire and Rome

Abstract

The last quarter of the 19th century was a period of good relations between Rome and Istanbul, with the Ottoman Sultan ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd II (1876-1909) on the one side and the Roman Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) on the other. The many Catholics living in the Ottoman Empire were an important factor in their cooperation. The correspondence between the Pope and the Sultan intensified during this period. The two parties were not indifferent to each other’s important days and provided mutual gifts. This study predominantly references the Ottoman Archive Documents and news from Istanbul and the European press at that time in addition to basic sources. Methodologically, descriptive and comparative approaches are extensively used.

Keywords

• Pope Leo XIII
• Sultan ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd II
• Ottoman
• Rome
• Pontifical Maronite College

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