The Role of Artisans in the Circumcision Festival of 1675 During the Reign of Sultan Mehmed IV

Year 2024, Volume: 88 Issue: 311, 111 - 146, 02.04.2024

M. Fatih Torun Nalan Turna

https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2024.111

Abstract

In 1675, the Ottoman state held an imperial festival (sur-ı hümayun) in Edirne to celebrate the military achievements, the circumcision of the sons of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648-1687) and the marriage of his daughter. Drawing from seventeenth- century official and non-official sources concerning the festival, this essay focuses mainly on the role of the artisans. It shows how the practices of the artisans at the festival resembled those of the army artisans who, too, paraded at the initial stage of the military campaigns. However, rather than the mere theatrical aspects of the guilds’ pageantry, it emphasizes other yet multiple functions of the artisans. In particular, showing the role of the Istanbul and Edirne guilds in front of and behind the stage, this essay argues that they not only benefited from participating in such events but also bore their burdens as they provided various services, labor, and funding. In this regard, it also pays attention to the other side of the coin where not only artisans but also other actors were involved. To this end, after a brief introduction, this essay focuses on the day-to-day parades of the artisans, the practices of gift-giving, the burdens and benefits of the festival for the different classes, and finally its military tone by considering the actively involved artisans and their auxiliaries.

Keywords

Sultan Mehmed IV, Edirne, Ottoman Circumcision Festival of 1675, imperial festival (sur-ı hümayun), artisans, guild/artisan pageants, army artisans, auxiliary artisans

Sultan IV. Mehmed Döneminde 1675 Tarihli Sünnet Şenliğindeki Esnafın Rolü

Abstract

1675’te Osmanlı Devleti, askerî başarıları ile Sultan IV. Mehmed (1648-1687)’in oğullarının sünnetini ve kızının evliliğini kutlamak için Edirne’de bir imparatorluk şenliği (sur-ı hümayun) düzenledi. Şenlikle ilgili on yedinci yüzyıldan resmî ve resmî olmayan kaynaklara dayanan bu makale, esas olarak esnafın rolüne odaklanmaktadır. Ayrıca şenlikteki esnafın uygulamalarının askerî seferlerin ilk aşamasında geçit töreni yapan ordu esnafınınkilere nasıl benzediğini göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte, şenliklerdeki geçit törenlerinin sadece teatral yönlerinden ziyade, esnafın diğer fonksiyonlarına vurgu yapmaktadır. Özellikle İstanbul ve Edirne loncalarının sahne önünde ve arkasında oynadığı rolü gösteren bu makale, bu tür etkinliklere katılmaktan sadece fayda sağlamakla kalmayıp aynı zamanda hizmet, emek ve finans sundukları için külfetini de taşıdıklarını savunmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, sadece esnafın değil, aynı zamanda diğer aktörlerin de yer aldığı madalyonun diğer yüzüne de dikkat çekmektedir. Bu amaçla, kısa bir girişten sonra, bu makale esnafın günlük geçit törenlerine, hediyeleşme pratiklerine, şenliğin farklı sınıflar için getirdiği yüklere ve faydalara ve son olarak da aktif olarak katılan esnafları ve yamaklarını göz önünde bulundurarak şenliğin askerî tonuna odaklanmaktadır.

Keywords

Sultan IV. Mehmed, Edirne, 1675 Osmanlı Sünnet Şenliği, imparatorluk şenliği (sur-ı hümayun), esnaf, lonca/esnaf alayları, orducu esnafı, yamak esnafı

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