Tulip Era in the Ottoman Empire
Encyclopedia
The Tulip Period or Tulip Era (21 July 1718
- 28 September 1730
) (Ottoman Turkish
: لاله دورى) is a period in Ottoman history from The Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718
to The Patrona Halil Rebellion on 28 September 1730
. This was a relatively peaceful period, during which the Ottoman Empire can be said to have begun to orient itself towards Europe.
The name of the period derives from the tulip
craze among the Ottoman court society. Cultivating this culturally ambiguous emblem had become a celebrated practice. The Tulip Period illustrated the conflicts brought by early modern consumer culture and was a shared material symbolism. During this period the elite and high-class society of the Ottoman Period had established an immense fondness for the tulip, which were utilized in various occasions. Tulips defined nobility and privilege, both in terms of goods and leisure time.
Under the guidance of the Sultan’s son-in-law Grand Vizier
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha
, the Ottoman Empire
embarked on new policies and programs during this period, which established the first Ottoman language printing press, and promoted commerce and industry.
The Grand Vizier was concerned with improving trade relations and enhancing commercial revenues, which would help to explain the return to gardens and the more public style of the Ottoman court during this period. The Grand Vizier was himself very fond of tulip bulbs, setting an example for Istanbul’s elite who started to cherish the tulip’s endless variety in paint and celebrate its seasonality as well.
The Ottoman standard of dress and its commodity culture incorporated their passion for the tulip. Within Istanbul, one could find tulips from the flower markets to the plastic arts to silks and textiles. (page 86) Tulip bulbs could be found everywhere; the demand grew within the elite community where they could be found in homes and gardens.
Therefore, the tulip is a symbol with mythical appeal, which can be found from Ottoman palaces to their clothing, which sustains a memory of the Ottoman Empire’s social past. The tulip can be seen as a romantic monument representing the wealthy and elite, and the fragility of despotic rule.
The tulip was also praised in poetry and motifs used in paintings. To this day in modern Turkey the tulip is still considered the embodiment of perfection and beauty. Turkish Airlines
decorates its planes with a painting of a tulip on its fuselage.
Tulip mania demonstrated the state's power to regulate the economy by increasing the prices for bulbs. Courtiers at the time forwarded a petition to denounce the practice of flower sellers, whom they perceived to be taking advantage of the elite by raising the prices of the bulbs. This led to the process of issuing inventories of flowers and price lists to the judge of Istanbul for enforcement.
Treaty of Passarowitz
The Treaty of Passarowitz or Treaty of Požarevac was the peace treaty signed in Požarevac , a town in Ottoman Empire , on 21 July 1718 between the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Republic of Venice on the other.During the years 1714-1718, the Ottomans had...
- 28 September 1730
Patrona Halil
Patrona Halil , was the instigator of a mob uprising in 1730 which replaced Sultan Ahmed III with Mahmud I and ended the Tulip period....
) (Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
: لاله دورى) is a period in Ottoman history from The Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718
Treaty of Passarowitz
The Treaty of Passarowitz or Treaty of Požarevac was the peace treaty signed in Požarevac , a town in Ottoman Empire , on 21 July 1718 between the Ottoman Empire on one side and the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Republic of Venice on the other.During the years 1714-1718, the Ottomans had...
to The Patrona Halil Rebellion on 28 September 1730
Patrona Halil
Patrona Halil , was the instigator of a mob uprising in 1730 which replaced Sultan Ahmed III with Mahmud I and ended the Tulip period....
. This was a relatively peaceful period, during which the Ottoman Empire can be said to have begun to orient itself towards Europe.
The name of the period derives from the tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
craze among the Ottoman court society. Cultivating this culturally ambiguous emblem had become a celebrated practice. The Tulip Period illustrated the conflicts brought by early modern consumer culture and was a shared material symbolism. During this period the elite and high-class society of the Ottoman Period had established an immense fondness for the tulip, which were utilized in various occasions. Tulips defined nobility and privilege, both in terms of goods and leisure time.
Rise and Growth
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha
Nevsehirli Damat Ibrahim Pasha
Nevşehirli Damad Ibrahim Pasha served as Grand Vizier for Sultan Ahmed III of the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip period. He was also the head of a ruling family which had great influence in the court of Ahmed III...
, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
embarked on new policies and programs during this period, which established the first Ottoman language printing press, and promoted commerce and industry.
The Grand Vizier was concerned with improving trade relations and enhancing commercial revenues, which would help to explain the return to gardens and the more public style of the Ottoman court during this period. The Grand Vizier was himself very fond of tulip bulbs, setting an example for Istanbul’s elite who started to cherish the tulip’s endless variety in paint and celebrate its seasonality as well.
The Ottoman standard of dress and its commodity culture incorporated their passion for the tulip. Within Istanbul, one could find tulips from the flower markets to the plastic arts to silks and textiles. (page 86) Tulip bulbs could be found everywhere; the demand grew within the elite community where they could be found in homes and gardens.
Therefore, the tulip is a symbol with mythical appeal, which can be found from Ottoman palaces to their clothing, which sustains a memory of the Ottoman Empire’s social past. The tulip can be seen as a romantic monument representing the wealthy and elite, and the fragility of despotic rule.
Culture
The Tulip period saw a flowering of arts, culture and architecture. Generally the style of architecture and decoration became more elaborate, being influenced by the Baroque period in movement. A classic example is the Fountain of Ahmed III in front of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. The architectural style is a fusion of classical Islamic elements with baroque European ones, making it into distinct Ottoman architecture of the 18th century.The tulip was also praised in poetry and motifs used in paintings. To this day in modern Turkey the tulip is still considered the embodiment of perfection and beauty. Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, headquartered in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building on the grounds of Atatürk Airport in Yeşilköy, Bakirköy district, Istanbul...
decorates its planes with a painting of a tulip on its fuselage.
Important Figures During This Period
- Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim PashaNevsehirli Damat Ibrahim PashaNevşehirli Damad Ibrahim Pasha served as Grand Vizier for Sultan Ahmed III of the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip period. He was also the head of a ruling family which had great influence in the court of Ahmed III...
(1718–1730) was the Grand Vizier of the Empire; therefore the period is delineated over his vizierate rather than Sultan Ahmed III
- Grand Admiral Mustafa Pasa – was the son-in-law of the Grand Vizier and is remembered for establishing forty-four new tulip breeds
- Ibrahim Muteferrika — a Hungarian convert who had established the first Ottoman printing press which was seen as a landmark of the period
- NedimNedîmAhmet Nedîm Efendi was the pen name of one of the most celebrated Ottoman poets. He achieved his greatest fame during the reign of Ahmed III, the so-called Tulip Era from 1718 to 1730. Both his life and his work are often seen as being representative of the relaxed attitude and European...
– a poet who broke new ground by challenging the traditional canon while writing in a classical Ottoman format.
- Abdulcelil LevniAbdulcelil LevniAbdulcelil Levni or Abdulcelil Çelebi was an Ottoman court painter and miniaturist.-Biography:He was born in Edirne, some time in the late 17th century. He became the most prominent painter in the Ottoman Empire, and was appointed court painter under Sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III. He was a...
– an outstanding miniature painter who began to work in Edirne to Istanbul where he studied painting and became the court painter where the Ottoman tradition of miniature albums was revived. These albums that Levni painted were called Tulip albums which mirrored the structure of the states itself, ranking distinguished members of the regime according to horticultural achievements.
Anti-Tulip Rebellion
Tulip prices began to rise in the last decades of the 17th century and peaked in 1726–1727 before state intervention. This reflected the demand for the inflated value of the rare bulbs and escalating demands for flowers in the elite’s palaces and gardens.Tulip mania demonstrated the state's power to regulate the economy by increasing the prices for bulbs. Courtiers at the time forwarded a petition to denounce the practice of flower sellers, whom they perceived to be taking advantage of the elite by raising the prices of the bulbs. This led to the process of issuing inventories of flowers and price lists to the judge of Istanbul for enforcement.
Further reading
- Tulip maniaTulip maniaTulip mania or tulipomania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed...
— during the Dutch Golden AgeDutch Golden AgeThe Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
in the 17th century - Derinsular.com — During and After the Tulip Era
- Enfal.de — Lale Devri (Tulip Era)
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online — Abdülcelil Levnî
- Yılmaz, Nalan. Ottoman Studies Online — Levni, one of the last Ottoman miniaturists
See also
- Abdulcelil LevniAbdulcelil LevniAbdulcelil Levni or Abdulcelil Çelebi was an Ottoman court painter and miniaturist.-Biography:He was born in Edirne, some time in the late 17th century. He became the most prominent painter in the Ottoman Empire, and was appointed court painter under Sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III. He was a...
- Culture of the Ottoman EmpireCulture of the Ottoman EmpireThe culture of the Ottoman Empire evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the cultures of conquered lands and their peoples...
- Fountain of Ahmed IIIFountain of Ahmed IIIThe Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III is a fountain in a Turkish rococo structure located in the great square in front of the Imperial Gate of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built under Ottoman sultan Ahmed III in 1728, in the style of the Tulip period...
- Jean-Baptiste van MourJean-Baptiste van MourJean-Baptiste van Mour or Vanmour was a Flemish-French painter, remembered for his detailed portrayal of life in the Ottoman Empire during the Tulip Era and the rule of Sultan Ahmed III.-Biography:...