“Long Live the Sultan!” Social and Political Aspects of Birthday Celebrations for Abdulhamid II

“Long Live the Sultan!” Social and Political Aspects of Birthday Celebrations for Abdulhamid II

Said OLGUN

Abstract

The practice of holding birthday celebrations for sultans in the Ottoman Empire started during the reign of Mahmud II, and for the last seven Ottoman sultans, from Mahmud II to Mehmed VI, birthday celebrations were part of state protocol. The most visible and conspicuous of these celebrations were those held during the reign of Abdulhamid II. This can largely be attributed to the long reign of Abdulhamid II, who was sultan for 33 years, and that during his reign, these celebrations were meant to serve various social and political functions, extending beyond being simple rituals. This study examines the birthday celebrations held for Abdulhamid II in the capital, in the provinces and overseas, and aims to uncover their social and political implications.

Keywords: II. Abdülhamid, Kutlama, Doğum Günü, Velâdet-i Hümâyûn

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Journal of Gazi Academic View is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY NC)

ISSN: 1307-9778 E-ISSN: 1309-5137

 

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