From imperial palace to museum: The Topkapı Palace during the long nineteenth century

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the last century of the Topkapı Palace, which is mostly overlooked. Focusing on the period beginning with the accession of Mahmud II until the foundation of the Republic and official declaration of the Topkapı Palace as a museum (1808-1924), this research chronologically investigates the physical, architectural, institutional, symbolic, and ideological transformations of the palace and documents the new functions it adopted. The Topkapı Palace was transformed with respect to Ottoman modernization that was shaped by the military, institutional, economical, and social reforms of the long nineteenth century, gradually losing its role as an imperial residence. However, the palace also sustained its ceremonial, architectural, and symbolic configuration and significance. This tension between continuity and change underpins the theoretical framework of this dissertation. The Topkapı Palace holds a significant place in the formation of museums in the Ottoman empire and modern Turkey. The dissertation offers a new, yet critical perspective on the established narratives of Ottoman museology, highlighting the role of the Topkapı Palace and scrutinizing its museumification during the course of the long nineteenth century. The royal collections, treasuries, and sultanic pavilions located in the inner courts of the imperial palace were opened for touristic visits and were performatively displayed to the foreign gaze. During the same era, a modern archeological museum and a school of fine arts emulating the Western model were also established in the outer gardens of the palace. In this respect, the Topkapı Palace became a venue and a medium for Ottoman self-representation.