Honored by the Glory of Islam. Conversion and Conquest in Ottoman Europe

200 honored by the glory of islam

name the imperial treasurer, as in the statute, the man responsible for imperial

fi nances, this document instructs the palace treasurer to provide the garments

to the converted couple. As Rycaut notes:

The Haznadar Bashi, or Lord Treasurer of the Seraglio [saray, pal-

ace], who commands those Pages that attend the Treasury; I mean

not that which is of present use, as to pay the Souldiery, or serve the

publick and present occasions of the Empire, for that is in the hand

of the Tefterdar; but that Riches that is laid apart for the expences of

the Court, and that which is amassed and piled up in several rooms

of the Seraglio, of which there have been collections and additions in

the time almost of every Emperour, distinguished and divided by the

names of the Sultans, through whose industry and frugality they had

been acquired, but this Wealth is conserved as sacred, not to be used

or exposed, unless on occasions of extreme emergency.^45

When Rycaut mentions “Riches” that are “amassed and piled up,” he is refer-

ring to the precious cloaks such as sable furs of honor kept under the watchful

eye of the palace treasurer.^46 Rather than being used only during emergencies,

it is more correct to say that the garments were circulated on signifi cant oc-

casions, including conversion ceremonies. More important, Rycaut mentions

that the palace treasurer accompanied the sultan wherever he traveled. In Sep-

tember 1 673, the sultan had alighted on the plain of Isakçi during the second

Polish campaign where these conversions occurred.

A researcher can be misled in other ways. Despite the implication of the

statute that only men would convert at court, numerous archival documents

mention women who became Muslims. Treasury records reveal that in ad-

dition to turbans for men, the sultan’s court distributed a wardrobe full of

clothes to women who converted to Islam. These included women’s slippers

and cloaks.^47 According to the petitions recorded by the secretary of the impe-

rial council concerning the bestowal of new dress today housed at the Prime

Ministry’s Ottoman Archive in Istanbul, nearly two hundred people converted

before the sultan and grand vizier. Of the people receiving new clothes, most

were men. Based on the location of conversion, it can be assumed that they

were predominantly Orthodox Christian, although some Jews in and around

Salonica also may be included in these petitions. Two-thirds of the people ap-

pearing at these courts consisted of groups of men ranging in size from two

to fi fty. The second largest category of converts consisted of single men. Fewer

groups of men and women, likely married couples, and sometimes families

with children converted together. A similar number of small groups of women,

usually two, including mothers and daughters, also came to the courts of the