Gutman|285throughout the Ottoman bureaucracy. With the outbreak of revolts against Otto-
man rule among Greek-speaking Christians in the southern Balkans culminat-
ing in the creation of an independent Kingdom of Greece, the fortunes of many
Phanariot families took a sharp turn for the worse. The Ottoman state grew in-
creasingly distrustful of the prominent role played by Greek-speaking Christians
in imperial administration, and as a result the power of the Phanariots rapidly
waned. By the late 1880s, Mavroyeni and his father were one of the few reminders
of the influence that members of the Phanariot elite once wielded.
Mavroyeni’s loyalty to his Muslim Ottoman patrons was unshakable. He
bristled at Russia’s long-standing claims to speak for the interests of the sultan’s
Christian subjects. He readily dismissed accusations leveled by the British prime
minister, William Gladstone, that Ottoman forces had been responsible for
atrocities targeting Christian civilian populations in the Balkans. He certainly
felt no affinity for the independent Kingdom of Greece that fashioned itself as a
beacon of hope for Greek-speaking Christian populations still living under the
sultan’s rule. Mavroyeni’s loyalty to the Ottoman Empire, however, did not pre-
vent him from also feeling a deep connection to the Gilded Age elites that domi-
nated United States’ politics and business in the late nineteenth century. Since
his appointment as the sultan’s representative to the United States, he regularly
escaped the oppressive summer heat and humidity in Washington, DC, by va-
cationing in the tony resort town of Bar Harbor, Maine, where he hosted yacht
parties and socialized with some of the most powerful members of New York
and Boston high society. His frequent presence at grand balls and elite soirees
regularly landed his name on the society page of the New York Times. These
events provided Mavroyeni the perfect opportunity to discuss issues of pressing
importance to the Ottoman Empire with some of the United States’ most power-
ful personalities.
When Mavroyeni arrived at his post in 1886, his primary responsibility
had been to foster and maintain a positive image of the empire in the eyes of
American political elites and the general public. The position of ambassador to
the United States had generally been considered a minor post in the Ottoman
diplomatic corps. After all, the United States was a comparatively small player on
the international stage compared to Great Britain or France. But the importance
of maintaining a close relationship with the United States had steadily grown
in recent years. The US government was beginning to take a keener interest in
affairs outside the Western Hemisphere. Furthermore, the growing presence
of American missionaries in the empire was beginning to translate into stron-
ger economic and political ties between the two governments. Regardless, most
Americans knew very little about the Ottoman Empire. What little knowledge
they did have was largely filtered through the reports of missionaries or the ac-
counts of wealthy tourists who travelled to the Holy Land. These sources often