Ottoman tents

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The empire's territorial spread was catalyzed by tent usage, namely for military campaigns. Tents were able to be adapted to the geography of the land as the sultan's armies were on the move, and as such large encampments could be set up and removed quickly without disturbing the surrounding environment.{{Citation |title=Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman Empires |date=2013-02-11 |work=Time in Early Modern Islam |pages=21–47 |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139343305.004 |access-date=2025-05-07 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139343305.004 |isbn=978-1-139-34330-5}}

During military campaigns, a sultan would have a large complex of tents at his disposal, called Otağ-ı Hümayun.{{Cite web |last=Atasoy |first=Nurhan |title=Ottoman Imperial Tents |url=https://www.currentmiddleages.org/tents/ottoman.htm |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=CurrentMiddleAges.org}} Two sets of tents would accompany the sultan and his army or entourage while traveling: one would be in use while the other would be sent further ahead and readied for the sultan's pending arrival. The Otağ-ı Hümayun was not only a military headquarters but also a home away from home, and provided amenities such as kitchen tents and bathroom tents. The Otağ-ı Hümayun was also surrounded by a large fabric wall called zokak to create a private enclosure.{{Cite journal |last1=AKIN |first1=Kamile |last2=KES |first2=Yusuf |date=2017 |title=TÜRK KÜLTÜRÜNDEKİ ÇADIR GELENEĞİNİN OSMANLI MİNYATÜR SANATINA YANSIMALARI/Reflections Of Tent Tradition In The Turkish To Ottoman Miniature Art |url=https://www.academia.edu/106405376 |journal=International Journal of Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Art |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=113–128 |doi=10.29228/ijiia.2.18 |via=Academia.edu}}

Imperial tents would also be erected in palace gardens to create an area for leisure activities or respite from the sun. In other cases, they would be used as a stage for state ceremonies and related celebrations,{{Citation |last=Gruber |first=Christiane |title=Islamic Architecture on the Move |date=2016-08-01 |pages=1–24 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv36xvz51.4 |access-date=2025-05-07 |publisher=Intellect Books |doi=10.2307/j.ctv36xvz51.4 |isbn=978-1-78320-639-1}} including the circumcision festival held in honor of the sultan's sons coming of age.{{Citation |title=Appendix – Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom: A Combined Bibliography |date=2021-05-17 |work=The Making of Islamic Art |pages=388–420 |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474434300-024 |access-date=2025-05-07 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press|doi=10.1515/9781474434300-024 |isbn=978-1-4744-3430-0 }}{{Failed verification|date=May 2025|reason=The cited source is only a bibliography (a compilation of citations). If the intended citation was to one of the sources in this list, please cite that source directly}}

The Ottoman Imperial Tent Corps resided in the Palace of Ibrahim Pasha where they were responsible for tent manufacturing, repairs, pitching, and transporting tents. The Corps also produced furnishings for imperial palaces, pavilions, and caiques.{{Cite journal |last=Atasoy |first=Nurhan |date=2004 |title=Ottoman Garden Pavilions and Tents |journal=Muqarnas Online |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=15–19 |doi=10.1163/22118993-90000050 |issn=0732-2992|doi-access=free }}{{Failed verification|date=May 2025|reason=Cited source does not seem to discuss an Ottoman Imperial Tent Corps. Another citation may have been intended here instead.}}

File:Classic_Ottoman_Army_Tents.jpg (1658–1730).]]

The basic structure of all Ottoman tents includes an outer shell and an inner shell that are held together with toggles and loops, and erected with struts and dowels. The outer shell is made of a sturdier fabric like broadcloth or canvas to keep the interior warm; the Imperial Tent Corps would coat this outer shell in wax or oil to protect it from the elements.{{Citation |last=Dimmig |first=Ashley |title=Fabricating a New Image: Imperial Tents in the Late Ottoman Period |date=2016 |work=Islamic Architecture on the Move |pages=101–134 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv36xvz51.7 |access-date=2025-05-07 |publisher=Intellect Books |doi=10.2307/j.ctv36xvz51.7 |isbn=978-1-78320-639-1}} The inner shell is often highly decorated and features a variety of materials; including cotton, silk, and gilt leather, and in later centuries also sequins, chenille, and metallic threads.

File:Turkey Large three-mast tent (detail) 01.jpg decoration in a 17th-century Ottoman tent, now housed at the Dresden Armory in Germany{{Cite web |title=Dach und Seitenwand eines Dreimastzeltes |url=https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/Details/Index/289133 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=SKD {{!}} Online Collection}}]]

Appliqué was the most common technique used to decorate tent interiors during the early modern period but embroidery became popular in tent decoration later, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. Embroidery allowed for more variation in color and form, which led to more intricate details and naturalistic rendering of motifs, which reflected the courtly tastes of the period. Both appliquéd and embroidered imagery included representations of permanent architectural elements such as archways as well as floral motifs and şemse (solar medallions).{{Citation |last=Dimmig |first=Ashley |title=A Tented Baroque: Ottoman Fabric (and) Architecture in the Long Nineteenth Century |date=2023 |work=Textile in Architecture |pages=194–212 |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003281276-15 |access-date=2025-05-07 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781003281276-15 |isbn=978-1-003-28127-6}}

The interior of the tents would be furnished and organized for events that were taking place. During peacetime, the interior would be made to bring comfort to those who used them. Many different types of soft furnishings were used, such as carpets or rugs, pillows, and curtains or drapes. Rush mats were placed down first before carpets or other fabric floor coverings, which helped keep them clean.Nurhan Atasoy, Otağ-1 Hümayun The Ottoman Imperial Tent Complex, Istanbul, 2000,  pg. 127-145 Interior furnishings and added elements would be arranged and selected to suit the event.{{Cite journal |last=O'Kane |first=Bernard |date=1993 |title=From Tents to Pavilions: Royal Mobility and Persian Palace Design |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4629452 |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=23 |pages=249–268 |jstor=4629452 |issn=0571-1371}}

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Category:Culture of the Ottoman Empire

Category:Textile arts