HISTORY 2HH3 Lecture 6: Governance - Ottoman Empire Part II
2 Nov 2020
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Document Summary
Centre of ottoman administration was topkapi palace in constantinople: understanding organization of the palace helps to understand distinctive nature of. Dynastic governance is passed through family lines and inherited. All power flowed downward through sultan and his court: known more commonly as the ottoman porte . Palace was the residence and seat of power of the state (domestic and political space) Power resided with the sultan: wherever the sultan went, that"s where the government was. Until conquest of constantinople, ottoman sultans were typical of other rulers across the. Mediterranean: wandered around their lands and had multiple palaces, mobile courts, had to move around a lot because they were leading their armies into battle. Post-conquest, ottoman sultans became more stationary and chose constantinople as a permanent seat of power: palace became the physical locus of gov"t from this time forward, because the sultan was in residence. Royal household was the centre of the structure.
