The Social Life of an Ottoman Gentleman, ca. 1550

Ottoman gentlemen cultivated intense social lives. Their reception chambers were almost always filled with guests visiting on business or for pleasure. This talk, which is based on Pfeifer’s new book Empire of Salons, examines the role informal gatherings played in defining the contours of the Ottoman elite. It proceeds through the various steps contemporaries had to take to secure their place in exclusive circles. Accepted within such circles, though, concerns over status did not disappear, as a 1555 gathering gone wrong makes clear.