The royal mawlid ceremonies in the Ottoman Empire (1789-1908)

This study analyzes the royal mawlid ceremonies in the Ottoman Empire which are conducted by the state in the 12th day of Rabi-al-Awwal (the third month in the Islamic calendar) of each year representing the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Along with the religious content of the ritual, the mawlid ceremony is actually one of the fundamental practices of the state protocol (teşrîfât) and is observed to transform through the modernization phenomenon. In this context, it is aimed to resolve the problems of the present literature in terms of establishment, institutionalization and historical process of the royal mawlid ceremonies by basing the period of 1789-1908, which chronicles and archive documents containing the ceremonial intensify. By this means, the main components of the ceremonies, which are protocol, procession, patronage and music, are examined closer.