Extravagance of Sultan Caftans of the Ottoman Empire

In the final crossover post this week in “fashion decisions that made history,” by Katie McGowan and myself, I am featuring the fabulously intricate imperial robes called _caftans_ worn by the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Ottoman Dynasty governed an area around Anatolia (modern Turkey and environs), controlling some of the world’s most lucrative trade routes and amassing enormous wealth and power. To show off their authority, the Sultan leaders relied on visual propaganda. This came in the form of grand palaces, a vast retinue of servants, dramatic court ritual, and some of the most striking regalia in all of history. You can see how the famed Sultan Sulieman the Magnificent (1494-1566) looked on his attire in the second slide.

Everything about the Sultan’s costumes was large. The caftan shown here was like many owned by the Ottoman leaders- three-quarters length, with round collars — these garments were intended to be layered, with sleeves of various lengths so as to show off the fabric. Gold thread was sometimes used, along with silk from China woven by the Venetians, renowned for being the best at creating luxury cloth.

The caftans announced the prestige of their owners by their cost and quality. The patterns were also significant. The one shown here is the “Cintemani” style known as the Chinese cloud motif, with three overlapping circles amd three dots among a cloud. It was a hallmark of the Sultan’s authority and would have been recognizable from a distance. More obviously, the caftans were conspicuously oversized — it made an impression that the wearer also was of larger importance than anyone else. These robes took up space, much like the authority of the Sultan.

Most fabric in history is lost to us because fabric decays so quickly, but the Ottoman caftans are a fortunate exception. In part, they were deliberately preserved because of their symbolic value as Ottoman imperial authority.