LUXURY ITEMS OF A BELGRADE MUHAFIZ: IZZET MEHMET PASHA (1783–1784)

Abstract

In the last few decades the consumption of luxury goods in the Ottoman Empire has become a very attractive topic for the researchers and subject of many studies. The paper addresses the aforementioned topic and presents the items which belonged to a high Ottoman dignitary stationed in Belgrade as a paradigm of wealth, luxury and life-style of the high Ottoman society. The Belgrade muhafiz Izzet Mehmet Pasha (1723–1784) served twice in the capacity of Grand Vezier in the Ottoman Empire (1774–1775, 1781–1782) and as a governor of the Belgrade fortress (1783–84), where he eventually died. The paper focuses on the luxurious items belonging to him personally and to his household while he was governing Belgrade. Two inheritance registries – kept in the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office in Istanbul – were used for the purpose of analysis. The belongings found at his Belgrade household when he died included pieces of jewellery, clothes, fur, weapons made of precious metals decorated with gems and other items. Most of the items were brought by Izzet Mehmet Pasha to Belgrade when he was appointed to the duty, but it can be assumed that they were mostly purchased in the Balkans, taking into consideration that his previous post was in Plovdiv. There were also items brought from the Western Europe, such as clocks, indicating aspects of economic and cultural relations between East and West and international trade routes passing through Belgrade. Consumption of the valuable and rare items as status symbols reflects the political power of the higher Ottoman class of Belgrade and social differentiation among the Ottomans.