A THE IMPORTANCE OF GIFTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF GIFTING A WATCH IN THE OTTOMAN PERIOD

Abstract

As in the past, a special effort has been made to send the best gift not only each other but also between states. The emergence of traditional practices in the Ottoman Empire, gifts and gifts exchanged and diversified as a result of changing and developing social and economic conditions over the centuries, became an important element of ceremonies. Gift giving among the rulers has become an activity with political, social, cultural, psychological and economic functions in this period. The states that wanted to win the friendship of the Ottoman Empire and keep their relations well, declared their friendship and loyalty with the gifts they sent with ambassadors and travelers and sent different gifts. In the researches, the importance, value and differentness of these gifts are seen. Research shows the importance, value and diversity of these gifts. It is seen that watches were given as gifts in the Ottoman period. Foreigners who came to the Ottoman lands tried to impress with different kinds of items to be found in the Ottoman lands in the West when they arrived, one of them being the watches imported for the Ottomans produced in the West. In this study, the watches given to the Ottoman rulers are emphasized, and some of the different models and designs of the period are works of art and were allocated only to the sultan.