The aim of this thesis is to discuss and illustrate the visibility of Ottoman imperial women in relation to their spatial presence and contribution to the architecture and cityscape of sixteenth and seventeenth century istanbul. The central premise of the study is that the Ottoman imperial women assumed and exercised power and influence by various means but became publicly visible and acknowledged more through architectural patronage. The focus is on istanbul and a group of buildings and complexes built under the sponsorship of court women who resided in the Harem section of Topkapi Palace. The case studies built in Istanbul in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are examined in terms of their location in the city, the layout of the complexes, the placement and plan of the individual buildings, their orientation, mass characteristics and structural properties. It is discussed whether female patronage had any recognizable consequences on the Ottoman Classical Architecture, and whether female patrons had any impact on the building process, selection of the site and architecture. These complexes, in addition, are discussed as physical manifestation and representation of imperial female power. Accordingly it is argued that, they functioned not only as urban regeneration projects but also as a means to enhance and make imperial female identity visible in a monumental scale to large masses in different parts of the capital.

The Ottoman Empire initiated a serious attempt in the archaeological exploration of ancient sites lying in its territory during the Hamidian period. By claiming ownership over the heritage of past civilizations, it aimed to counterbalance the European hegemony over its antiquities while constructing a new, “civilized” identity as part of its modernization programme. Adopting European archaeological practices, it became an active participant in the scholarly scene. Despite being latecomers and lacking sufficient resources and expertise, Ottoman archaeologists pioneered and promoted archaeology so successfully that, they were able to achieve the disciplinary criteria in archaeological practice established by their Western counterparts. However, due to ideological factors, their names are absent from the standard account of early history of archaeology while their accomplishments are yet to be recognized in historiography. This dissertation examines two excavation campaigns undertaken at Raqqa by Theodore Macridy and Haydar Bey on behalf of the Imperial Museum in 1905-6 and 1908 respectively and their finds collection housed within the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in İstanbul. While documenting these two excavations and their corresponding finds thoroughly for the first time, this study also reveals the contributions of such key figures of Ottoman archaeology to the development of archaeology during its formative years. The history of Ottoman archaeology is yet to be written. Analyzing the field methods, collection strategies, and restoration practices of the two Ottoman archaeologists working at Raqqa within a historical and disciplinary context, this study offers insights into the practice and the conceptualization of archaeology as a discipline in the Ottoman Empire, a subject that has been overlooked in scholarship. Moreover, this study demonstrates the importance of the Raqqa excavations as exceptional cases in targeting mainly ceramic finds with no interest in the architectural remains of the site, a practice contrasting with contemporaneous excavations. Besides, a collection of fairly modest components, the Raqqa finds indicate an emerging interest in the potential of artifacts as sources of information rather than being merely objects for museum display, thus representing a key milestone in the newly emerging discipline of Islamic archaeology. / Graduate / 0377 / 0324 / 0333 / 0730