State power as performance: Royal wedding festivities and the Ottoman spectacular state during the Period of Mahmud II

This thesis examines two imperial wedding festivals organized during the reign of Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839): the festival of 1834, which was organized for the wedding of Saliha Sultan (d. 1843), and the festival of 1836, which was organized for the wedding of Mihrimah Sultan (d. 1838). By utilizing the methods and theories of performance studies, this thesis explores the ways in which celebratory patterns of the Ottoman state changed during the period of Mahmud II. In this analysis, how the state during the period of Mahmud II made use of its performativity, and how these performative patterns through royal wedding festivities constitute the major focal point. This transition is examined through changes in the ceremonial practices, festival spaces, and dramatic performances as well as changes in documenting the practices of these festivals. By considering the historicity of the state's performativity, how imperial festivities were used to re-invent and re-define the representation of state power is problematized within the broader social, cultural and political context of the nineteenth century.