The arrival of Grand Vizier İ
brahim Pasha and his reception at the imperial pavilion| 
 
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 13a  | 
 
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 12b  | 
Archers Lodge appears in the upper left corner of (12b) on a somewhat larger scale and with one more of each kind of window and one more chimney than it had in (
10b) and we are also given a closer view of the imperial pavilion. Arrayed before the entrance are former chief justices and kadis with the titular rank of chief justice dressed in the örf style of turban and fur-lined robes. (According to Vehbi, the head of the chancery should be here too.) The figures wearing floppy white hats and holding staffs behind them are doormen. The figure standing ahead of them dressed in a patterned silk kaftan and wearing the selimî type of turban must be the chief of the Exchequer.The leftmost of the four figures in the upper half of (13a) is
Sheikulislam Abdullah Efendi, who is dressed in a white kaftan and wears the örf turban. The three figures dressed in patterned silk kaftans and wearing the kallavî turban are viziers. In the lower half of the frame we see the grand vizier and his entourage. The two figures on horses in the lead are Mustafa Agha, the steward of the grand vizier’s doormen, and Ebubekir Agha, his chief sergeant-at-arms. The figure walking after them and clutching a patterned fabric is the "kaftan agha". (According to Vehbi, this procession was led by the grand vizier’s steward Mehmed Agha, whom Levni has not shown here.) The figures armed with lances and daggers and dressed in vermilion kaftans with gilded sashes are peyks, in two groups one to the left and the other to the right of the procession. The grand vizier, dressed in a kallavî turban is riding a horse whose rich trappings are shown in detail. The details of the grand vizier’s white fur-lined garments on the other hand are all but lost behind the huge white crest of Muhzır Agha, his bodyguard marching at his right. The figure wearing a tall conical cap and marching at his left is the chief of the Bostanji corps.(If this scene is supposed to depict the arrival of the grand vizier on the day before the festival began, it is at variance with Vehbi’s account, which makes no mention of such a ceremony telling us merely that İbrahim Pasha arrived at Okmeydanı on the afternoon of September 17th after his steward Mehmed Agha and the vizier Tevkii Mustafa Pasha and he settled into his own tent. In view of what Vehbi tells us, the grand vizier’s arrival in procession and his reception at the imperial pavilion must have taken place after the sultan’s arrival. According to the text of Surname, the sultan arrived on the first day of the festival and, after the customary ceremony before the imperial pavilion, took up residence in his own tent after which everybody assumed their places for a second ceremony in which the grand vizier set out from his own pavilion and proceeded with his entourage to where the sultan was waiting. That ceremony was arranged to take place exactly at noon. In another vein, Vehbi’s text makes no mention of where the sheikulislam and members of the
Ulema were during this ceremony. Levni has the sheikulislam and three viziers greeting the grand vizier before their own tents while leading members of the Ulema are waiting at the entrance to the imperial pavilion (as they would have done during the sultan’s arrival) to offer benedictions. The military leaders who should also be present as required by protocol are depicted in the scene (18a) where the grand vizier greets the elderly former vizier Mehmed Pasha. Similar discrepancies between Vehbi’s account and Levni’s illustrations occur from time to time.)Notes
1. Kadis: Judges.
2. Örf: A style of turban worn especially by members of the judiciary.
3. Sheikulislam: The sheikulislam was an official responsible for all matters relating to canon law, religious schools etc. In protocol he ranked after the grand vizier. The sheikulislam was a member of the Ottoman cabinet until the end of the empire.
4. Kallavî: A style of turban worn especially by government ministers.
5. Ulema: Leaders of the religious community.
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