Page 31 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

trated their own texts or collaborated with other writers. The records thirty-seven men. The thirty-one-member Rumiyan
most renowned of these were Piri Reis, a naval captain, and group was headed by Mehmed Sinan and contained six Bos-
Nasuh, an official in the Enderun, both of whom helped to nians and individuals from Albania, Georgia, Hungary, and
establish the tradition of documentary painting with their Moldavia. The Aceman included one European and four ar-
topographic illustrations and maritime atlases. This tradition tists from Tabriz; among them was Mehmed §ah, who had
not only influenced the nakka§hane's future but became one been the head of the Rumiyan corps in 1557/1558.
of the characteristic features of Ottoman art. Another talented The next two registers, dated 1596, show a different struc-
naval officer was Nigari, who became a major force in pro- ture: the 124 to 129 members were equally divided into mas-
moting the indigenous art of portraiture. 6 ters and apprentices within a single corps. The director, called
Although not all nakka§hane documents from the reign of the sernakka§an (head of the painters), was followed by the
Süleyman have survived, there exist six payroll registers kethüda (lieutenant) and the serbolük (chief of the corps). Al-
dated between 1526 and 1566 in addition to a number of most all of the members appear to be native artists, with the
ledgers that record the gifts exchanged between the sultan exception of a few individuals whose names indicate they
and the artists. The earliest payroll register of the nakka§- were originally from Albania, Bosnia, Europe, and Georgia.
hane, which is undated, lists forty-one members headed by Information compiled from other sources indicates that the
§ahkulu. Since it includes the same men as another register first recorded chief of the nakka§hane was Hasan b. Abdül-
dated 1526, it must have been drawn about the same time. celil, also known as Hasan Çelebi, who was listed as the ser-
The 1526 document gives detailed information on the origins nakka§an or nakka$ba§i (head painter) in 1510 and held this
of the artists and explains how and when they entered the position through the 1540s. 7 §ahkulu, whose name was listed
nakka^hane, enabling us to reconstruct the history, the orga- first in the payroll register of 1526, became the serbolük of
nizational structure, and the heterogeneous nature of the so- the Rumiyan corps in 1545. Mehmed §ah emerged as the
ciety. Ten of the artists had come either from Iran or were serbolük of the same corps in 1557/1558; the nakka§ba§i dur-
the sons of Iranian masters; in addition, there were two Cir- ing these years was Kara Memi. Kara Memi was replaced in
cassians, an Albanian, and a Moldavian. Nine of the men had 1566 by Mehmed Sinan, who was not previously recorded in
registered during the reign of Bayezid II and thirteen had ar- the registers.
rived during the reign of Selim I. The documents summarized above suggest that the nakka§-
The next register, drawn in 1545, shows that an internal hane was already established during the reign of Bayezid II
division took place, separating the fifty-nine-member society and supplemented by artists from Tabriz brought by Selim I.
into two corps: the Rumiyan and the Aceman. The former, Around the 1540s it was divided into two corps: the first,
once again headed by §ahkulu, had forty-four men and in- called the Rumiyan, included mostly men from Anatolia and
cluded four Bosnians, three Austrians, two Circassians, and the western provinces of the empire; the second, named the
one each from Albania, Moldavia, and Rumelia. The latter Aceman, was primarily made up of Iranians. This separation,
contained fifteen artists, of whom ten were from Tabriz and which continued through the 1560s, was by no means exclu-
one from Isfahan. It appears that the Aceman corps was ex- sive, as some westerners could work in the Aceman group
clusively made up of artists from Iran while the Rumiyan in- and certain Tabrizi artists, for instance Mehmed §ah, could be
cluded all others. assigned to the Rumiyan corps. The reason for separating the
The separation of the society into the same two corps con- painters into two divisions is not known.
tinued in 1557 and 1558. Of the two documents bearing The hierarchy within the nakka^hane as well as the wages
these dates, one appears to be incomplete and lists only the are not clear; for instance, §ahkulu's salary in 1526 was
Rumiyan group, which had thirty-four members headed by lower than that of a man who ranked below him but higher
Mehmed §ah, who was recorded as having come from Tabriz than that of the nakka§ba§i, Hasan b. Abdülcelil. It appears
and was a member of the Aceman in 1545. His corps in- that these registers recorded the retainer fees paid to the art-
cluded several Albanians, Bosnians, and Hungarians as well ists, who were given additional wages or bonuses upon the
as individuals from Austria, Circassia, Georgia, and Moldavia. completion of special projects. For example, Kara Memi's
The second document with the same dates covers a twelve- daily wage was 16.5 akçes (silver coins) in 1545 and rose to
month period and lists thirty-nine members: twenty-six were 25.5 akçes in 1557-1558; however, he received an additional
in the Rumiyan corps, headed by Kara Memi, and thirteen 6,000 akçes for illuminating a Koran during these years.
were in the Aceman corps. The former included several Bos- The duties of a nakka§ varied, and the term was applied to
nians and one man each from Albania, Georgia, and Molda- both illustrators and illuminators. The training in the nakka§-
via; the latter, made up primarily of artists from Tabriz, also hane obviously prepared the men to undertake different proj-
had members from Hungary and Isfahan together with a man ects, and they were given the opportunity to practice more
of undetermined European origin, called Freng (Frank). than one form of art.
The document of 1566 shows the same two divisions and Membership was drawn from all corners of the empire, al-

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