THE TREASURY WARD

The Treasury Ward has a quiet but very important story.

It was part of the Enderun school. Enderun was the palace school inside Topkapı Palace. It trained young men for service to the sultan and the state.

The Treasury Ward was founded by Fatih Sultan Mehmed. He is also known as Mehmed the Conqueror.

This ward looked after the records of great treasure. It wrote down what came in and what went out. These treasures included precious jewels, valuable goods, and money.

The ward kept records for the Enderun Treasury. It also worked with the Treasury of the Privy Chamber, known as the Has Oda Treasury. It kept records for the Ra’at Treasury. It also kept records for the Ceb-i Hümayun, the private treasury of the sultan.

The people of this ward made careful accounts in books. They also kept the treasury rooms clean and in order.

Because of this work, the Treasury Ward stayed important for a very long time. It served from the time of Mehmed the Conqueror to the last years of the Ottoman state.

After the fire of 1856, the building was repaired. This was done by order of Sultan Abdülmecid. He ruled from 1839 to 1861.

The ward has two floors. It also has a bath, a toilet, and a fountain.

Today, the Treasury Ward holds very precious examples of calligraphy. Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. In the Ottoman palace, writing was not only useful. It was also an art.

The first floor has works from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Some were written by Şeyh Hamdullah. He was a very valued calligrapher.

Some were written by Mustafa Rakım Efendi.

Some were written by Yesarizade Mustafa İzzet Efendi.

Some were written by Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi.

Some were written by Sami Efendi.

This floor also holds manuscripts. These are books and texts written by hand.

There are writing sets and writing tools too.

There are also tuğras. A tuğra was the special sign of a sultan. It was used on official state papers.

These papers included edicts. They also included berats, which were official appointment papers. They included menşurs too, another kind of official document.

Each sultan used his own tuğra until he left the throne. It showed the power of the state.

The upper floor has more written works. It also has documents with the sultan’s signature.

There are hilye-i şerifs too. A hilye-i şerif is a written description of the Prophet’s human and moral qualities.

This floor also has calligraphy plates by Sultan Murad the Fourth.

There are plates by Sultan Ahmed the Third.

There are plates by Sultan Mahmud the Second.

There are plates by Sultan Abdülmecid.

There are plates by Sultan Abdülaziz.

There are plates by Sultan Abdülhamid the Second.

Some sultans also practiced calligraphy themselves. Among the objects here is the divit of Sultan Ahmed the Third. A divit was a writing case.

There is also the inkwell set of Sultan Abdülhamid the Second.

There are makkas of Sultan Mahmud the Second and Sultan Abdülmecid. A makka was a writing tool used by calligraphers.

So this place tells two stories at once. It tells the story of treasure. And it tells the story of beautiful writing in the Ottoman palace.