Evliya’s Song: Listening to the Early Modern Ottoman Court
Journal: Journal of the American Musicological Society
Year: 2023

Abstract This article discusses the relationship between music, sound, writing, and power in the early modern Ottoman Empire. It focuses on a description of a musical gathering at the court of Murad IV (r. 1623–40) in the Seyahatnâme (Book of travels), written by the courtier and musician Evliya Çelebi (1611–ca. 1685). The article draws on literature from historical anthropology, sound studies, and Ottoman cultural history to produce a multilayered reading that underscores the importance of musi