Osmanlı Sarayı Hil‘at Terzileri ve Sultanların Ulemâya Hil‘at Olarak Hediye Ettikleri Giysiler

Hil‘at is a valuable clothe given by Sultans to scholars, bureaucrats, ambassadors and other people for various reasons in order to honor them. It is a tradition in Eastern societies. In Islam, it is considered the beginning of the hil‘at tradition is the moment The Holy Prophet presented his cardigan to Ka’b b. Züheyr after he recited his famous eulogy. In the Ottoman Empire, it is known that hil‘ats have been given to state officials at different levels. It was abolished gradually starting with the reign of Mahmud II (1785-1839) In parallel with the decrease in the power of the state, the quality of the hil‘ats, which were dressed as custom, decreased in time. In the last period of the state, money was given instead of hil‘at. The fabrics of these hil‘ats, which were sewn by private tailors in the Ottoman Court, were not only woven in provinces such as Istanbul, Bursa, Amasya, Thessaloniki, but also imported from some Western states, especially Italy. Fabrics used for sewing hil‘ats were hodden chukka, velvet, kemha, atlas. Some of hil‘ats given to the scholars were also given covered with furs such as sable and stoat.