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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

Ottoman, European, bridal collection, Azem palace, Damascus, Syria

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Anthropology

Abstract

In 1829, Ottoman Emperor Mahmud II issued a proclamation mandating that all men under his rule must replace their traditional clothing with the “modern” European-style jacket and trousers.1 The interest and appeal of Europe had never been so publicly sanctioned in Ottoman history. The western influence was perhaps most greatly felt in outlying provinces like Damascus, whose government had long been semi-autonomous under local governors, including the Azem family, residents of the Azem Palace. As European entrepreneurs, statesmen, and tourists continued to visit Damascus, local Damascenes inevitably began to imitate these exotic foreigners. Fashion was one of the easiest ways to mimic the west, especially in the wake of Mahmud’s declaration. Conflicts thus arose between local traditions and the new western customs. This study of the nineteenth and twentieth-century bridal collection in the Azem family’s Damascene Palace is helpful in showing the social and political tension between extant Syrian traditions and the ever-increasing European influence.

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