The development and significance of photography in the Ottoman Empire

Početkom razdoblja Tanzimata Osmansko Carstvo započelo je provoditi modernizacijske reforme sa ciljem sustizanja Zapada na poljima novih tehnoloških, političkih i vojnih dostignuća. Ovaj diplomski rad bavi se upravo jednim od postignuća koje je u Carstvo stiglo sa Zapada – medijem fotografije, njenim razvojem i ulogama koje je imala u kontekstu prikazivanja kulture Osmanskog Carstva ostatku svijeta. Rad se sastoji od nekoliko cjelina, počevši od pojave fotografije unutar zapadnjačkog/orijentalističkog diskursa te dolaska prvih fotografa sa Zapada, njezinog širenja među Osmanlijama te najvažnijih imena osmanske fotografije, sve do njezinog položaja na osmanskom dvoru te raznih uloga koje je stekla u rukama osmanskih sultana. Cilj rada je na temelju istraženog ispitati u koje se sve svrhe koristio ovaj medij i je li bio percipiran samo kao oblik umjetnosti ili kao nešto više.At the beginning of the Tanzimat period, the Ottoman Empire began to carry out modernization reforms with the aim of catching up with the West in the fields of new technological, political and military achievements. The thesis “The development and significance of photography in the Ottoman Empire” deals with one of the achievements that came to the Empire from the West - the medium of photography, its development and the roles it played in representing the culture of the Ottoman Empire to the rest of the world. The thesis consists of several sections, starting with the emergence of photography within Western/Oriental discourse and the arrival of the first photographers from the West, its spread among the Ottomans and the most important names of Ottoman photography, all the way to its position at the Ottoman court and various roles it was given by Ottoman sultans. The aim of the thesis is to examine all of the purposes this medium had and whether it was perceived only as an art form or as something more