Report

On January 20, 2024, the Tobunken Seminar Workshop: “Military Elites in the Early Modern Islamicate World and Beyond” was held at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo. This workshop was organized by Gülay Yılmaz (Akdeniz University/IASA visiting researcher), who came to Japan under the JSPS Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan, and Jun Akiba of IASA. The workshop focused on the military elites in the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Iran, and Japan in the early modern period, exploring them from a variety of perspectives.

During the first half of the workshop, Gülay Yılmaz discussed the transformation of the Ottoman Empire's military recruitment methods up to the17th century, emphasizing a major change that occurred in the mid-16th century. Hirotake Maeda (Tokyo Metropolitan University) focused on the Georgian gholams, arguing that they maintained their Georgian culture, customs, and identity while serving the Safavid dynasty. In the second half, Satoshi Kawamoto (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) examined the impact of rain on Ottoman court rituals, showing that rituals were often altered or cancelled due to bad weather, and the court rituals tended to be moved indoors over time. Iku Nagashima (JSPS/IASA)'s presentation provided a comparison of Turkish and Japanese archeries, complemented by performances. He highlighted the similarities in their origins, differences in bow materials, and their roles in combat and culture.
The workshop attracted 11 in-person attendees, with additional 20 online participants.

Date: January 20, 2024 (Sat), 12:30~16:30

Venue：Large meeting room (3rd floor), Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo／Zoom

Program：

This workshop was supported by JSPS Kakenhi 20H01322 and JSPS Invitational Fellowship for Research in Japan.