The Most Dangerous Profession in the Ottoman Empire: Sycophancy and Its Shocking Rules

In the Ottoman Empire, being a sycophant was a perilous profession with astonishing rules and an official price list. This article reveals, through documents from the Topkapi Palace archives, the cost of making the Sultan laugh, the duties of a sycophant, and their mind-boggling tariff for violence.

A Courtly Profession: The Guild of Sycophants

When we call someone a “sycophant” today, we generally think of someone spineless, self-serving, and excessively flattering. But what if I told you that sycophancy was once an official profession with its own superintendent, regulations, and even a state-approved price list?

This was precisely the case in pre-Tanzimat Istanbul. Sycophants, or dalkavuklar, were an official guild of artisans. They took their work so seriously that they even petitioned the Sultan to regulate their profession. A petition found in the Topkapi Palace archives, believed to be from the reign of Sultan Mahmud I, shows sycophants complaining about “ill-mannered” individuals who were damaging the reputation of their trade. In their plea, they stated, “It is obvious that if sycophancy is not bound by a firm order, we will all starve and become wretched” (Koçu, 1960), requesting that their profession be regulated and that a man named Şakir Ağa be appointed as their superintendent. This is the clearest evidence that they were not merely court jesters but a community of artisans fighting for their rights.

The Sycophant’s Job Description: Politeness and Unconditional Agreement

So, what were the rules of this official profession? The same document also lists the regulations a sycophant had to follow. These rules reveal the delicate balance they had to maintain:

• Entering the Presence: They were required to kiss the hem of a nobleman’s or statesman’s garment upon entering their presence.
• Seating Arrangement: Their designated spot was usually a small cushion near the door or by a railing.
• Manner of Speech: Their duty was to speak in a manner suited to the host’s temperament, to bring cheer to the assembly, and to scrupulously avoid foul language, profanity, or sorrowful topics.
• Absolute Affirmation: Perhaps the most crucial rule was this: Whatever the master of the house said, they had to affirm it “in an extraordinary manner” and never, ever contradict it.
• Financial Etiquette: They had to accept their gratuity (ihsan) discreetly and were forbidden from boasting about the amount to their colleagues.

A Price List for Violence: The Ottoman’s Unbelievable Sycophancy Tariff

The most astonishing and perhaps tragic part of the job was that sycophancy wasn’t just about words. A sycophant was a poor soul who had also turned his body into an instrument for his master’s amusement. There was an official price list for physical violence administered under the guise of “latife,” or jokes. This list proves just how dangerous the profession was:

• A flick on the nose: 20 para
• A slap on the face: 30 para
• Being rolled down the stairs: 180 para (If he was injured or broke a bone, the “joker” was responsible for medical expenses.)
• “Beard-quake” (having one’s beard pulled hard enough to make the teeth chatter): 60 para
• A heavy punch to the head: 40 para
• Having one’s face blackened with ink or charcoal: 37 para
• Having a hazelnut mouse enclosed in one’s mouth: 400 para
• The “Mastic Wheel” (being tied to a water wheel and spun in the water): 600 para (If the sycophant drowned during this “joke,” the master was responsible for the funeral expenses.)

While this list is unacceptable by today’s moral standards, it offers striking insights into the social structure and understanding of entertainment of that era.

The Clever Jester’s Revenge: The Anecdote that Made the Sultan Laugh

Of course, not all sycophants or jesters remained silent in the face of this treatment. The historian Peçevili İbrahim Efendi recounts a clever anecdote from the reign of Sultan Murad III, who was known for his fondness for jesters.

One day, a jester, after entertaining the Sultan and as he was about to receive his reward, said, “My Sultan, I do not wish for gold today, but for one hundred lashes!” The Sultan, astonished, asked why. “First, have fifty of them delivered, and then I shall explain,” the jester replied. After fifty painful lashes from the bastinado, the jester stopped the guards and said:

“Halt! I have a partner, and the remaining fifty lashes are his share.”

The Sultan, intrigued, asked who this partner was. The jester, smiling through his pain, answered:

“It is the palace gardener who summons me to your presence every day, my Sultan. Whenever I receive your gratuity, he stops me at the gate and says, ‘I am the one who called you, so half of it is mine!’ and forcibly takes half my money. So today, half of the lashes are rightfully his!”

The Sultan roared with laughter at this clever revenge. He gave the jester double the usual reward and had the greedy gardener laid down for his fifty lashes.

Final Thoughts

As we can see, the historical profession of “sycophancy” was far more profound, complex, and tragicomic than its modern meaning suggests. On one hand, we have a community of artisans petitioning the Sultan to protect their professional dignity; on the other, people enduring unimaginable treatment for the sake of entertainment. This story is a powerful reminder of the journey of words and professions through time, and of how much societies can change.

Bibliography

Koçu, Reşad Ekrem. (1960). Tarihimizde Garip Vakalar. Doğan Kitap.