Manas Family

The Manas family was an Ottoman-Armenian family associated with court art, diplomacy, music, and cultural life in Istanbul and Europe. The family is believed to have originated near Kayseri in Cappadocia and settled in Istanbul during the sixteenth century. It later became particularly prominent through a succession of artists and officials connected with the Ottoman imperial court and diplomatic service. The earliest documented family member is Rafael Manas, who lived from 1710 to 1780. He studied in Italy before returning to the Ottoman Empire, where he worked as an artist for the courts of Osman III, Mahmud I, and Mustafa III. His portraits of Ottoman men and women are held by the Topkapi Museum. Rafael was buried in the Armenian cemetery at Edirnekapi, and his son continued the family's artistic activity. A later Manas is also recorded as having served as chief court artist during the reign of Abdulhamid I. The wider family subsequently adopted Manas as its surname. During the nineteenth century, members of the family combined artistic work with diplomatic appointments. Zenop Manas received an education in Italy and served in the 1840s as first secretary and interpreter at the Ottoman Embassy in Vienna. His sons Rupen and Sebuh were sent to Paris by Sultan Mahmud II for artistic training. Rupen became chief interpreter at the Ottoman Embassy in Paris in 1847 and received the Mecidiye medal in 1854. He also produced an oil self-portrait that was displayed at the Sublime Porte. Sebuh Manas, born in 1816, worked at the Ottoman mission in Turin from 1858 and remained there for almost three decades. He became a leading portraitist for Sultan Abdulmecid I and Sultan Abdulaziz and received the Mecidiye medal in 1855. The family's portraits were not limited to the palace. Because Rupen and Sebuh were associated with Ottoman diplomatic missions, their imperial portraits were circulated to Ottoman embassies and other official locations in Europe. Jozef Manas, born in 1835 and deceased in 1916, is generally identified as the last court painter of the family. He was the son of Mgirdic, a brother of Zenop, and worked during the late Ottoman period, including the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II. The family’s later cultural significance is strongly associated with Edgar Manas, born in Istanbul in 1875. Educated in Italy, he initially studied commerce but pursued piano, composition, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue. He worked with the Italian composer Luigi Bottazzo and later developed a body of piano and choral music influenced by both European classical traditions and contemporary French music. His early published works included a piano Minuet-Valse, and he conducted the Gallia choral group in Istanbul. That work earned him the French Order of Officier d’académie. Edgar Manas is particularly remembered for his role in the Turkish National Anthem. In 1932, the Turkish Republic commissioned him to harmonize and orchestrate the melody composed by Zeki Üngör for İstiklal Marşı. He also composed and arranged Turkish and Armenian-related musical works, including Vatan Şarkısı, Five Turkish Folk Songs, and Turkish Folk Dances. His manuscripts are preserved in substantial part at the Charents Museum of Literature and Arts of Armenia. His pupils included Ottoman palace musicians, Turkish music theorists and composers such as Hüseyin Sadeddin Arel and Suphi Ezgi, and Armenian composers including Ara Bartevian and Koharik Gazarossian. Edgar Manas died in Istanbul in 1964. The Manas family is therefore best understood not as a commercial brand but as a multigenerational Ottoman-Armenian cultural and professional lineage. Its historical importance rests on the family's contribution to imperial portraiture, diplomatic administration, cross-border cultural exchange, Ottoman court music, and the musical modernization of Turkey and the Armenian community.

The Manas family was an Ottoman-Armenian lineage associated with Istanbul, the Ottoman court, European diplomatic missions, and musical institutions. The family is believed to have originated in the Cappadocian region near Kayseri and to have settled in Istanbul in the sixteenth century. Its best-documented members worked across several generations as painters, interpreters, embassy officials, composers, conductors, and teachers. Rafael Manas, born in 1710, is the earliest known member. After studying in Italy, he returned to the Ottoman Empire and became a court artist under Osman III, Mahmud I, and Mustafa III. His portraits are preserved at the Topkapi Museum. His son also continued as a painter, while later records identify a Manas as a chief artist at the court of Abdulhamid I. The family's subsequent use of Manas as a surname appears to have developed from this artistic lineage. In the nineteenth century, the family gained prominence under the reigns of Mahmud II, Abdulmecid I, Abdulaziz, and Abdulhamid II. Zenop Manas studied in Italy and served as first secretary and interpreter at the Ottoman Embassy in Vienna during the 1840s. His son Rupen became chief interpreter at the Ottoman Embassy in Paris in 1847. Rupen was also sent to Paris for artistic training, received a Mecidiye medal in 1854, and produced a portrait in oils that was displayed at the Sublime Porte. Zenop's other son, Sebuh Manas, was born in 1816 and likewise received artistic training in Paris at the direction of Mahmud II. From 1858, Sebuh worked at the Ottoman mission in Turin for nearly thirty years. He became a principal portraitist for Abdulmecid I and Abdulaziz and received the Mecidiye medal in 1855. The brothers' artistic and diplomatic positions helped Ottoman imperial portraits circulate to embassies and official institutions across Europe. Jozef Manas, born in 1835 and deceased in 1916, was the son of Mgirdic, Zenop's brother, and is generally described as the final court painter of the family. The family's later legacy moved increasingly toward music. Edgar Manas was born in Istanbul on April 12, 1875. He was sent to Italy at thirteen and studied commerce at Moorat-Raphael College, while also taking piano lessons in Venice. After returning to Istanbul in 1894, he went back to Italy and settled in Padua, where he studied harmony, counterpoint, and fugue with Luigi Bottazzo. He later continued his musical development in Constantinople through study of classical composers and contemporary French music. Edgar produced piano music in a style influenced by Chopin, including Minuet-Valse, published in Constantinople in 1905. That year he conducted the Gallia choral group at a concert held at the Salle de fêtes de l'Union française and received the French government's Order of Officier d’académie. In 1912 he met Komitas, although the two composers followed different aesthetic approaches. Edgar's most prominent public commission came in 1932, when the Turkish Republic asked him to harmonize and orchestrate Zeki Üngör's melody for İstiklal Marşı, the Turkish National Anthem. Edgar's subsequent work included the choral Vatan Şarkısı, performed in 1933 by 160 singers, the 1934 publication Five Turkish Folk Songs, and the 1935 piano composition Turkish Folk Dances, issued in Paris. He taught members of the Ottoman palace as well as Turkish and Armenian musicians. A large part of his manuscripts is held by the Charents Museum of Literature and Arts of Armenia. He died in Istanbul on March 9, 1964, and was buried in the Armenian Catholic cemetery in Şişli. The family did not operate as a modern incorporated company or consumer-facing commercial brand. Its historical identity instead derives from a multigenerational body of court appointments, diplomatic roles, artistic commissions, musical works, and educational influence.

• 1964

  Death of Edgar Manas

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edgar Manas died in Istanbul on March 9, 1964.

• 1932

  National anthem orchestration commission

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Turkish Republic commissioned Edgar Manas to harmonize and orchestrate the melody of İstiklal Marşı.

• 1905

  Edgar Manas publishes Minuet-Valse

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edgar Manas's piano composition Minuet-Valse was published in Constantinople.

• 1858

  Sebuh begins service in Turin

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sebuh Manas began working at the Ottoman diplomatic mission in Turin, where he remained for almost three decades.

• 1855

  Sebuh receives the Mecidiye medal

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sebuh Manas received a Mecidiye medal one year after his brother Rupen.

• 1854

  Rupen receives the Mecidiye medal

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Rupen Manas received a Mecidiye medal for his service.

• 1847

  Rupen Manas becomes chief interpreter in Paris

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Rupen Manas was appointed chief interpreter at the Ottoman Embassy in Paris and also pursued court-sponsored artistic training.

• 1710

  Birth of Rafael Manas

  [1]Manas familyen.wikipedia.org

  Rafael Manas, the earliest documented member of the family, was born.

A historically significant Ottoman-Armenian family tradition spanning imperial portraiture, diplomatic service, music composition, orchestration, and cultural education.

• Court art

  Imperial portraits

  The family produced portraits for Ottoman rulers and the imperial court. Works by Rafael, Rupen, Sebuh, and Jozef Manas formed part of the visual representation of Ottoman sovereigns and officials. Portraits associated with the family were also distributed through Ottoman embassies and diplomatic institutions in Europe.

• Piano composition · 1905

  Minuet-Valse

  Edgar Manas's Minuet-Valse was among his early piano compositions, written in a style influenced by Chopin and published in Constantinople in 1905.

• National anthem arrangement · 1932

  İstiklal Marşı orchestration

  Edgar Manas harmonized and orchestrated the melody of Turkey's national anthem, İstiklal Marşı, after receiving a commission from the Turkish Republic in 1932. The melody had been composed by Zeki Üngör.

• Choral composition · 1933

  Vatan Şarkısı

  Vatan Şarkısı, or National Song, was a choral work by Edgar Manas. It was performed in Istanbul in 1933 by a choir of 160 members.

• Folk-song arrangements · 1934

  Five Turkish Folk Songs

  Published in 1934, this collection presented Edgar Manas's arrangements of five Turkish folk songs and reflected his engagement with Turkish musical materials.

• Piano composition · 1935

  Turkish Folk Dances

  Turkish Folk Dances was a piano work composed by Edgar Manas and published in Paris by Editions Maurice Senard in 1935.

• 1932

  Commission to arrange the Turkish National AnthemOther

  Background

  The newly established Turkish Republic required a harmonized and orchestrated version of the melody composed by Zeki Üngör for İstiklal Marşı.

  Action taken

  Edgar Manas was commissioned to provide the anthem's harmony and orchestration.

  Aftermath

  The commission became Edgar Manas's most widely recognized contribution to Turkish musical culture.

  Source

1. 1Manas familyen.wikipedia.org