Continuity and change in the British diplomatic service in the Levant: The ‘Levantine’ question and the lure of antiquities

Abstract In this article, we examine the organization of the British diplomatic service in the Ottoman Empire and analyse its transition from a prestigious, privately financed, highly individualized public office to a state-funded, but fragmented and poorly paid body. We survey the idiosyncratic character of the diplomatic apparatus set up by the Levant Company to serve its business pursuits, infiltrate local society and obtain political favours. In 1825 the Foreign Office replaced the Levant Company officers with public servants who had no ties or affinities with Levantine society. However, to obtain antiquities for the British Museum, the Foreign Office had to turn once again to British Levantines. Based on our earlier published work, 1 as well as recent unpublished archival research, this paper explains how the collecting of antiquities in the Ottoman Empire relied entirely on the British diplomatic service and its Levantine connection.