The late Ottoman Empire was characterised by centralising reforms which aimed to draw the periphery closer to the imperial centre. Successive losses of Ottoman territory stirred concerns about the empire’s long-term sovereignty and inspired the creation of photograph albums and pavilions to promote a carefully curated image of the Ottoman state abroad—what has been termed the “Ottoman self-portrait.” Imperial confidence was also shaken by the rise in Constantinople of foreign schools administered by Western nations. Co-existing with these was the Ottoman education system, which sought to standardise religious instruction and an imperial identity. The Imperial Tribal School opened in 1892 to educate the sons of Arab tribal notables from across the empire but inadvertently exposed deficiencies of the state and its civilising mission as the periphery was brought closer. Many graduates of schools in Constantinople would later use their knowledge of bureaucracy, communications, and military strategy to undermine the state once they had returned home. Those who returned to Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul oversaw the Arab Army’s revolt during WWI, rose to power in Mandate Iraq, and governed the country in the years following independence. This chapter examines the mediation of tribal Arab cultural capital in Constantinople and the impact this had on legitimacy and mobility in the empire and abroad.