A History of Ottoman Political Thought up to the Early Nineteenth Century (Handbook of Oriental Studies, 125)

In A History of Ottoman Political Thought up to the Early Nineteenth Century , Marinos Sariyannis offers a survey of Ottoman political texts, examined in a book-length study for the first time. From the last glimpses of gazi ideology and the first instances of Persian political philosophy in the fifteenth century until the apologists of Western-style military reform in the early nineteenth century, the author studies a multitude of theories and views, focusing on an identification of ideological trends rather than a simple enumeration of texts and authors. At the same time, the book offers analytical summaries of texts otherwise difficult to find in English. Contents Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration and Citations Introduction 1 What Is Ottoman Political Thought? 2 Scope and Aims: the Quest for Innovation 3 A Note on “Modernity”—Early or Not 4 Trends and Currents: for a Thematic Description of Ottoman Political Thought Chapter 1 The Empire in the Making: Construction and Early Critiques 1 Opposition to Imperial Policies as an Indicator of Gazi Political Ideas 1.1 Yahşi Fakih and Aşıkpaşazade 1.2 Apocalyptic Literature as a Vehicle for Opposition 2 The Introduction of Imperial Ideals 2.1 Ahmedi and Other Persianate Works 2.2 The Main Themes of Early Ottoman “Mirrors for Princes” Texts 3 Shifting Means of Legitimization Chapter 2 “Political Philosophy” and the Moralist Tradition 1 Works of Ethico-political Philosophy: from Amasi to Kınalızade 2 Moral Philosophy as Political Theory 2.1 A Political Economy 2.2 The Beginning and Principles of Government 2.3 The adab Element in ahlak Literature 3 The Afterlife of a Genre Chapter 3 The Imperial Heyday: the Formation of the Ottoman System and Reactions to It 1 The Basis of the Ottoman Synthesis: Ebussuud and the Reception of Ibn Taymiyya 1.1 Dede Cöngi Efendi and the Legitimization of Kanun 1.2 Between State and Legal Thought 2 A New Legitimacy 3 Reactions to the Imperial Vision 3.1 The Ulema Opposition to the Süleymanic Synthesis 4 The Iranian Tradition Continued: Bureaucrats, Sufis, and Scholars 4.1 The Scribal Tradition 4.2 Celalzade and the Glorification of the Empire 5 Lütfi Pasha and the Beginning of the Ottoman “Mirror for Princes” 6 As a Conclusion: the Ideas at Hand, the Forces at Work Chapter 4 “Mirrors for Princes”: the Decline Theorists 1 Ottoman Authors and the “Decline” Paradigm 1.1 In Lütfi Pasha’s Footsteps 2 Mustafa Ali and “the Politics of Cultural Despair” 2.1 Innovations, Abuses, Disorders: the Ottoman World According to Ali 2.2 Ali as a Landmark of Ottoman Thought 3 Ali’s Contemporaries, Facing the Millenium 3.1 Hasan Kâfi Akhisari, Üveysi Chapter 5 The “Golden Age” as a Political Agenda: the Reform Literature 1 The Canonization of Decline 1.1 “Constitutionalism” and Charismatic Rulership 2 The Landmarks of Declinist Literature 2.1 Murad IV’s Counselors: Koçi Bey and His Circle 2.2 Decline and Redress 2.3 The Sultan and His Government 3 Administration Manuals: an Ottoman Genre 3.1 Sanctifying Janissary and Landholding Regulations: the Early Seventeenth Century 4 The Afterlife of the Genre: Late Seventeenth-Century Manuals 4.1 Parallel Texts: Eyyubî Efendi, Kavânîn-i osmanî, Dımışkî Chapter 6 The “Sunna-Minded” Trend 1 The Controversy of the Century? The Kadızadelis 2 Beyond the Social History of the Controversy 2.1 Münir-i Belgradi and Two Works for Two Distinct Audiences 2.2 Imam Birgivi as the “Predecessor” 2.3 Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong 3 Ottoman Decline à la Sunna 3.1 Fighting Innovation through Consultation 3.2 Who Is to Blame? Ulema, Non-Muslims and Evil Merchants 4 Political Practice and Political Thought 5 Conclusion Chapter 7 Khaldunist Philosophy: Innovation Justified 1 The Social and Ideological Struggles: between Viziers and Janissaries 2 Kâtib Çelebi and Ottoman Khaldunism 2.1 A Theory of State and Society 2.2 Kâtib Çelebi’s Other Works: World Order as Diversity 3 Kâtib Çelebi’s Immediate Influence: the Conciliation with Change 4 Na’ima: Stage Theory in the Service of Peace 4.1 Peace as a Means to Avoid Decline 4.2 Optimism Revisited: the Ulema as Destroyers of Peace 4.3 Social Discipline and Political Economy 5 Peace and Change: Preparing an Ideological Environment Chapter 8 The Eighteenth Century: the Traditionalists 1 The Eighteenth Century and Its Intellectual Climate: on Ottoman“ Traditionalism” 2 Defterdar and His Circle 2.1 “Mirrors for Princes” Revisited 3 The Last of the Traditionalists 3.1 Traditional Forms, Reformist Content 4 Traditional Reformers: Rivers in Confluence 4.1 On the Eve of Nizam-i Cedid: Vasıf, Ratıb Efendi, Abdullah Halim 4.2 Religious Zeal in the Service of Reform: Emin Behic and Ömer Faik Efendi 4.3 An Author in the Crossroads: Şanizade’s Views on History and Politics Chapter 9 The Eighteenth Century: the Westernizers 1 The Precursors of Nizam-i Cedid: İbrahim Müteferrika and the Dialogue with the West 1.1 Westernization: the Early Proposals 1.2 Ahmed Resmi Efendi and the Balance of Powers 2 Selim III and the Reform Debate 2.1 For or against Reform? “Sekbanbaşı” and Kuşmanî’s Libels 2.2 Janissary Views in the Mirror of Selimian Propaganda 3 The Last Round: from Selim III to Mahmud II 4 The Tanzimat as Epilogue Conclusion Towards an Ottoman Conceptual History 1 Politics 2 State 3 The Ottoman Political Vocabulary and Its Development 3.1 Justice (adalet) 3.2 Law and “The Old Law”(kanun, kanun-i kadim) 3.3 Innovation (bid’at) 3.4 World Order (nizam-i alem) 3.5 Keeping One’s Place (hadd) 3.6 Consultation (meşveret) 4 Some General Remarks 4.1 Ottoman Political Ideas in Context Appendix 1 Historical Timeline Appendix 2 Samples of Translated Texts Bibliography Indices Personal Names Place Names, Subjects, Terms Titles of Works In "A History of Ottoman Political Thought Up to the Early Nineteenth Century," Marinos Sariyannis offers a survey of Ottoman political texts, examined in a book-length study for the first time. From the last glimpses of Ghaza ideology and the first instances of Persian political philosophy in the fifteenth century till the apologists of Western-style military reform in the early nineteenth century, the author studies a multitude of theories and views, focusing on an identification of ideological trends rather than a simple enumeration of texts and authors. At the same time, it offers analytical summaries of texts otherwise difficult to find in English