Journal Articles by Kaya Şahin
A circumcision celebration in the summer of 1582, organized by the Ottoman ruler Murād III (r. 15... more A circumcision celebration in the summer of 1582, organized by the Ottoman ruler Murād III (r. 1574-1595) for his son Meḥmed, is one of the most extensively recorded events in early modern Ottoman history. Contemporary and near-contemporary testimonies include archival sources, odes, event-based narratives, illustrated accounts, passages in regnal and universal histories, and several descriptions by European observers. The celebration occurred amid tensions fueled by ongoing warfare, rising prices, elite factionalism, and apocalyptic anxieties. It also coincided with a time of exceptional cultural productivity at the Ottoman palace and among the Ottoman literati. This article discusses the celebration's treatment in event-based narratives, illustrated accounts, and regnal and universal histories from the period, to emphasize the multiplicity of approaches to the writing and recording of history. Ottoman works of a historical nature defy easy categorizations such as official history or court history; they also blur compartmentalized notions of history, art history, and literature that emerged in the nineteenth century. Ottoman historical writing, like any other historical tradition, was closer to a meeting ground, where authors and patrons gathered and competed, than a common ground where consent and hegemony were supposedly produced. Authorial agency was crucial in creating demand, fostering competition, and building reputation; moreover, authors and patrons had to negotiate a multiplicity of languages, linguistic registers, styles, and techniques, some of which had been bequeathed by past generations, whereas others had been invented or reinvented recently.
MOCK BATTLES AND REENACTMENTS OF recent military victories; skills demonstrations by strongmen an... more MOCK BATTLES AND REENACTMENTS OF recent military victories; skills demonstrations by strongmen and soldiers; lavish gifts presented to the sultan by Ottoman officials and foreign envoys; members of the elite parading in full regalia; banquets and public feasts; jugglers and buffoons entertaining the spectators; fireworks illuminating the nightthese, and much more, could be observed at the Hippodrome of Constantinople in the summer of 1530, during a twenty-day celebration on the occasion of the circumcision of three Ottoman princes: Selīm, Me _ hmed, and Mu _ s _ taf a. 1 The ceremony brought Süleym an I (r. 1520-1566), members of the ruling elite, and city dwellers together within the same ceremonial space. 2 It served as an occasion for the public performance of po-This project began nearly ten years ago, during conversations with Cornell H. Fleischer. I presented my work on Ottoman ceremonies at
This article revisits Anthony Sherley's Relation of his trauels into Persia (1613), reading the t... more This article revisits Anthony Sherley's Relation of his trauels into Persia (1613), reading the text within the larger context of early modern Eurasia. It highlights the ways in which at least one European traveler sought and found not alterity, but commensurable structures, social roles, political ideologies, and personal motivations in the Islamic polities to the east and emphasized these connections to his European readers. Furthermore, in making the case that Sherley's narrative is informed by local actors in Safavid Persia, it maintains that a certain level of Eastern knowledge is present within Western texts from this period and awaits scholarly excavation.
The Muslim conquest of Constantinople was seen in various apocalyptic traditions as one of the po... more The Muslim conquest of Constantinople was seen in various apocalyptic traditions as one of the portents of the end. An Ottoman mystic, Ahmed Bî-cân, gave voice to these apocalyptic fears and expectations soon after the Ottoman conquest in 1453 CE. His apocalyptic narrative, expressed in the Turkish vernacular, placed the Ottoman enterprise within the final tribulations and hailed the sultan, Mehmed II, as an apocalyptic warrior. This endorsement heralded the emergence of a new imperial ideology in the sixteenth century: Ottoman history became an important component of universal history, while Ottoman sultans were attributed cosmic responsibilities and messianic abilities.
Book Chapters by Kaya Şahin
This chapter revolves around the autograph mecmua of Celâlzâde Sâlih (c.1495-1565), compiled by t... more This chapter revolves around the autograph mecmua of Celâlzâde Sâlih (c.1495-1565), compiled by the author towards the end of his life as a selection from his own writings, both literary and epistolary. The Süleymaniye manuscript (called as such to differentiate it from another copy, as discussed below), meant to be a representative summary of the author/compiler's oeuvre, begins with letters sent by Sâlih to the sultan, various officials, and acquaintances (1b-21b; another letter is appended at the end of the following section, in 34a). It continues with a few panegyrics offered to grandees, and a selection of poetry (21b-33a). Next comes an account of the 1532-33 campaign against the Habsburgs, the so-called Alaman seferi (35a-82a). The Süleymaniye manuscript ends with a group of letters sent by Sâlih to Prince Bayezid (d.1561) and two members of his household concerning a translation project commissioned by the prince (82b-88b). The mecmua affords testimony to themes such as the large-scale institutional and cultural transformations of the sixteenth century, the ideological and cultural functions of history-writing, and networks of patronage and solidarity.
Books by Kaya Şahin
A full life and times biography of Süleyman, the longest reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
... more A full life and times biography of Süleyman, the longest reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Süleyman, who ruled the Ottoman Empire between 1520 and 1566, was a globally recognized figure during his lifetime. His domain extended from Hungary to Iran, and from the Crimea to North Africa and the Indian Ocean. The wealth of his treasury, the strength of his armies, and his personality were much discussed by historians, poets, courtiers, diplomats and publics across Eurasia.
Süleyman was engaged in bitter rivalries with the Catholic Habsburgs in Europe and the Shiite Safavids in the Middle East. He presided over a multilingual and multireligious empire that promised peace and prosperity to its subjects. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire became a truly global power. Imperial governance expanded considerably, and the law was emphasized as the main bond between the ruler and the ruled. Süleyman's prolific poetic output, his frequent appearances during public ceremonies, his charity, and his patronage of arts and architecture enhanced his reputation as a universal ruler with a well-rounded character.
Behind the public façade of might and glory, Süleyman led a complicated life. He grew up with an overbearing father whose legacy was both an advantage and a burden. Defying established practice, he married a concubine named Hürrem whose love and affection became a true refuge. Towards the end of his life, he had to overcome both debilitating sickness and the agitations of his sons to remain on the throne.
Nearly half a millennium after his death, the life of Süleyman has been obscured by romanticized and exoticized narratives. Based on original sources in multiple languages, Peerless among Princes narrates Süleyman's achievements as well as his failures. What emerges is a compelling account of a ruler, his family, his close associates, and the Ottoman imperial project itself during the transformational sixteenth century.
This volume provides the first survey of the unexplored connections between Machiavelli’s work an... more This volume provides the first survey of the unexplored connections between Machiavelli’s work and the Islamic world, running from the Arabic roots of The Prince to its first translations into Ottoman Turkish and Arabic. It investigates comparative descriptions of non-European peoples, Renaissance representations of Muḥammad and the Ottoman military discipline, a Jesuit treatise in Persian for a Mughal emperor, peculiar readers from Brazil to India, and the parallel lives of Machiavelli and the bureaucrat Celālzāde Muṣṭafá. Ten distinguished scholars analyse the backgrounds, circulation and reception of Machiavelli’s writings, focusing on many aspects of the mutual exchange of political theories and grammars between East and West. A significant contribution to attempts by current scholarship to challenge any rigid separation within Eurasia, this volume restores a sense of the global spreading of books, ideas and men in the past.
1 Introduction: Re-Orienting Machiavelli
Lucio Biasiori and Giuseppe Marcocci
Part One – From Readings to Readers
2 Islamic Roots of Machiavelli’s Thought? The Prince and the Kitāb sirr al-asrār from Baghdad to Florence and Back
Lucio Biasiori
3 Turkophilia and Religion: Machiavelli, Giovio and the Sixteenth-Century Debate about War
Vincenzo Lavenia
4 Machiavelli and the Antiquarians
Carlo Ginzburg
Part Two – Religion and Empires
5 Roman Prophet or Muslim Caesar: Muḥammad the Lawgiver before and after Machiavelli
Pier Mattia Tommasino
6 Mediterranean Exemplars: Jesuit Political Lessons for a Mughal Emperor
Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam
7 Machiavelli and the Islamic Empire: Tropical Readers from Brazil to India (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)
Giuseppe Marcocci
Part Three – Beyond Orientalism
8 A Tale of Two Chancellors: Machiavelli, Celālzāde Muṣṭafā, and Connected Political Cultures in the Cinquecento/the Hijri Tenth Century
Kaya Şahin
9 Machiavelli Enters the Sublime Porte: The Introduction of The Prince to the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman World
Nergiz Yılmaz Aydoğdu
10 Translating Machiavelli in Egypt: The Prince and the Shaping of a New Political Vocabulary in the Nineteenth-Century Arab Mediterranean
Elisabetta Benigni
Podcasts, interviews, etc by Kaya Şahin
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Journal Articles by Kaya Şahin
Book Chapters by Kaya Şahin
Books by Kaya Şahin
Süleyman, who ruled the Ottoman Empire between 1520 and 1566, was a globally recognized figure during his lifetime. His domain extended from Hungary to Iran, and from the Crimea to North Africa and the Indian Ocean. The wealth of his treasury, the strength of his armies, and his personality were much discussed by historians, poets, courtiers, diplomats and publics across Eurasia.
Süleyman was engaged in bitter rivalries with the Catholic Habsburgs in Europe and the Shiite Safavids in the Middle East. He presided over a multilingual and multireligious empire that promised peace and prosperity to its subjects. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire became a truly global power. Imperial governance expanded considerably, and the law was emphasized as the main bond between the ruler and the ruled. Süleyman's prolific poetic output, his frequent appearances during public ceremonies, his charity, and his patronage of arts and architecture enhanced his reputation as a universal ruler with a well-rounded character.
Behind the public façade of might and glory, Süleyman led a complicated life. He grew up with an overbearing father whose legacy was both an advantage and a burden. Defying established practice, he married a concubine named Hürrem whose love and affection became a true refuge. Towards the end of his life, he had to overcome both debilitating sickness and the agitations of his sons to remain on the throne.
Nearly half a millennium after his death, the life of Süleyman has been obscured by romanticized and exoticized narratives. Based on original sources in multiple languages, Peerless among Princes narrates Süleyman's achievements as well as his failures. What emerges is a compelling account of a ruler, his family, his close associates, and the Ottoman imperial project itself during the transformational sixteenth century.
1 Introduction: Re-Orienting Machiavelli
Lucio Biasiori and Giuseppe Marcocci
Part One – From Readings to Readers
2 Islamic Roots of Machiavelli’s Thought? The Prince and the Kitāb sirr al-asrār from Baghdad to Florence and Back
Lucio Biasiori
3 Turkophilia and Religion: Machiavelli, Giovio and the Sixteenth-Century Debate about War
Vincenzo Lavenia
4 Machiavelli and the Antiquarians
Carlo Ginzburg
Part Two – Religion and Empires
5 Roman Prophet or Muslim Caesar: Muḥammad the Lawgiver before and after Machiavelli
Pier Mattia Tommasino
6 Mediterranean Exemplars: Jesuit Political Lessons for a Mughal Emperor
Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam
7 Machiavelli and the Islamic Empire: Tropical Readers from Brazil to India (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)
Giuseppe Marcocci
Part Three – Beyond Orientalism
8 A Tale of Two Chancellors: Machiavelli, Celālzāde Muṣṭafā, and Connected Political Cultures in the Cinquecento/the Hijri Tenth Century
Kaya Şahin
9 Machiavelli Enters the Sublime Porte: The Introduction of The Prince to the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman World
Nergiz Yılmaz Aydoğdu
10 Translating Machiavelli in Egypt: The Prince and the Shaping of a New Political Vocabulary in the Nineteenth-Century Arab Mediterranean
Elisabetta Benigni
Podcasts, interviews, etc by Kaya Şahin
Süleyman, who ruled the Ottoman Empire between 1520 and 1566, was a globally recognized figure during his lifetime. His domain extended from Hungary to Iran, and from the Crimea to North Africa and the Indian Ocean. The wealth of his treasury, the strength of his armies, and his personality were much discussed by historians, poets, courtiers, diplomats and publics across Eurasia.
Süleyman was engaged in bitter rivalries with the Catholic Habsburgs in Europe and the Shiite Safavids in the Middle East. He presided over a multilingual and multireligious empire that promised peace and prosperity to its subjects. During his reign, the Ottoman Empire became a truly global power. Imperial governance expanded considerably, and the law was emphasized as the main bond between the ruler and the ruled. Süleyman's prolific poetic output, his frequent appearances during public ceremonies, his charity, and his patronage of arts and architecture enhanced his reputation as a universal ruler with a well-rounded character.
Behind the public façade of might and glory, Süleyman led a complicated life. He grew up with an overbearing father whose legacy was both an advantage and a burden. Defying established practice, he married a concubine named Hürrem whose love and affection became a true refuge. Towards the end of his life, he had to overcome both debilitating sickness and the agitations of his sons to remain on the throne.
Nearly half a millennium after his death, the life of Süleyman has been obscured by romanticized and exoticized narratives. Based on original sources in multiple languages, Peerless among Princes narrates Süleyman's achievements as well as his failures. What emerges is a compelling account of a ruler, his family, his close associates, and the Ottoman imperial project itself during the transformational sixteenth century.
1 Introduction: Re-Orienting Machiavelli
Lucio Biasiori and Giuseppe Marcocci
Part One – From Readings to Readers
2 Islamic Roots of Machiavelli’s Thought? The Prince and the Kitāb sirr al-asrār from Baghdad to Florence and Back
Lucio Biasiori
3 Turkophilia and Religion: Machiavelli, Giovio and the Sixteenth-Century Debate about War
Vincenzo Lavenia
4 Machiavelli and the Antiquarians
Carlo Ginzburg
Part Two – Religion and Empires
5 Roman Prophet or Muslim Caesar: Muḥammad the Lawgiver before and after Machiavelli
Pier Mattia Tommasino
6 Mediterranean Exemplars: Jesuit Political Lessons for a Mughal Emperor
Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam
7 Machiavelli and the Islamic Empire: Tropical Readers from Brazil to India (Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries)
Giuseppe Marcocci
Part Three – Beyond Orientalism
8 A Tale of Two Chancellors: Machiavelli, Celālzāde Muṣṭafā, and Connected Political Cultures in the Cinquecento/the Hijri Tenth Century
Kaya Şahin
9 Machiavelli Enters the Sublime Porte: The Introduction of The Prince to the Eighteenth-Century Ottoman World
Nergiz Yılmaz Aydoğdu
10 Translating Machiavelli in Egypt: The Prince and the Shaping of a New Political Vocabulary in the Nineteenth-Century Arab Mediterranean
Elisabetta Benigni
Kaya Şahin (an early modern Ottoman historian), Julia Schleck (an early modern English literary critic), and Justin Stearns (a historian of the medieval and early modern Islamic Middle East) met at a 2010 NEH Summer Seminar designed to bring together in conversation European and Middle Eastern historians, art historians, and literary critics. They continue that conversation here by reflecting on how premodern scholars might continue to build on Said’s work in ways that recognize the limitations of the original work and productively adapt its insights to earlier texts and histories.