Bureaucrat and Intellectual in the Ottoman Empire: The Historian Mustafa Âli (1541–1600)

400 Pages·1955·75.63 MB·English

by  Cornell H. Fleischer

BUREAUCRAT
AND INTELLECTUAL
IN THE OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
PRINCETON STUDIES ON THE NEAR EAST
BUREAUCRAT
AND INTELLECTUAL
IN THE OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
THE HISTORIAN
MUSTAFA ALI
(1541-1600)
CORNELL H. FLEISCHER
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1986 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Guildford, Surrey
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will
be found on the last printed page of this book
ISBN 0-691-05464-9
I5Ublication of this book was made possible by a grant from
the Publications Program of the National Endowment
for the Humanities, an independent Federal Agency
This book has been composed in Linotron Times Roman
Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books
are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen
for strength and durability
Printed in the United States of America by Princeton
University Press, Princeton, New Jersey
iTHAFiYE
Çocuklugumu mutlu kilan,
ilim sevgisini uyandiran pederim
Hugh W. Fleischer in
aziz hatirasina ithaf edilmi§tir
To the memory of my father,
a man who loved learning

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
List of Abbreviations xi
Note on Usage xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction 3
PART I. AN OTTOMAN LIFE
Chapter One. The Making of an Ottoman (1541-63/948-70) 13
Chapter Two. The Poet at the Gates (1563-77/970-84) 41
Chapter Three. To the East (1577-82/984-90) 70
Chapter Four. Toward the Millennium: War, Apocalypse, and
History (1583-92/991-1000) 109
Chapter Five. The Final Years (1592-1600/1000-1008) 143
PART II. OTTOMAN LAW, OTTOMAN CAREER
Chapter Six. Kanun-Consciousness in the Sixteenth Century 191
Chapter Seven. Ali on the Ottoman Career Paths 201
Chapter Eight. Bureaucracy and Bureaucratic Consciousness 214
PART III. THE MAKING OF OTTOMAN HISTORY
Chapter Nine. Ottoman Historical Writing in the Sixteenth Century 235
Chapter Ten. Muslim and Ottoman 253
Chapter Eleven. The Turkic and Mongol Heritage 273
Chapter Twelve. The Reign of Murad III 293
Appendix A. The Structure of the Ottoman Financial Establishment
in the Sixteenth Century 311
Appendix B. Chronology 315
Glossary 319
Bibliography 333
Index 345

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page 1: Mustafa Ali. Line drawing by Carolyn Brown, based on detail from NUS-
RET, 43b. Ali's signature is from the colophon of NADlR, dated December 1568-
January 1569/Receb 976.
Following page 142:
Sultan Siileyman the Lawgiver (reg. 1520-66) in 1559; engraving by MelchiorLor-
ichs. From Semavi Eyice, " Avrupali bir Ressamin Gozii ile Kanuni Sultan Siiley-
man," in KanuniArmagani (Ankara, 1970), plate 10.
Grand Vezir Sokollu Mehmed Pa§a (1505-79), from life. From Friedrich Kenner,
"Die Portratssammlung des Erzherzogs Ferdinand von Tirol," in Jahrbuch der
Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhochsten Kaiserhauses 19 (Prague, Vi-
enna, and Leipzig, 1898): 6-146, plate 19, figure 4. Photograph courtesy of Oster-
reichische Nationalbibliothek,
Sultan Selim II (reg. 1566-74) observes an Imperial Council session chaired by So-
kollu. From Seyyid Lokman, §ehname-i Selim Han, MSTKS A. 3595, 11a.
Sultan Murad III (reg. 1574-95) with Gazanfer Aga and Hoca Sa'duddin. From
NUSRET, 249b.
Comet over Istanbul, November 12, 1577. From NUSRET, 5b.
Sinan Pa§a, Koca (d. 1596). From Osterreiehische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 8615,
fol. 19.
Lala Mustafa Pa§a (d. 1580). From Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 8615,
fol. 20.
Lala Mustafa Pa§a's departure from Istanbul to LIsktidar, 5 April 1578/27 Muharrem
986. From NUSRET, 32b.
Lala Mustafa Pa§a fetes the Janissary commanders at tzmid. From NUSRET, 34b.
Ali and Lala Mustafa Pa§a at the tomb of Rumi, Konya. From NUSRET, 36a.
Yusuf Beg, sancak begi of Kars, and his Kurds deliver Kizilba§ heads to Lala Mus-
tafa Pa§a. From NUSRET, 43b.
Heads arrive at Ardahan. From NUSRET, 62b.
The Ottoman forces before Tiflis. From NUSRET, 80a.
Army encampment. From NUSRET, 93a.
Conquest of §eki, in §irvan. From NUSRET, 99b.
Mustafa Pa§a, governor-general of Mara§ (Zulkadriye), receives imperial treasure
for campaign expenses. From NUSRET, 102a.
Ottoman dignitaries perform Friday prayer in newly conquered Ere§, 19 September
1578/16 Receb 986. From NUSRET, 105b.
Campaign council for the disposition of §irvan. From NUSRET, 106a.
˜ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Lala Mustafa Pa§a receives the §amhal, ruler of Dagistan. From NUSRET, 118b.
Ottoman forces pillage and burn Safavi Iraq. From NUSRET, 154a.
Winter quarters, Erzurum, 1578-79. From NUSRET, 196a.
Sultan Murad III. From Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 8615, fol. 15.
Ibrahim Pa§a, Damad (d. 1601). From Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod.
8615, fol. 23.
Han of the Crimea, Mehmed Giray. From NUSRET, 14b.
Page 309, map: The Ottoman Empire in 1600.