Ece Tunca DEPICTION OF THE ENEMY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN OTTOMAN BUREAUCRAT ...

97 Pages·2017·2.1 MB·English

Ece Tunca

DEPICTION OF THE ENEMY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN
OTTOMAN BUREAUCRAT-SOLDIER: ÂSAFİ’S ŞECÂ’ATNÂME

(THE BOOK OF VALOR) IN THE CONTEXT OF OTTOMAN-

SAFAVID RIVALRY

MA Thesis in Comparative History, with a specialization
in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies.

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Central European University

Budapest
DEPICTION OF THE ENEMY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN OTTOMAN

BUREAUCRAT-SOLDIER: ÂSAFİ’S ŞECÂ’ATNÂME (THE BOOK OF VALOR) IN
THE CONTEXT OF OTTOMAN-SAFAVID RIVALRY

by

Ece Tunca

(Turkey)

Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies,
Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Interdisciplinary

Medieval Studies.

Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU.

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Examiner

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Examiner
DEPICTION OF THE ENEMY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN OTTOMAN

BUREAUCRAT-SOLDIER: ÂSAFİ’S ŞECÂ’ATNÂME (THE BOOK OF VALOR) IN

THE CONTEXT OF OTTOMAN-SAFAVID RIVALRY

by

Ece Tunca

(Turkey)

Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies,

Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in

Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies.

Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU.

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DEPICTION OF THE ENEMY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN OTTOMAN
BUREAUCRAT-SOLDIER: ÂSAFİ’S ŞECÂ’ATNÂME (THE BOOK OF VALOR) IN
THE CONTEXT OF OTTOMAN-SAFAVID RIVALRY

by

Ece Tunca

(Turkey)

Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies,
Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in
Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies.

Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU.

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External Supervisor
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I, the undersigned, Ece Tunca, candidate for the MA degree in Comparative History, with a
specialization in Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies declare herewith that the present thesis is
exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as
properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use
was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or
institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form
to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree.
Budapest, 18 June 2017
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Signature
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Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to present a textual and visual analysis of an Ottoman war
narrative, the Şecâ‘atnâme (the book of valor) written by Âsafi Dal Mehmed Çelebi between
the years 1578 and 1586, in the context of Ottoman-Safavid rivalry. While the main focus of
this study is Âsafi’s encounters with the enemy, it also elaborates on the essentials of the
Ottoman-Safavid rivalry and the problem of “Kızılbaş,” with the aim of contextualizing
Âsafi’s impressions within a historical framework, and investigating to what extent his views
were aligned with the Ottomans’ general attitude on this issue—if it is possible to generalize
in this respect—during the period in question. In other words, instead of making a general
analysis of the whole text, this thesis focuses on the Kızılbaş issue as one of the most
controversially discussed aspects of the Ottoman-Safavid rivalry.
Not only does the Şecâ‘atnâme shed light on certain events during the Ottoman-
Safavid wars of 1578-90, but it is also a striking example for the illustrated histories
abundantly produced during the reign of Murad III (r. 1574-95), which witnessed the
changing dynamics in the manuscript production and patronage. While the Şecâ‘atnâme was
written with the aim of eulogizing Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha’s exploits, it was an
extraordinary work given its production process and the emphasis placed on Âsafi as the
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Keywords: illustrated histories, war narratives, gazâvatnâme, gazânâme, Ottoman-Safavid
rivalry, Kızılbaş, Qizilbash, Ottoman Sunnitization, Sunni-Shi’i conflict, Âsafi Dal Mehmed
Çelebi, Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha
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Acknowledgements
I would first like to extend my sincerest thanks to my advisor, Tijana Krstić for her
guidance, valuable contributions, corrections and patience during my research and writing
process. I would also like to express my gratitude to Derin Terzioğlu not only for taking place
in my thesis committee, but also for her insightful comments and suggestions. I am also
grateful to Marcell Sebők for his constructive comments during my thesis defense. I would
like to thank Selim Sırrı Kuru not only for his excellent tutelage at the Ottoman and Turkish
summer school in Cunda, which helped me a lot while dealing with Ottoman Turkish texts,
but also for his valuable inputs on my research. I’m grateful to Zsuzsanna Reed for her
thorough proofreading of my thesis. I would also like to thank Johanna Tóth for her sincere
assistance, promptly and patiently replying all my irksome questions. I would like to thank
my fellow graduate Szitár Kristóf not only for making my life more enjoyable amongst
classes, assignments and thesis work with his sincere friendship, but also for his valuable
comments on my research. I owe my deepest gratitude to Bora Yalçın, who didn’t hesitate to
change his life for moving to Budapest with me, for his endless love and support. Lastly, I
would like to thank lya and M şfik for their therapeutic purrings.

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Note on Transliteration
Throughout the thesis, I used the modified Modern Turkish transcription system while
while indicating Turkish consonants such as ç and ş, as in Kızılbaş, Çaldıran; Turkish vowels
such as ı and ü as in mülhid, küfür, kadı; long vowels, 'ayn (ع) and hamza (ء), as in şecâ’at.
On the other hand, although I was faithful to the system used in the Encyclopedia of Islam
while referring to the Arabic terms with the consonant, dāḍ (ض) as in rāfiḍa, I used the same
consonants as râfızi while referring to a Turkish source. As for the direct quotations from the
primary source, the Şecâ‘atnâme, I have been faithful to the system used in Mustafa Eravcı’s
book, which I found easier to understand and closer to the Modern Turkish language.

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Table of contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1
CHAPTER 1
OTTOMAN-SAFAVID RIVALRY AND THE ISSUE OF KIZILBAŞ (1500-1590) ........ 9
1.1. The Rise of the Safavids and the Formation of the Kızılbaş Identity ........................... 11
1.2. Ottoman-Safavid Rivalry: Ottoman Policies and Terms Used to Refer to the Kızılbaş
.............................................................................................................................................. 14
1.2.1. The Early Phase ................................................................................................... 14
1.2.2. Periods of Intense Conflict and Eventual Peace: The Reigns of Selim I and
Süleyman the Magnificent ............................................................................................. 17
1.2.3. Breach of the Peace: Ottoman-Safavid Wars of 1578-1590 ............................. 27
CHAPTER 2
ÂSAFİ DAL MEHMED CHELEBİ AND THE ŞECÂ’ATNÂME .................................... 35
2.1. Biography of Âsafi Dal Mehmed Çelebi ...................................................................... 36
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2.2. Illustrated Histories and Patterns of Patronage during the Reign of Murad III:
Production of the Şecâ‘atnâme ............................................................................................ 41
CHAPTER 3
DEPICTING THE ENEMY: KIZILBAŞ IN TEXT AND IMAGE .................................. 46
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Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 61
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 68
Figures...................................................................................................................................... 73

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