CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Tunca Yalcin, Ece |
|---|---|
| Title | Depiction of the Enemy Through the Eyes of an Ottoman Bureaucrat-Soldier: Asafi's Secaatname (the Book of Valor) in the Context of Ottoman-Safavid Rivalry |
| Summary | The aim of this thesis is to present a textual and visual analysis of an Ottoman war narrative, the Şecâ ‘atn 2;me (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 “Kı ;zılba&#x 15f;,” 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 ‘atn 2;me 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 ‘atn 2;me 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 hidden protagonist of the narrative. In this respect, apart from discussing how a Sunni Ottoman bureaucrat-soldier viewed the Safavids and their troops, this thesis also focuses on the Şecâ ‘atn 2;me as a means of self-promotion, and asks the question, “whose şecâ ‘at? 01d; Keyword s: illustrated histories, war narratives, gazâvatnâme, gazânâme, Ottoman-Safavid rivalry, Kızılbaş, Qizilbash, Ottoman Sunnitization, Sunni-Shi’i conflict, Âsafi Dal Mehmed Çelebi, Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha |
| Supervisor | Krstić, Tijana |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/tunca_ece.pdf |
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