CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Aldemir, Rana Münteha |
|---|---|
| Title | Slave to Dragoman: Conversion, Sexuality and Self-Fashioning in the Memoir of Timisvarli Osman Aga |
| Summary | This thesis examines the memoir of Osman Ağa of Tımışvar, enslaved on the Ottoman and Habsburg borders in the seventeenth century (1688-1700). The memoir reveals Osman's consistent concern to demonstrate his “correct” views on religious fidelity and sexual propriety. By examining it with the writings of Osman's contemporaries, such as Hasan Esiri, Süleyman the Janissary of Egypt, and earlier actors such as Konstantin Mihailović, Georgius of Hungary, and more, it is possible to see how similar "boundary-drawing" discourses were prevalent throughout the early modern Ottoman and broader European worlds. These early modern writers also sought to fashion themselves by articulating an “orthodox” understanding of sexual and religious issues. Osman defended himself against the suspicions that might have been directed at him because of his time spent in the land of the "infidels." This thesis takes Osman's memoirs as an exceptional source written by a self-made elite of humble origins, noting that he simultaneously addressed many social issues that were controversial both within the empire and between empires. Recognizing that Osman wrote his memoirs in Istanbul 24 years after the end of his captivity, an attempt has been made to contextualize his discourses within the climate of early modern Ottoman social and religious life. In asserting that Osman wrote in an attempt to re-establish social and religious belonging. In doing so, I build on Tijana Krstić's argument that life writing was a matter of reintegration into religious community. This thesis reveals how early modern writers fashioned their identities through discussions of sexuality and religion, and how these narratives shed light on the broader social issues of the early Ottoman world and beyond. |
| Supervisor | Radway, Robyn Dora: Esmer, Tolga U. |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/aldemir_rana.pdf |
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