The Biblical Origin of the Ottoman Dynasty in the 15th and 16th Century

Abstract

Almost all the Ottoman historians of the 15th century claimed that the Ottoman dynasty stemmed from Japheth, the son of Noah. Japheth was generally regarded as the ancestor of the Turks in Muslim historiography. That is why the Ottoman historians accepted Japheth as their ancestor, although the descendents of Japheth were less respected than those of Shem, from whom the Prophets originated. In the second half of the 15th century, however, Oruc and Giese Anonymous quoted a hadith that “the descendents of Issac will conquer Constantinople” and mentioned that the Ottoman Sultans came from Issac, who was a descendent of Shem. In 1480's, Saltuk-nâme and Oxford Anonymous claimed Esau, who was a son of Issac and the brother of Jacob, to be the Ottoman ancestor. The authors of these books narrated that the sons of Esau would be a king because Issac prayed to God for Esau. It appears that this account was based on the former Muslim historians like Mas‘udi and also that Esau was more respected than Japheth. Besides, Esau was also regardeed as the ancestor of the kings of Rum. Though “Rum” originally signified Roma, the Ottoman Sultans were the kings of Rum at that time. That might have helped the Ottoman historians to accept Esau as the ancestor of the Ottoman dynasty. During the late reign of Bayezit II, three historians, Ruhi, Bitlisi and Kemâlpasazâde strongly claimed that Esau was the ancestor of the Ottoman dynasty. Though they also briefly mentioned Japheth, they considered the Esau origin more important. The higher authority of Esau made the Ottoman historians of this period accept Esau as the ancestor. Nevertheless, after the reign of Bayezit II, the Ottoman historians accepted the Japheth origin again, because Japheth was “the authentic ancestor” according to the Islamic tradition. The changes in the Biblical origin of the Ottoman dynasty might reflect the development in the identification and legitimizastion of the Ottomans.