THE ORIENTAL OTHER: SOLIMAN THE MAGNIFICENT IN KYD’SSOLIMAN AND PERSEDA

Abstract

1. Introduction The essay tries to show that Soliman Magnificent in Kyd's Soliman and Perseda is a dramatic representation of Oriental Other. The idea that 'other' is noteworthy first and foremost as a threat to cherished values and interests, was firmly established in relations between European and Ottoman cultures. Prior to Ottoman expansion in Renaissance age, Elizabethan dramatists lacked elaborate notions of an Oriental Other, and indeed took little interest in their Ottoman neighbours. Where initial Elizabethan ideas about Ottomans were shaped by insecurity in face of a theological and political challenge, early European ideas about Ottoman neighbours developed within a context of political dynamism and cultural self-confidence. Soliman and Perseda represents Elizabethan response to Soliman and Turkey as stereotyped by anti-Oriental prejudices. Said remarks that Orientalism is a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between 'the Orient' and (most of time) 'the Occident' (Said 2003:2). The Elizabethan library contains many sourcebooks for authors about Turkey: Danad's da Lezz's Historie Turchesca (1513), The Policy of Turkish Empire (1597), Peter Aston's A Short Treatise upon Turks Chronicles (1564), and Hugh Gough's The Offspring of House of Ottomans (1553). In Renaissance cultural artefacts, Sultans are depicted deep in dalliance with European ladies and are praised for their magnanimity (Chew 1965:483). In The Tragedy of Soliman and Perseda (1588), Thomas Kyd has stereotyped Soliman with an ungrounded love story in history. The historical image of Soliman's devotion to Hurrem (i.e. known in Europe as Rossa, Rosselana, or Roxolana), his beloved wife and mother of his sons has no reference in Kyd's Soliman and Perseda. Roxolana is considered to be of Russian descendant. From her status in Ottoman court, her character as a royal concubine took a rather curious turn in English literature. Turkey is a geo-cultural interface between Orient and Occident, thus a strategic locus in world map. Europe views Turkey as a country which has steadfastly preserved its Oriental-Islamic cultural heritage. The Turks are a tribal nation and their original land is in desert of Turkestan in Central Asia. In Middle Ages, they emigrated, settled in Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, and embraced Islam. Among Turkish tribes, most active and war-like was one led by Othman or Osman I (1258-1326). The Turks who followed him were called Ottomans. Osman I and his supporters occupied central Asia in 1300, and he assumed title of Amir. Sultan Mohammed II's (1451-1481) capture of Constantinople in 1453 made Westerners acutely conscious of Ottoman threat, a threat Europe had previously only vaguely considered. The literary response to this new threat, especially by humanists, was slanted against Turks. This followed a tradition stemming from Europe's first encounters with Islam in seventh century when Islam was portrayed as a religion founded on bellicosity and barbarity, a perception that continued into Middle Ages (Bisaha 2004:15). 2. Elizabethan Soliman Magnificent The impact of Sultan I (or Suleyman) on Western imagination is comparable only to that of Saladin. In his famous Generall Historie of Turks (1603), venerated English historian Richard Knolles describes him as the magnificent emperor of East as well as a law maker. Soliman I succeeded his father Selim I in 1520. His reign represents most glorious period in history of Ottoman Empire. The Elizabethan audience was keen on affair of Turkish Other. Soliman was civilized enough to attract Englishmen. He was a rationalized character within Oriental tradition, customs, and religion. Elizabethan playwrights incorporated such Turkish figures in their works as Turkish sultans--Bajazeth I (1389-1403), Soliman I (1520-1566), Selim II (1566-1574), Amurath III (1574-1595), and Turkish Muhammad II (1451-1481). …