Ottoman Chronicles Research Articles

An Evaluation of Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's Foreign Policy

Abstract Historiographical tradition has tended to view the Köprülü-era foreign policy as one of conscious expansion, fueled by religious fervor. The descriptions of the seventeenth-century Ottoman chroniclers to that effect influenced the researchers of the twenty-first-century, too. However, in the reports of European diplomatic representatives active in Istanbul at the time, we see that the expansionary policy in the Köprülü period was not actually a pre-planned phenomenon with religious motivations; it was more likely that the grand viziers responded to the urgent problems arising from the political conjuncture of the period. To be more precise, this study argues that events such as the Érsekújvár Expedition (1663), the Siege of Candia (1667-69), and the Campaign of Kamieniec (1672), which all took place during the reign of Köprülü Fazıl Ahmet Pasha (r. 1661-76), could not be explained by religious motivations alone. Instead, the present study argues that a better way to understand Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's foreign policy is interpreting it from an international relations perspective through the neoclassical realist parameters of the individual, state structure, and international system.

The Ottoman Dracula. Kazıklı voyvoda and the Construction of the Rebel and Evil in the Ottoman Empire

The crafting of such narratives involves sophisticated literary strategies and techniques that can sometimes overshadow the historical content, or even sacrifice it for stylistic effect. It was common for copyists to alter their sources, not merely reproducing but editing and interpreting them according to their literary preferences or aesthetic judgment. This tendency becomes more pronounced in later authors and compilers, who take the historical fabric and the dramatic structure of their sources, yet rework them into a form reflecting their personal style. Often, they might even modify the text’s substance by rearranging, omitting, or adding specific scenes or details.
 These issues have led many Romanian historians to give little credit to the Ottoman chronicles. For methodologies prioritising positivism or factual history, these sources are deemed less reliable than Byzantine or Western European ones. However, modern historiographical approaches, employing refined methodologies, can effectively utilise Ottoman chronicles. We must acknowledge that historical sources are not universally applicable for all types of historiographical discourse and cannot answer every question. Often, the nature of our sources dictates the kind of history that can be written with their support. 
 This paper attempts to pave the way for an alternative method and perspective of interpretation. The portrayal of political and military figures in official Ottoman writings can reveal insights into political thought, ideology, and propaganda. In our case, these narratives precisely illustrate how the Sultan justified his campaign against Vlad the Impaler. Such information cannot be provided by European chronicles, for instance. 
 Moreover, Ottoman chronicles provide insights into diplomatic relations and the exchange of ideas. On another level, concerning mental and social history, they reflect the expectations, fears, prejudices, or ideals of their audience. The authors of these texts did not create their works in isolation from contemporary political or cultural environment. Thus, they are voices of their era, encapsulating and mirroring its expectations. Their writing was crafted for consumption and success. Without this recognition, they risked obscurity, much like the poet Maʿali, who lamented in his dedication to the Sultan within his versed chronicle literarily about his “starvation”.

A Comparison of Seyyid Lokman’s Records of the Birth, Death and Wedding Dates of Members of Ottoman Dynasty (1566-1595) with the Records in Ottoman Chronicles

Osmanlı hanedan ailesi ile ilgili doğum, ölüm, söz, nişan, evlenme ve sünnet düğünü gibi kayıtlar, Osmanlı kroniklerinin içerisine serpiştirilmiş olduğundan fark edilmesi ayrı bir dikkat gerektirir. Ayrıca kroniklerde genelde sadece ölüm, kısmen de doğum tarihleri yer alır. Diğer kayıtların tespiti için müverrihin İstanbul’da olması bile yetmez, ayrıca Saray’a da yakın olması gerekir. Bu bakımdan Şehnâmeci Seyyid Lokmân, II. Selim ve III. Murad devirleri için çağdaşı olan diğer tarihçilerden daha avantajlıdır. Çünkü 1569-1595 yılları arasında Topkapı Sarayı’nda resmî olarak şehnâmecilik görevini yürütmüştür. Asıl görevi olan şehnâme yazımını yerine getirirken aynı zamanda, geçmiş padişahlar zamanında vuku bulan olayların yazılmakta olduğu Tûmâr-ı Hümâyûn’a bırakıldığı yerden devam etmesi emredilmiştir. Lokmân’ın kendi kaleminden çıkan ve Kanunî’nin son yedi yılı ile II. Selim ve III. Murad dönemlerini tamamını kapsayan, Osmanlı tarihinin 1559-1595 yılları arasındaki 35 yıllık bu önemli bölümünün yer aldığı söz konusu tomarda, dönemin önemli hadiselerini nerdeyse gün gün ayrıntılı bir şekilde tam bir vekâyinâme tarzıyla anlatılmıştır. Bu çalışmada, 26 sene süreyle sarayda görevli olması sebebiyle pek çok olaya bizzat şahitlik etme imkânına sahip olan Lokmân’ın, eserinin II. Selim ve III. Murad devirlerini kapsayan 1566-1595 tarihleri arasındaki 30 yıllık bölümünde geçen Osmanlı hanedan ailesi ile ilgili kayıtlar ele alınmış ve ardından bunlar çağdaşı olan müverrihlerin eserleri ve sonrasının önemli tarihsel kaynaklarında yer alan ilgili kayıtlar ile karşılaştırılmıştır. Bu çalışmada yapılan tespitlerden biri, III. Mehmed’in doğum tarihinin 1567 olduğunu Lokmân’ın da kaydetmesinin, bu padişahın doğum tarihinin genel kabul olan 1566 olmadığı konusunda yeni bir delil oluşturmasıdır. Ayrıca III. Murad’ın 1577’de vefat eden Süleyman ismindeki şehzadesinin Ayasofya Camii haziresindeki Şehzadeler Türbesi’ne defninin tespiti ile bu türbenin meçhul olan yapım tarihiyle ilgili bir bilgiye ulaşılmış ve türbede mevcut 5 sandukadan birinde yatanın kimliği ortaya çıkarılmış olmaktadır.

A MYTH ABOUT THE EMERGENCE OF THE QARAMANID DYNASTY AS REFLECTED IN THE OTTOMAN SOURCES

The issue of when and how the Qaramanid dynasty or tribe that founded the Qaramanid state came to Anatolia is still an unsolved historical problem. The view put forward by famous Turkologist the late Fuat Köprülü (1890-1966) in 1922 remains largely valid. This issue will remain unresolved unless a new source work is released. The general view was that the Qaramanid tribe, belonging to the Afshar branch of the Oghuzs who escaped from the Mongol invasion, came to the Shirvan or Arran region of Azerbaijan. From here they came to Ermenak by way of Sivas. It was claimed that the Babai uprising of Sivas had an impact on the establishment of the Qaramanid State. In the middle of the thirteenth century, the Qaraman tribe began to act independently in Ermenak, which was situated in the Seljuk-Armenian border (uc), under the leadership of Qaraman Bey. Their relations with the Mongols, Armenians and Seljuk sultans were not regular. They have dealt with plunder in the region. When Qaraman Bey captured the fortress of Ermenak from the Armenians, he turned this place into a political center. Later he captured the town of Laranda. 
 Seljuk, Arab and Armenian historical sources related to this subject have been extensively studied by scholars. Whether the information given by the Mamluk historians about the Qaramanids is reliable or not is an issue that needs to be addressed separately. Ottoman chroniclers such as Mustafa Ali, Ruhi, Müneccimbaşı, Kâtip Çelebi, Hayrullah Efendi, Hezarfen Hüseyin Efendi, Cenabi, Rustem Pasha and Müneccimbaşı also contemplated the emergence of the Qaramanid dynasty. However, these sources are problematic in terms of historical methodology, since they are of late date. As a matter of fact, Fuat Köprülü did not take these sources into account. Most likely, these are just a compilation. The information in the Şikari History, the official history of the Qaramanids, and the information given by Ottoman chroniclers do not match with each other. In this article, we are at least publishing these texts about the Qaramanids. The problem unfortunately remains unresolved.

OSMANLI KRONİKLERİ IŞIĞINDA 1821 MORA AYAKLANMASI

1821 yılında başlayan ve neticesinde Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’ndan bağımsız bir Yunanistan Devleti’nin kurulmasına yol açan Mora Ayaklanması üzerine şimdiye kadar birçok çalışma yapılmış, ancak Osmanlı kronikleri ışığında bu olayın incelenmediği görülmüştür. Siyasi Tarih araştırmalarında bu alan üzerinde görülen eksiklik, bu çalışma için incelenen kronikler aracılığıyla giderilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu bağlamda Moralı Mir Yusuf, Mehmed Mansur, İzzet Molla gibi dönemin önemli tarihçi – devlet adamlarının yazdıkları eserler esas alınarak bu çalışmanın hazırlanması, literatüre önemli bir katkı sağlayacaktır. Ayrıca bu çalışma, 1821-1830 tarihleri arasında cereyan eden siyasi olayların bizzat o dönemde yaşayıp gördüklerini kaleme aktaran devlet adamlarının eserleri incelenerek hazırlanacağından bu alanda bulunan önemli bir boşluğu kapatacak niteliktedir.

“ALBANIAN” AS A TERM: ALBANIANS IN THE 18TH CENTURY OTTOMAN THINKING

Bu çalışma, modern Osmanlı dönemi öncesinde Osmanlı devlet adamları ve düşünürlerinin - modern öncesi dönemde etnik isimleriyle anılmış - Arnavut topluluklara karşı geliştirdiği söylemleri incelemektedir. Büyük ölçüde 18. yüzyıldaki Osmanlı vakanüvislerinin “Arnavut” sözcüğünü ilişkilendirdiği bağlamları irdeleyerek Osmanlı müesses nizamında Arnavutlara karşı geliştirilmiş basmakalıp ve sıklıkla pejoratif ifadeler içeren söylem diline odaklanmaktadır. 19. yüzyıl ve sonrasında bilhassa Batılı şarkiyatçı söylemlerde pejoratif sıfatlarla birlikte anılan “Arnavut” terimini, kolonyalizm öncesinde de Osmanlı seçkinleri arasında başka bir veçhe ile de olsa görmek ilginçtir. Bu makale, bir yandan bu seçkinlerin imparatorluktaki birçok göçer topluma ilişkin olumsuz kanaatlerinin etnik terimlerle ilişkilendirmedeki Halduncu düşünceyi incelerken bir yandan da bu ilişkilendirmenin 18. yüzyıldaki isyanlar sonrasındaki değişen veçhelerini ve hâkim Osmanlı söylemlerinde köklü bir yer alıp almadığına ışık tutmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Osmanlı kamu düzen, ordusu ve din anlayışı konuları üzerinden bu söylemin “Arnavut” terimiyle nasıl ilişkilendirildiğini ele alarak, Osmanlı elitlerinin bu söyleminin 19. yüzyılda “modern” ve “şarkiyatçı” saikler ile Arnavut topluluklarına yöneltilmiş pejoratif dilin temelini oluşturup oluşturmadığını araştırmaktadır.

Christopher Markiewicz, The Crisis of Kingship in Late Medieval Islam: Persian Emigres and the Making of Ottoman Sovereignty

Reviewed by: The Crisis of Kingship in Late Medieval Islam: Persian Emigres and the Making of Ottoman Sovereignty by Christopher Markiewicz Ali Anooshahr Christopher Markiewicz, The Crisis of Kingship in Late Medieval Islam: Persian Emigres and the Making of Ottoman Sovereignty (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization.) New York: Cambridge University Press, 2019, Pp. xiii, 345. Cloth $120.00, e-book $96.00. ISBN: 9781108492140 Christopher Markiewicz seeks to investigate what he calls the new vocabulary of sovereignty involving cosmic and divine factors that supplemented earlier norms based on Islamic law and genealogy. He considers the fifteenth century crucial for this phenomenon, when such notions were developed and spread by specific individuals. He takes the historian and intellectual, Idris Bidlisi (d. 1520), as the subject of his study, because he “acted as both recipient and shaper of a political culture in flux in both the Aqquyunlu Sultanate…and the Ottoman Sultanate” (p. 20). Essentially, Markiewicz argues that while in the Ottoman Empire, Bidlisi incorporated in his writings ideas of kingship that had developed in Timurid Iran, and these in turn impacted Ottoman political culture. The book is made up of two parts, the first provides a biographical overview while the second discusses the intellectual contributions of Idris. Chapter one outlines Bidlisi’s early life, education, and experience in Iran during the Aqquyunlu period. Chapter two continues the narrative with Idris’ career in the Ottoman Empire where the author emigrated following the rise of the Safavids in Iran. Being rather disappointed in his hopes and aspirations, Idris subsequently tried his luck in more easterly regions during Sultan Selim’s activities in eastern Anatolia, Iran, Syria, and Egypt. Markiewicz covers this period in chapter three. Chapter four begins the discussion of particular political concepts, showing the new vocabulary of sovereignty applied to Timur, in particular the identification of the monarch as sahib qiran (lord of the Conjunctions) [End Page 361] and mujaddid (the renewer). Chapter five traces new historiographical developments in the same period, both in Iran and the Ottoman Empire. Finally, chapter six traces the formation of particularly Aqquyunlu notions of sovereignty in the period, khilafat-i rahmani (the vice-regency of God) and the ultimate coalescence of all three concepts in the Ottoman Empire especially during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (d. 1566). The Crisis of Kingship provides the first English-language monograph-length study of Idris Bidlisi and his times. It makes a number of important contributions by discovering and highlighting numerous biographical details, by placing Idris within his historical and intellectual context, by offering perceptive readings of scholars such as Jalal al-Din Davani (d. 1502), and by tracing the three particular concepts of kingship against the backdrop of political, religious, and philosophical developments of the period. The latter is particularly significant as chapter five provides a very thorough overview of the growing field of Persian historical writings in the fifteenth century, which can be read profitably alongside Markiewicz’s earlier and important article in the Journal of Early Modern history 21 (2017), pp 216–240. For all these the author must be commended. On the other hand, the book is open to criticism for a number of reasons. For one, Markiewicz does not engage sufficiently with Idris’s most important work, the monumental chronicle of the House of Osman the Hasht Bihisht. A thorough reading of this work and comparison with similar material in other Ottoman chronicles would really help situate Idris’s place in the Ottoman historical tradition and in turn indicate his overall outlook on sovereignty. For example, the material in the Hasht Bihisht often bears great similarity with the chronicle of Ruhi, itself reflecting trends at the court of Mehmed II that attempted to place the House of Osman specifically in the Roman Imperial tradition, going so far as to claim that the Ottomans were descendants of Esau (who was known to have had lighter features), and that they were meant to defend civilization against the Gog and the Magog (and Turks) as had Alexander the Great. This is significant because it shows how Markiewicz primarily sees “influence” as unidirectional thereby overemphasizing Idris’s impact on the Ottomans (and not the other...

Дипломатическая активность Крымского ханства и ее экономические следствия в Восточно-Центральной Европе в XVI–XVIII веках

Research objective: The article is devoted to the discussion of the establish­ment and the development of diplomatic relations between the Crimean Khanate and the countries of East-Central Europe, with special attention paid to the political and economic influence of the Khanate in the European vassal states of the Ottoman Empire. Research materials: The study uses European and Ottoman chronicles, reports from Constantinople, and still unpublished documents from the Austrian, Romanian, and Hungarian archives. Results and novelty of the research: Ottoman studies has paid little attention to the diplomatic relations of the Crimean Khanate with East-Central Europe. Historical studies primarily emphasized the auxiliary role of Tatars in the Ottoman campaigns and did not pay attention to the fact that in their shadow the khans established and maintained diplomatic relations with the sovereign and vassal states of the region. After thorough research in the archives of the region, it was possible to compile a corpus of documents which revealed the process of the development of the khanate’s diplomatic relations, sometimes even leading to cooperation between the Muslim and Christian rulers. The analysis of the collected and systematized material made it possible to establish the role the khanate played in the policy of the Christian vassals of the Porte, and also the development of the taxation of vassal countries by the Tatars. In the case of Moldova and Wallachia, the sources made it possible to trace the formation of different types of obligations and the amount of tribute.

Turko-Tatar Roots of Modern Odessa: Hocabey and Karakermen

Located on the northern shore of the Black Sea, Odessa is one of Eastern Europe’s great cities. Much has been written about its history. Most of these studies were written from the Russian imperial perspective, and so the city’s Turko-Tatar period has been neglected. The present article attempts to shed light on this period of Odessa’s history, drawing mainly on Ottoman chronicles and archival documents. The predecessor and nucleus of the city was the Karakermen redoubt (palanka), which was built by Mengli Giray Khan I in 1495. Karakermen was destroyed as a result of recurrent Cossack raids in the mid-16th century. Although the Ottomans had intended to revitalise the city by rebuilding the redoubt during the last quarter of the 16th century, this project would be realized only in 1764 with the emergence of the town of Hocabey.

The Reception of John Sigismund Szapolyai in Hungarian and Ottoman Chronicles

This article reconstructs the diplomatic ceremonies that took place at the meeting of John Sigismund Szapolyai, elected king of Hungary and prince of Transylvania, and Suleiman the Magnificent during the Sultan’s last campaign in 1566, by using Ottoman and Hungarian chronicles of the period. The chronicles, which convey the observations of those who witnessed the Szigetvár campaign and the meeting held in Zimony, present an opportunity to explore in detail the diplomatic practices of both the Ottomans and the Hungarians and how such practices were perceived by the Hungarian participants. The article also considers the political status of Transylvania and the Ottoman imperial ideology and hegemonic position in the context of these practices.

Osmanlı Kroniklerinde “Sebeb-i Telif”ler Üzerine

Ottoman chronicles generally begin with praise and glory to Allah and prayers and peace upon the Prophet. Then the author introduces himself and gives the name of his work, after which he explains the reason for compiling it. In this article, we will focus on the reasons why certain general and special histories from the fifteenth century onwards, and also some monographic works, were compiled. In our research, we discovered that the vast majority of authors gave the following reasons for compiling their works: to enlighten the public, to rewrite what had been written before and had been found to be wrong, and to comply with the orders and recommendations given to them. A significant part of them compiled their works because they saw history as a respected science due to the parables in the Qur’an.

Kalenderî Groups During the Foundation Period of the Ottoman State

Osmanlı Devleti’nin kuruluş sürecinde birçok tasavvufi fikir hareketleri etkili olmuştur. Cemâleddîn-i Sâvî tarafından usul ve erkânı belirlenen, onun ve halifeleri tarafından müstakil bir tarikat şekline dönüştürülen Kalenderî zümreler de kuruluş sürecinde büyük rol oynamıştır. Kalenderîlik, Orta Asya ve İran’da ortaya çıkmış, XIII. yüzyılda Moğol istilası sonucunda Anadolu topraklarında yayılma imkânı bulmuştur. Moğol istilası sebebiyle Selçukluların bölgedeki hakimiyetinin zayıflamasıyla birlikte, heterodoks gruplar İlhanlı tahakkümünün de etkisiyle Anadolu’daki varlıklarını daha da arttırmışlardır. Osmanlı Devleti’nin kuruluşuna kadar Anadolu’daki Kalenderîler hakkında bilgi verilerek başladığımız bu çalışmada, Osmanlı Devleti’nin kuruluş döneminde yaşamış, Kalenderî zümrelerin faaliyetleri anlatılmıştır. Kuruluş döneminde yaşamış; Abdal Murad, Doğlu Baba, Postinpûş Baba, Seyyid Ali Sultan (Kızıl Deli), Şücâüddin Veli, Otman Baba ve Koyun Baba’nın yaşamlarına dair genel bir değerlendirmeden sonra kuruluş döneminde halk üzerindeki nüfuzları, devletin kuruluş sürecine etkileri Osmanlı beylerinin gaza ve fetih mücadelelerindeki rolleri ele alınmıştır. Kalenderî zümrelerin Osmanlı kronikleri ve her bir dervişe ait olan menâkıbnâmeler ışığında Osmanlı devletinin kuruluşuna etkileri, Osmanlı sultanları ile ilişkileri, hanedan ailesi ile yakınlıkları ve halk üzerindeki nüfuzuna değinilmiştir. Ayrıca bu Kalenderî zümrelerin, Osmanlı sultanları ile ilişkileri, politikaları, siyasetlerindeki değişim dönem dönem ele alınmıştır.

Unusual Readers in Early Modern Istanbul

AbstractNew social groups such as janissaries, artisans, madrasa students, and ‘middle-class’ bureaucrats have gradually increased their visibility in the social, cultural, and literary landscape of early modern Ottoman Istanbul. Scholars have discussed this new visibility, among others, by observing official regulations, contemporary Ottoman chronicles and travel accounts, artistic and architectural transformation, diversification of literary genres, and the socio-economic background of their writers. In this article, I offer another modest and intimate first-hand source for elucidating the habitus of these new urban agents: visual and written notes on the manuscripts of popular storybooks dating from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Thanks to these notes on hundreds of manuscripts, we learn about political standings, literary tastes, codes of identity formation, the ways of self-depiction, social networks, and emotions of Ottoman individuals. By focusing in particular on the notes and doodles of Janissaries on popular heroic narratives, I argue that the gesture of taking notes and drawing symbols on a manuscript is a way of taking a stance against the political, religious, and literary authorities.

Hilmi Kacar, A Mirror for the Sultan: State Ideology in the Early Ottoman Chronicles, 1300-1453

The last decade or so has witnessed a rise in the scholarly output on the early Ottomans, especially within the context of the development of Ottoman historiography, with particular reference to how the Ottomans viewed themselves. Discourse on the early Ottoman state sought to no longer view the Ottomans through the lens of earlier theories on the rise of the Ottoman state such as Paul Wittek’s “Ghazi thesis”1 and instead pursued the redefining of labels of a religious and cultural nature that had previously been ascribed to the Ottomans by modern scholarship.2 It is within this context that the work under scrutiny should be considered. It is Kacar’s approach to studying of early Ottoman history that renders his book unique rather than the topic itself, which has been the subject of much scholarly debate of late. Kacar’s aim is to explore the possibility of going beyond the ‘orientalist’ and ‘colonial’ premises and descriptions of Ottoman history and to let the Ottomans speak for themselves in their own words (p. 7). In common with recent scholarly output Kacar argues that the sources of the early Ottoman state should not be utilised to bring light to modern theories on the rise of the Ottomans

Grand vizieral authority revisited: Köprülüs’ legacy and Kara Mustafa Paşa

In response to the recently expanding ‘renewal of faith’ literature and religion-based approaches to the Ottoman seventeenth century, this article sources the many available Ottoman chronicles and European diplomatic reports to shed light on the accumulation of full executive power in the hands of Köprülü grand viziers, starting from 1656. I demonstrate that, by the time Kara Mustafa Paşa assumed the grand vizierate in 1676, the achievements of Köprülü Mehmed Paşa and, more remarkably, his son Fazıl Ahmed Paşa, had elevated the post of the grand vizierate to a practically unrivalled status in the Ottoman decision-making process. Further, I illustrate that Kara Mustafa Paşa had already established himself as a self-assured individual in Ottoman bureaucracy long before he became the grand vizier. In conclusion, the article directs readers to reconsider Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Paşa’s ambitious undertakings – especially the siege of Vienna – as a combined outcome of the decision-making patterns established by the first two Köprülüs, coupled with the self-assurance that Kara Mustafa Paşa had attained long before his appointment as the sultan’s ‘absolute deputy’.

The Perception of Jerusalem in the Ottoman Chronicles

The Perception of Jerusalem in the Ottoman Chronicles

El mundo de los Rum para los otomanos: el caso de la rivalidad entre Kanunî sultán Süleyman y Carlos V

The confrontation between Charles V and Suleiman the Magnificent is useful to compare two forms of power, two ways of understanding the State and the Empire, completely different. Moreover, although the historiography has been involved in tracing the image of the Sublime Porte, from the perspective of the West, we know less about the image built by the Ottoman about kingdoms and European powers. For the Ottoman chroniclers, the power of the Sultan was superior in every way, and showed a general contempt for the Christian princes, especially to the Emperor.

Coping with “the Riff-Raff and Mob”: Representations of Order and Disorder in the Patrona Halil Rebellion (1730)

In 1730, the so-called ‘Patrona Halil rebellion’ resulted in the abdication of Sultan Aḥmed III (r. 1703–1730) and in the execution of his long-serving Grand Vizier Nevşehirli Dāmād İbrāhīm Paşa (r. 1718–1730). This article addresses the question of how contemporary Ottoman chroniclers came to terms with this unusual situation of political and social tension and, in particular, how they coped with lower-strata individuals and groups involved in the rebellion. It is argued that the chroniclers had considerable problems in explaining that lower-strata people whom they perceived as “the riff-raff and mob” possessed an agency of their own, even if they might be a useful instrument in intra-elite quarrels. Despite nuances of judgement, the chroniclers represent the lower strata in a highly negative fashion by rendering their political activities as unruly violations of norms. The chroniclers employed discoursive strategies based on the elite concepts of morality, purity, honour and order, which they used both, for delegitimising the social and political behaviour of the urban lower strata, and for criticising İbrāhīm Paşa and his government. When the new regime of Maḥmūd I (r. 1730–1754) resorted to violence in order suppress the rebels, this was unanimously welcomed by the chroniclers as the re-establishment of order. Thus, their representations of the rebellion clearly reaffirm elite notions of social and political order.

Стосунки української козацької держави з Кримським ханством і Портою за османо-турецькими літописами

Стосунки української козацької держави з Кримським ханством і Портою за османо-турецькими літописами

XVII Century Ottoman Chronic “Tarih-I Naima” in Corpus Comparison

An Ottoman prose work (Naima's Histor y) for a long time has been the subject of special interest for literary critics, historians and linguists due to its stylistic features. The general comparison of the chronicle frequency lexical parameters with other Ottoman prose texts by corpus approach demonstrated that it had been created according to the canons of Ottoman Prose Literature and rules of its language norm. Yet at the same time differs from other t exts in some obscure, inexpressive form which let the annalist work stay quite famous in Ottoman Literature for two centuries and not be forgotten aswas the chronicle Seyahatname of the famous traveler Evliya Chelebi. Corpus approach enables an exact idiolect analysis due to its broad comparison with other texts in synchronistic and diachronic perspective. The comparison is usually based on the data of texts frequency vocabularies and syntax. At the same time, the correlation analysis between frequency vocabularies rank parameters can be used for the sample validation while compiling electronic documents collection (Prohorov, 2002). Such collection (corpus) in total of 21Ottoman prose texts was created for our research on idiostyle of the 18th century Turkish chronicle Tarihi Naima (Naima's History), or in the full name:The Garden of Husayn in the Summary of the Chronicles of Eastand West (Ravḍatu'l�Ḥuseynfi ḫulāsati aḫbāri'l�ḫāfiqa yn), written by the first vakanuvis (state chronicler) of Ottoman Empire Mustafa (1655�1716).While researching his idiostyle, we proceeded from the linguistic view of this phenomenon as deviation from language norm and tried to fix it in empirical statistical way. In our case, the calculation of the Pierson correlation coefficient (R) between rank parameters of electronic documents vocabularies verified the sampling adequacy for created corpus. However, the analogical computation between frequency vocabularies of researched text and documents collection demonstrated lexical deviation of Tarihi Naima from other Ottoman chr onicles. Meanwhile lexicon of selected documents in the view of their common frequency dictionary and according to high lexical closeness between them can be considered as hypothetical language norm of Ottoman chronicles. Method