Sultan Mehmed Research Articles

Mail-Order Mihrabs

When studying tile revetments of monuments in Iran from the late twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century and in the fifteenth-century Ottoman Empire, one is faced with two very different narratives as to how the design and production of these revetments came about. The luster tiles installed in Iran and beyond were produced in one city, Kashan, by well-documented families of tile-makers who left a wide range of signed tiles and vessels. Tiles produced in the Ottoman Empire between the 1410s and the 1470s are attributed to the “Masters of Tabriz,” an elusive group construed to be a multi-generational, itinerant workshop based on a single signature on the mihrab of the mosque-zāviye of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed I (r. 1413–21) in Bursa (1419–21). In a comparative study of these two contexts, this article offers insights into ways of producing and logistics of transporting and installing large-scale tile revetments, and argues that in the Ottoman case, too, production may have taken place at a single site.

The Last Grand Külliye of Istanbul: The Yeni Valide Mosque Complex and the Little Ice Age

The construction of the Yeni Valide Mosque complex, located on the northern edge of Istanbul’s historical peninsula in the district of Eminönü, began in 1597 under the patronage of Sultan Mehmed III’s mother Safiye Sultan. The project was halted abruptly in 1603 at the foundation phase and stood dormant for almost six decades. Between 1661 and 1663, another royal woman patron, Valide Hatice Turhan, supported the revision and completion of the project. Although scholars have long examined the construction process, architecture, and decoration of the project in detail, I reevaluate our knowledge of the monument based on recent scientific discoveries regarding the climate change phenomenon known as the ‘Little Ice Age’, which reached its peak in the seventeenth century. As we address another major climate change event today, this study provides insight into our understanding of the social, cultural, and historical impacts of such dramatic changes to climate conditions on architectural projects and urban dynamics in the Ottoman Empire.

Transculturality of Virtue in the Early Modern Mediterranean

This article approaches the transculturality of virtue ethics in early modern Mediterranean intellectual culture by focusing on the case study of Florentine-Ottoman relations during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II. It examines how both entities, though drawing from different intellectual traditions and interpretations of virtue, engaged in a constructive dialogic process that facilitated diplomatic and cultural exchanges. To Florentine humanists, using virtue ethics with the Ottoman court allowed the framing of political actions as ethical conduct. To the Ottomans, it permitted an intellectual integration of the Florentines into the nizam-ı alem. This reveals how Mediterranean actors developed deep intellectual structures, which endowed their actions and encounters with culturally specific yet transculturally significant meanings. As an analytical concept, I argue, transculturality is not about portraying an overly rosy picture; it is a process that helps us better understand the multidimensionality of Mediterranean intellectual culture without imposing cultural boundaries where none exist.

The Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Museum: The museumization of a cultural asset for an Ottoman conqueror

AbstractConversion to a museum is a common destiny of many cultural assets that cannot continue to serve their original functions. They are usually re‐functioned to provide public benefits in return for the expenditures made for their preservation. However, their architectural features may not always meet the expected results when functioning as a museum. The spatial limitations arising in such conversions are the main design gaps in the museumization projects. This article aims to address these gaps using a sample project of a museum on Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror converted from a medieval education structure.

“There Can Be No Agreement to Take up Arms against the Turks Unless We First Restore the Empire”: The Fall of Constantinople and the Rise of a New Political Dynamic in the Holy Roman Empire, 1453–1467

Abstract While the Europe-wide cultural impact of the fall of Constantinople to Sultan Mehmed II is well known, its political reverberations in the Holy Roman Empire have received comparatively little attention. This article argues that the events of 1453 inaugurated a new dynamic in the empire that facilitated the polity's consolidation and the creation of new collective institutions within it long before Maximilian I (1486–1519), whose reign is often presented as a constitutional turning point. Some prince-electors had been calling for more effective peace-keeping and judicial institutions for decades before 1453 but lacked the leverage to compel kings and emperors of the Romans to accept political change on their terms. The fall of Constantinople provided a focal point for these negotiations: in return for promising to support an anti-Ottoman crusade, the reformists were able to force a compromise on new peace-keeping legislation at the diets of the 1450s and 1460s. This compromise was catalyzed by public pressure. There was a widely held expectation that leading imperial protagonists should fulfill this mission to defend Christendom, manifested in orations, diplomatic missives, poetry and songs, plays, and early printed pamphlets produced within and for a range of German-speaking public spheres.

The Role of Artisans in the Circumcision Festival of 1675 During the Reign of Sultan Mehmed IV

In 1675, the Ottoman state held an imperial festival (sur-ı hümayun) in Edirne to celebrate the military achievements, the circumcision of the sons of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648-1687) and the marriage of his daughter. Drawing from seventeenthcentury official and non-official sources concerning the festival, this essay focuses mainly on the role of the artisans. It shows how the practices of the artisans at the festival resembled those of the army artisans who, too, paraded at the initial stage of the military campaigns. However, rather than the mere theatrical aspects of the guilds’ pageantry, it emphasizes other yet multiple functions of the artisans. In particular, showing the role of the Istanbul and Edirne guilds in front of and behind the stage, this essay argues that they not only benefited from participating in such events but also bore their burdens as they provided various services, labor, and funding. In this regard, it also pays attention to the other side of the coin where not only artisans but also other actors were involved. To this end, after a brief introduction, this essay focuses on the day-to-day parades of the artisans, the practices of gift-giving, the burdens and benefits of the festival for the different classes, and finally its military tone by considering the actively involved artisans and their auxiliaries.

The Papacy’s Initial Response to the Ottoman Threat and Its Consequences (1453–1464)

Abstract In 1453, the world witnessed the fall of the medieval Christian Empire’s largest capital, Constantinople, at the hands of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (1444–1446/1451–1481). Some scholars have argued that this event encouraged crusades against the Ottomans throughout Europe. Consequently, this research debates the previous studies by discussing both the primary objectives of the papacy and Christian states after the fall of Constantinople and the presence of Muslims in Western Europe. It also considers the Catholic Church’s actions during its attempts to incite Christian countries to wage war against the Ottoman Empire. Lastly, the study analyses various primary sources, including papal sources, and provides deeper insights into various papal responses to Ottoman threats, comparing them with simultaneous, more enthusiastic support for the Iberian Reconquista.

The Queen and the Sultana: Early Modern Female Circuits of Diplomacy and the Consumption of Gendered Luxury Items Between East and West

Between 1593 and 1599, Queen Elizabeth I of England corresponded with the Ottoman Sultana Safiye (c. 1550-1606), favorite concubine of Sultan Murad III and mother of Sultan Mehmed III. Of this exchange, only the Sultana’s letters and mentions of the expensive and undeniably gendered gifts sent between London and Constantinople (such as English cosmetics, Ottoman female dresses and jewelry…) remain. And yet, these fragments give us a glimpse of how two royal women of the early modern period, at a crossing between East and West, established a transcultural female circuit of exchange, not only to promote efficient diplomatic relationships but also to enable the transit of specifically female objects of status and power between the English court and the Ottoman harem. A close study of Elizabeth and Safiye’s correspondence, as well as the role of the Jewish kira (the Ottoman equivalent of a lady in waiting) Esperanza Malchi in relaying the correspondence between the royal harem and the English embassy, will help shed light on the often-overlooked roles that female friendship and material culture played in foreign diplomacy, a subject that is only recently coming under attention in gender, global and material studies of the early modern period.

From the History of Diplomatic Relations between Pope Pius II and Mehmed II – “Epistola ad Mahometum” (1461)

The history of Papal diplomatic engagements with the Ottoman Empire, particularly the efforts of Pope Pius II (born Enea SilvioPiccolomini, (1405-1464) to form anti-Ottoman coalitions and to reclaim Constantinople for the Christian world, is not unfamiliar inGeorgian historiography. We possess studies by historians such as I. Khubashvili, M. Makharadze, D. Paichadze, and B. Kvachadze.However, there is still ongoing debate about whether there was a real correspondence between the Pope and Sultan Mehmed II (1444-1446)/(1451-1481) in 1461. There are different opinions among scholars regarding this issue.Pius II, known in history as the "Diplomat Pope," distinguished himself with efforts to form anti-Ottoman coalitions and to reclaimConstantinople from Ottoman control. Within a year of his papal consecration in 1459, he convened a congress of European rulers in the city of Mantua (Northern Italy) to lay the foundations for a crusade against the Ottomans. This attempt by the Pope ended in failure because the European states, weakened by the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), were not able to unite against the then formidable Ottoman army. Since Pius's carefully planned anti-Ottoman campaign did not materialize and all hopes were lost, the last of his diplomatic efforts was to send a letter to Sultan Mehmed II, which we will examine in this work. 
 My interest in this topic was sparked by the introduction of new European and Middle Eastern sources, which, after analysis, I believe, will allow me to draw certain conclusions regarding the Papal Letter of 1461.

Дервиш Мехмед бин Мубарек Герай Дженгизи. Хроника «Тарих-и Мехмед Герай» («История Мехмед Герая») (часть 4)

The Chronicle “Tarikh-i Mehmed Geray” (1682–1703) by the Crimean Tatar historiographer Dervish Mehmed bin Mubarek Geray Genghisi is the narrative source reflecting the history of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman state in 1682–1703. The date of the work is 1703 (completed in the month of Rejeb 1115). A copy of the chronicle has been preserved in the funds of the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) under the cipher (inventory number) No. 1080, Cod. H.O.86 HAN MAG. Volume (folio) – 125 sheets in taalik script, sheets are small. There are verses on 125 sheets. The manuscript is not marked with the title, but has an appraisal prescript: “Tarih-i Mehmed Geray Qara Mustafa Paşa cenklerin söyler üçünci Sultan Mehmed Han vaqtlarından Sultan Ahmed Han biñ yüz on beş tarihınacek söyler bir maqbul tarihdır” / “Mehmed Tarikh-i Mehmed Geray narrating about the wars of Kara Mustafa Pasha, the acceptable story telling from the time of Sultan Mehmed Khan III to the period of Sultan Ahmed Khan, up to the year one thousand one hundred and fifteen”. The Chronicle’s translation into Russian (the author of the translation is R.R. Abduzhemilev) was made from the text’s transliteration of the manuscript into Latin, presented in the Turkish edition of Ugur Demir’s master thesis “Tarikh-i Mehmed Giray” (assessment – text’s transcription) ”(consultant: Prof. Dr. Nejdet Öztürk, Istanbul, 2006, 163 pages).

FACTUAL CONTENT OF HISTORY IN THE FILM FETIH 1453

This research aims to identify the historical facts present in the film Fetih 1453. It uses historical methods, including heuristic, verification, interpretation, and historiography. The research findings indicate that the film Fetih 1453, directed by Faruk Aksoy, is based on historical facts. The film is set during the Ottoman Empire era, specifically during the rule of Sultan Mehmed II, depicting the story of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. The fictional elements present in some characters do not alter the main storyline of the film, which revolves around the conquest of Constantinople. Other aspects examined in the research include the historical facts presented in the film Conquest 1453. Faruk Aksoy portrays historical facts through numerous scenes in the film. The film successfully provides historical information, such as the second ascent of Sultan Mehmed II, the creation of large cannons, the construction of fortresses in Rumelia, the transportation of ships over hills, and the conquest of Constantinople. This film can be used as a reference to understand the depiction of the Ottoman attack on Constantinople through a historical approach, allowing for a sequential examination of events.

Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena as an Imagined Millet?

During the four centuries of Ottoman rule, the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena was the only institutional structure of the Catholic Church permanently present there. According to tradition, their legal status and security were guaranteed by a document issued by Sultan Mehmed II in 1463, known as the Fojnica Ahdname. Franciscan sources show that they had been constantly using documents of Ottoman provenance to resolve their legal and economic issues since at least the seventeenth century and continued this practise even when Bosnia came under the Austro-Hungarian administration in 1878. In the twentieth century, this led to an overemphasis on the importance of the Ahdname and its placement in an anachronistic framework that corresponded to the image of a “better past.” The paper aims to show the historical context in which this narrative pattern developed in the Franciscan sources. The findings suggest that the Bosnian Franciscans also used their incorporation into the Ottoman legal system for relations with the Catholic West.

Дервиш Мехмед бин Мубарек Герай Дженгизи. Хроника «Тарих-и Мехмед Герай» («История Мехмед Герая»). Часть 3

The Chronicle “Tarikh-i Mehmed Geray” (1682–1703) by the Crimean Tatar historiographer Dervish Mehmed bin Mubarek Geray Genghisi is the narrative source reflecting the history of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman state in 1682–1703. The date of the work is 1703 (completed in the month of Rejeb 1115). A copy of the chronicle has been preserved in the funds of the Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) under the cipher (inventory number) No. 1080, Cod. H.O.86 HAN MAG. Volume (folio) – 125 sheets in taalik script, sheets are small. There are verses on 125 sheets. The manuscript is not marked with the title, but has an appraisal prescript: “Tarih-i Mehmed Geray Qara Mustafa Paşa cenklerin söyler üçünci Sultan Mehmed Han vaqtlarından Sultan Ahmed Han biñ yüz on beş tarihınacek söyler bir maqbul tarihdır” / “Mehmed Tarikh-i Mehmed Giray narrating about the wars of Kara Mustafa Pasha, the acceptable story telling from the time of Sultan Mehmed Khan III to the period of Sultan Ahmed Khan, up to the year one thousand one hundred and fifteen”. The Chronicle’s translation into Russian (the author of the translation is R.R. Abduzhemilev) was made from the text’s transliteration of the manuscript into Latin, presented in the Turkish edition of Ugur Demir’s master thesis “Tarikh-i Mehmed Giray” (assessment – text’s transcription)” (consultant: Prof. Dr. Nejdet Öztürk, Istanbul, 2006, 163 pages).

K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde’s Tahāfut and Its Place in Ottoman Thought

In the tradition of Islamic philosophy, mas̲h̲s̲h̲āʾiyyūn have been subjected to serious criticism in G̲h̲azālī’s (d. 1111) work Tahāfut al-Falāsifa, with the claim that their philosophical views are incoherent. Tahāfut, which pioneered the structural transformation of Islamic philosophy, is also the source of the tradition of Tahāfut in Islamic thought. Islamic philosophy in the Ottoman period presents a multidisciplinary structure in which the disciplines of ilm al-kalām, philosophy and taṣawwuf converge in terms of subject, purpose, and method. Besides, it is the continuation of a tradition in which G̲h̲azālī’s thought is dominant in general. philosophy gained momentum with a competition for a work that Fatih Sultan Mehmed wanted to be written on G̲h̲azālī’s Tahāfut. In this competition, K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde’s (d. 1488) Tahāfut al-Falāsifa and Alāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī al-Ṭūsī’s (d. 1482) Kitāb al-Zuhr competed and K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde’s work won the competition with major praise. This work of K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde entitled Tahāfut al-Falāsifa has an exceptional place in terms of its contribution to both the Islamic philosophy tradition and the tradition of tahāfut. This work, in terms of its theoretical approach, which has a feature that offers insight and method of addressing the issues systematically, is a typical example to the Islamic philosophy of the Ottoman period and gained a considerable reputation at that time. The original name of K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde’s work is Kitâb al-Tahāfut fi'l-Muhākama Bayna'l G̲h̲azālī wa'l Falāsifa. The work consists of twenty philosophical issues. K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde explained his views on all philosophical issues in these twenty-two issues, and also discussed the issues on which G̲h̲azālī conflicted with the philosophers. Three issues that have become important in the tradition of thought after al-G̲h̲azālī denounced the philosophers constitute the main subject of the work. The instructions and annotations written on this work made a great contribution to the development of philosophy in the tradition of Ottoman thought, and moreover, in a sense, it provided the revival of the dusty volume of tahâfut discussions. In this article, by using literature and data analysis methods, the tradition of tahāfut reflecting the course of Islamic philosophy in the Ottoman period and the place and importance of K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde’s tahāfut in this tradition will be revealed. Another aim of this study is the possible relations between K̲hōd̲j̲ā-Zāde's intellectual personality and the structural features of the Ottoman thought tradition.

Perspectives on Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's (1635-1676) Grand Vizirate by Imperial Resident Casanova

AbstractKöprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's tenure as grand vizier from 1661 to 1676 stands as a seminal period in Ottoman history, and Fazıl Ahmed Pasha was a pivotal figure. This article draws upon the largely-overlooked dispatches written by Giovanni Battista Casanova, the imperial resident at the Sublime Porte. Through an analysis of Casanova's observations, this study offers fresh perspectives on the grand vizirate and of Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's enduring legacy within the Ottoman Empire. Following a brief introduction on Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's rise to power, the article's analysis unfolds across four dimensions: first, interactions between grand vizier Fazıl Ahmed and Sultan Mehmed IV; second, the closest associates of the grand vizier; third, Casanova's communication with the grand vizier; and fourth, Casanova's extensive negotiations for the release of prisoners of war.At the core of this analysis is the argument that the communications between Casanova and Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha reveal not only the complexities of Ottoman affairs but also the strategic foundation of Ottoman military campaigns and diplomacy during this period. Through an examination of Casanova's dispatches, this article elucidates how the resident's interactions with the Ottoman court offer insights into the Ottoman Empire's strategies vis-à-vis European powers, as well as its reforms. By revisiting Fazıl Ahmed Pasha's legacy through the eyes of a contemporaneous observer, this study contributes a nuanced perspective to the understanding of Ottoman history and governance during the seventeenth century.

The Early Relations between the Ottoman State and the Orthodox Church: An Instance of "Istimâlet"

Shortly after the capture of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II made Gennadios Scholarios the new ecumenical patriarch, defining at the same time the rights and privileges of the Orthodox Church under Ottoman rule. When in the 1530s, some Muslim leaders demanded that the city’s remaining churches be closed, Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent refused on the basis of (a travesty of) a legal inquiry. A close reading of Greek and Ottoman sources sheds light on the accommodating policy, called istimâlet, which the Ottoman state pursued toward the Orthodox Church.

Poseta kralja Petra I Karađorđevića Carigradu 1910. godine

The visit of King Petar I Karađorđević to the Turkish sultan is one of the eight visits in modern Serbian history. Seven meetings of Serbian rulers with sultans took place in Constantinople, except for one that took place in Bulgaria. In the visits made before 1878, the Serbian rulers went as vassals. The meeting between the Serbian king and Sultan Mehmed V Rešad in 1910 was the third in a row since Serbia became an independent state. King Petar I Karađorđević spent the second half of March and the first half of April 1910 travelling. First, he visited Russia, then Constantinople, Mount Athos, and finally Thessaloniki. The trip lasted a little over 24 days, six of which he spent in Constantinople. The Serbian delegation led by the king was warmly received by the sultan, the common people, and the Christian population living in the Turkish capital. Upon their return, the members of the delegation were convinced that Turkey would remain on the path of improving Serbian-Turkish relations, friendly agreement, and strengthening of economic relations. This intention was highlighted in the official statement of the Porte published on the occasion of the visit of the Serbian king. In the announcement, it was expressly emphasized that a complete agreement was reached at the conferences of the foreign ministers of the two countries and that the Turkish side will grant Serbian wishes for strengthening economic and trade relations. It was of great importance for the Kingdom of Serbia to remove the obstacles that existed until that time regarding the construction of the Adriatic railway. In addition, practical results were achieved because Turkish officials expressed their readiness for the greatest possible benefits that would contribute to the export of Serbian goods through Thessaloniki. The visit to Constantinople brought success in the issues regarding religion as well, because after four years of resistance, the Patriarchate and the Synod, just before the king's arrival, accepted the election of the Serb Varnava Rosić as bishop of the Veles-Debar eparchy. The meeting of the two rulers received great attention in the diplomatic circles of European countries, especially Austria-Hungary. The relations between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire, apart from the economic aspect, soon fell into the shadows due to the Albanian riots and rebellions that engulfed the entire Kosovo vilayet. In that case too, the Serbian state tried not to interfere in Turkey's internal affairs.

Byzantine Riddle of the Council of Constance: The Problem of the Motives of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos

This article discusses the aims and means of the Byzantine diplomacy at the initial stage of the Council of Constance. Shortly before the opening of the Council, the Roman King Sigismund of Luxembourg and Venice concluded a truce, but the hidden struggle between them continued. At the Council Sigismund had for an object to create the anti-Turkish coalition for organising the Crusade which would be the means of peace enforcement of Venice on his terms. Analyzing the motives of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, the author of this article denies his intention to achieve the alliance with the West against the Turks at the Council. The concept of the study is based on the assertion that Byzantium sought to occupy the central place in the interests of three key players (King Sigismund, Venice and the Turkish Sultan Mehmed I). The solution of the problem allowed the Byzantine emperor to bring all these forces into the state of equilibrium controlled by him. The author of the article reveals two main tools Byzantine diplomacy used to achieve its object. On the one hand, the Greeks deliberately provoked rumours in the West that the emperor had sympathies for the Church Union and alliance with the Roman king. On the other hand, they demonstrated the theoretical possibility of the alliance with the Ottoman Prince Mustafa. This way, the Byzantines simultaneously exerted the necessary influence on both Venice and the sultan. In result, they tied interests of all key players in the international arena to their ruler. From this point of view, the paper has revealed the reasons for the stay of Byzantine diplomat Manuel Chrysoloras at the Council of Constance. The massacre of Jan Hus is seen as an attempt by opponents of Sigismund, behind whom Venice stood, to prevent discussion of the issue of the Church Union with Byzantium.

Irène sacrifiée: la cruauté du Grand Turc entre histoire et fiction (1550–1750). Par Robin Beuchat

Robin Beuchat offers a rich panorama of two centuries of representation of a single, uncorroborated anecdote about the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror. As he follows the story of the sacrifice of Mehmed’s favourite concubine, Irène, and its retelling from its first appearance in an Italian history of the Turks in the sixteenth century to its reinterpretation on the French and English stage in the eighteenth century, the author traces changing European attitudes towards the Ottomans and, conversely, the use of the Irène vignette as a foil for the articulation of distinct European identities. Beuchat’s book merits discussion among scholars of early modern orientalism and of the practice of historiography, as well as among those concerned with the divergence of narrative genres over its time period. First appearing in Italian in the widely circulated early Renaissance manuscript Historia turchesca, the anecdote tells of a sultan who, besotted with Irène, begins to neglect affairs of state until, pressed into action by the complaints of his advisors, he summarily executes her. The story was wielded by the Habsburg orator Johannes Cuspinianus as emblematic of the Turks’ cruelty and indignity, before it was popularized by Matteo Bandello in his 1554 collection of Novelle, which provided the source for later French and English translations. The Irène story accommodated broad interpretations, including that of the politeness or honnêteté of Turks as attested by a 1688 version of the story in Jean Donneau de Vizé’s Mercure galant. How this story was reported offers insights not only into the contexts in which Turks were represented, but also the generic conventions of storytelling, situated between ‘référentialité’ and invention (p. 18). After ushering the reader through a broad swath of historical accounts of the episode, Beuchat tackles critical appraisals of such retellings, which provided room for ‘une forme de relativisme culturel dans l’historiographie de la Turquie’ (p. 196). Most notably, he demonstrates how the episode’s evidentiary basis divided rationalist and providential readings of history through the polemic between the Jesuit Claude-Adrien Nonnotte and Voltaire around the latter’s scepticism about the episode expressed in Essai sur les mœurs (1756). The book’s final chapter focuses on the use of theatrical accounts of Mehmed’s bloodletting to wage proxy debates about monarchical ethics in England and France. Beuchat’s close readings are scalpel-sharp and revealing, useful both to follow the thread of the various interpolations of source material as well as to understanding each author’s fashioning of his genre’s relationship to history, story, and the political context. Despite its ambitious scope, the study sidesteps the opportunity to engage explicitly with larger critical debates among which it would find a welcome home — for example, diverging perspectives on early modern orientalism and its influence on colonial projects or literary genres. Moreover, the author’s argument for the specific emblematic value of Bandello’s enduring vignette occasionally gets lost amidst his own voracious curiosity and erudition. One gets the sense that, like the protagonist of a mediocre harem romance, Beuchat uses the guise of Irène to sneak into the sultan’s palace, although in this case the aim is to deliver a broad-brush monograph on European representations of the Turks.

How the Russo-Turkish War over Ukraine (1677–81) Changed the Course of Hungarian History

How the Russo-Turkish War over Ukraine (1677–81) Changed the Course of Hungarian History