New Byzantinist Title by Dimitri J. Kastritsis

H-Medieval New Byzantinist Title by Dimitri J. Kastritsis

Discussion published by Emily Felton on Wednesday, January 31, 2018

New Book Announcement from Liverpool University Press

An Early Ottoman History

Dimitri J. Kastritsis

The manuscript translated here contains one of the most important texts for understanding the development of early Ottoman historiography in the fifteenth century. The so-called Oxford Anonymous chronicle is a comprehensive history of the Ottoman dynasty in Turkish, compiled from various sources to tell the story of the dynasty from its rise to the year 1484 (AH 889). Like several other histories produced around the same time, some of which it influenced, it presents the Ottomans in the context of wider Islamic history and contains a coherent argument for their superiority over other dynasties. The manuscript had previously belonged to the Dutch orientalist Jacob Golius (d. 1667). Although its history is largely unknown, it was probably a presentation copy made for Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512). The work itself is a product of Bayezid’s patronage, and shows a strong preoccupation with the perennial Ottoman problem of dynastic succession. Fully one third of the manuscript contains an older text recounting in epic terms the struggles of Mehmed I against his brothers (1402–13). The obvious explanation is that when Oxford Anonymous was compiled, Bayezid II was also facing a rival claimant to the throne, his brother Cem Sultan (d. 1495).

Dimitri J. Kastritsis discusses Ottoman history and The Oxford Anonymous Chronicle on our blog!

Dr. Dimitri J. Kastritsis is Lecturer in Ottoman History at the University of St Andrews

Translated Texts for Byzantinists

HB: 9781786940681 | RRP £75.00

December 2017 | 272pp.

Table of contents

Citation: Emily Felton. New Byzantinist Title by Dimitri J. Kastritsis. H-Medieval. 01-31-2018. https://networks.h-net.org/node/52201/discussions/1290878/new-byzantinist-title-dimitri-j-kastritsis Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Medieval

Acknowledgements ix

Note on style and transliteration xi

Abbreviations xiii

1 Introduction 1

Oxford Anonymous (Marsh 313) in the context of early Ottoman historical writing 1

Description and history of the manuscript 8

The author and circumstances of composition 10

Overview of the contents 11 The introductory chapters and their significance 16

The sections on Ottoman history 28

2 Translation 43

Preface 45

Chapter 1 52

Chapter 2 55

[Lacuna]

Inquiry 2 (Orhan) 69

Inquiry 3 (Murad I) 74

Inquiry 4 (Bayezid I) 85

Inquiry 5 (Mehmed I) 97

Inquiry 6 (Murad II) 155

Inquiry 7 (Mehmed II) 175

Inquiry 8 (Bayezid II) 213

Glossary 219

Bibliography 223

Index 243

For more information on our Translated Texts for Byzantinists series please visit: liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk