UC San Diego UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Early enlightenment in Istanbul Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/13j1570s Author Küc¿ük, Bekir Harun Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Early Enlightenment in Istanbul A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in History and Science Studies by Bekir Harun Küçük Committee in charge: Professor Robert S. Westman, Chair Professor Frank P. Biess Professor Craig Callender Professor Luce Giard Professor Hasan Kayalı Professor John A. Marino 2012 Copyright Bekir Harun Küçük, 2012 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Bekir Harun Küçük is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2012 iii DEDICATION To Merve iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page . iii Dedication . iv Table of Contents . v List of Figures . vi List of Tables . vii Acknowledgements . viii Vita and Publications . xi Abstract of the Dissertation . xiii Chapter 1 Early Enlightenment in Istanbul . 1 Chapter 2 The Ahmedian Regime . 42 Chapter 3 Ottoman Theology in the Early Eighteenth Century . 77 Chapter 4 Natural Philosophy and Expertise: Convert Physicians and the Conversion of Ottoman Medicine . 104 Chapter 5 Contemplation and Virtue: Greek Aristotelianism at the Ottoman Court . 127 Chapter 6 The End of Aristotelianism: Upright Experience and the Printing Press . 160 Chapter 7 L’Homme Machine . 201 Bibliography . 204 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The title page of Cottunius’s Commentarii. 131 Figure 2: Johannes Cottunius’s portrait from the Commentarii (1648). 146 Figure 3: Cottunius’s titles according Matteo Bolzetta’s preface to Icones graeco- rum sapientium (1657). 147 Figure 4: A hand-drawn illustration comparing the Copernican and Tychonic models for the universe from Mecmu,at-ı Hey -etü’l-K. ad¯ıme ve el- Ced¯ıde. At the top center, Ibrahim Müteferrika gives instructions about the placement of the image in the printed version. 171 Figure 5: Joseph André Jacques Aved’s portrait of Mehmed Said Efendi (1742), Musée de Versailles . 174 Figure 6: The title page of Christoph Eberhard’s Specimen theoriae magneticae181 Figure 7: Eberhard’s engravings of a regular and an inclinatory compass. 184 Figure 8: Eberhard’s Compasses in the Füyud¯ . at-ı¯ Mık. natısiyye¯ . 185 Figure 9: The first pages of a scholarly book, a presentation book and a Müte- ferrika print compared. 187 Figure 10: The colophon of Füyud¯ . at¯ (Süleymaniye Library MS Laleli 2548) on the last page, showing hand-drawn rules. The last paragraph gives the date, the city, the press and the printer’s name. 188 Figure 11: Descartes’ visuals regarding terrestrial magnetism and the Earth’s crust from Principia philosophiae (1644) . 192 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The Ottoman Body Politic . 66 Table 2: Cottunius-Esad Correspondence . 156 Table 3: Editions of the Ottoman Printing Press . 161 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this dissertation proved to be more of an adventure than I had initially anticipated. The volume that you are now holding would not have come into existence without the guidance and support of many people. It is pleasure to acknowledge those showed the way and kept me moving forward. I have been deeply honored to have had an immensely resourceful committee. I cannot thank them enough for always being there. Bob Westman’s astute observations, continued encouragement and astounding diligence steered me back into course count- less times. He was at once the advisor and the editor of this twice-written dissertation, and much that is good in the following pages bears his mark. Without Hasan Kayalı’s unflinching support, generosity and guidance, I would not have had the courage or the resources to write a dissertation on the Ottoman Empire. Without John Marino’s men- torship and inventiveness, I would not have developed the mental toughness that was essential for setting up and maintaing the comparative framework of my thesis. Without Luce Giard’s sagacity, encouragement and perseverance, I would not have had either the audacity or the intellectual flexibility to look at the Ottomans with fresh eyes. I am grateful to Craig Callender and Frank Biess for their support but also for some of my best class-hours at UCSD. Two people are responsible for the initial inspiration behind this dissertation. It was Kasper Eskildsen who first brought the early Enlightenment to my attention, and introduced me to the individuals whose scholarship informs this dissertation. ¸Serif Mardin was the first to introduce me to the Islamic dimension of Ottoman modernity and to Esad of Ioannina. I cannot thank them enough. Over the years, a number of other great teachers have generously shared their time and knowledge with me. I would also like to thank Tal Golan, Cynthia Truant, Nina Zhiri and Tom Gallant for their contributions to my education and research in San Diego. Both prior to coming to UCSD and after I passed my qualifying exams, I have spent a number of pleasant and edifying years at Sabancı University in Istanbul. Tülay Artan’s expertise, generous encouragement and feedback have kept me going in the right direction. I would like to thank Metin Kunt, Halil Berktay and Hakan Erdem for their viii mentorship during my formative years as a graduate student. I would also like to express my gratitude to Ak¸sinSomel and Hülya Canbakal for their continued support over the years. Research for this dissertation took me to a number of libraries in Turkey, Europe and the United States. I have appreciated the assistance that I received at UCSD’s Geisel Library, the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, the British Library, the History of Science Collections at the University of Oklahoma, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Sabancı University, Orientinstitut Istanbul and ISAM. I also owe an immense debt of gratitude to the ILL staff at many institutions. If it were not for them, I would have never had access to much of the rare material that was essential to my research. My gratitude goes particularly to the ILL staff at USCD, at Sabancı University and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. I am also proud to acknowledge the various fellowships and grants that supported my research. My main patrons during both research and writing have been the Depart- ment of History and the Science Studies Program at UCSD. A generous pre-dissertation research fellowship from the Council for European Studies has funded my early research at the British Library. A Mellon Fellowship took me to the University of Oklahoma’s History of Science Collections for revisions. A “Writing-Up” fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science saw me through the final months of writing. I am also grateful for a small grant from Orientinstitut Istanbul that helped me acquire an important eighteenth-century work. As a traveller in strange lands, I have been the lucky recipient of kindness, friend- ship and advice from innumerable individuals. Raine Daston’s generosity and support has been invaluable during my stay in Berlin. Khaled El-Rouayheb’s company and advice has saved me from a number of errors. I would like to thank Edhem Eldem, Daniel Goffman and the participants at Max-Planck’s pre-doctoral discussion seminar for their valuable encouragement and feedback. I would also like to thank Christine von Oertzen, Florence Hsia, Paul Erickson, Amrys O’Williams, Fernando Vidal, Han Ver- meulen, Markus Friedrich, Dora Vargha, Ulla Kypta and Jenny Spinks for their warm and learned company. I owe a debt of gratitude to Steven Livesey, Peter Barker, Rienk Vermij, Kerry Magruder, Joann Palmeri and Margaret Gaida for a wonderful and pro- ix ductive month at the University of Oklahoma’s History of Science Collections. During my doctoral journey, I also made many good friends. I would like to thank Alper and Becka Yalçınkaya for always being there. I cherish Cristina and An- drew Trecha’s warmth and friendship. I am grateful to Zeynep Bulut for much needed camaraderie in San Diego and in Berlin. Fatma Ülgen’s warm and wise company has been as enjoyable in Istanbul as it was in San Diego. I thank Kate McDonald for being a true friend and an excellent roommate. And, last but not least, I am grateful to Ayhan Ayte¸s,Benny Cohen, Aytek Soner Alpan and Matthew Shindell for making my days in San Diego much better than they would have been otherwise. My parents, Ayfer and Özcan have always been unwavering in their support and watchful presence, although I spent the better half of my adult life thousands of miles away from home. I continue to owe them my most heartfelt gratitude. Finally, I want to thank my wife Merve for her love, support, bravery and perseverance. She was with me at every step of this journey. I humbly dedicate this work to her. x VITA EDUCATION 2003 B. A. in Liberal Arts, St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland 2004-2005 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey 2005 M. A. in History, Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey 2006-2008 Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of California, San Diego 2009-2011 Lecturer, Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey 2012 Ph. D. in History and Science Studies, University of California, San Diego FELLOWSHIPS 2012 Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Pre-doctoral Fel- lowship