Promotor Prof. dr. Jan Dumolyn Vakgroep Geschiedenis Decaan Prof. dr. Marc Boone Rector Prof. dr. Anne De Paepe Nederlandse vertaling: Een Spiegel voor de Sultan. Staatsideologie in de Vroeg Osmaanse Kronieken, 1300-1453 Kaftinformatie: Miniature of Sultan Orhan Gazi in conversation with the scholar Molla Alâeddin. In: the Şakayıku’n-Nu’mâniyye, by Taşköprülüzâde. Source: Topkapı Palace Museum, H1263, folio 12b. Faculteit Letteren & Wijsbegeerte Hilmi Kaçar A Mirror for the Sultan State Ideology in the Early Ottoman Chronicles, 1300- 1453 Proefschrift voorgelegd tot het behalen van de graad van Doctor in de Geschiedenis 2015 Acknowledgements This PhD thesis is a dream come true for me. Ottoman history is not only the field of my research. It became a passion. I am indebted to Prof. Dr. Jan Dumolyn, my supervisor, who has given me the opportunity to take on this extremely interesting journey. And not only that. He has also given me moral support and methodological guidance throughout the whole process. The frequent meetings to discuss the thesis were at times somewhat like a wrestling match, but they have always been inspiring and stimulating. I also want to thank Prof. Dr. Suraiya Faroqhi and Prof. Dr. Jo Vansteenbergen, for their expert suggestions. My colleagues of the History Department have also been supportive by letting me share my ideas in development during research meetings at the department, lunches and visits to the pub. I would also like to sincerely thank the scholars who shared their ideas and expertise with me: Dimitris Kastritsis, Feridun Emecen, David Wrisley, Güneş Işıksel, Deborah Boucayannis, Kadir Dede, Kristof d’Hulster, Xavier Baecke and many others. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my family. My mother for her wise words, calming presence and lovely meals and my father for having stimulated me to study hard and take on challenges such as the writing of a doctoral dissertation, my brothers and sisters, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, as well as my girlfriend and her family. They all have made sure that I did not suffer behind my desk and gave me the best moral support a doctoral student can wish for. Indeed, a dissertation cannot take its final shape without the voluntary intellectual and editorial support of family and friends. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Linda Jacobs for her priceless support, who has probed my thesis with an eagle eye for any language mistake. Prof. Dr. Dries Lesage’s knowledgeable comments on the text and editorial work have also proven to be invaluable. Of course, my special thanks goes to my girlfriend, Esther Bloch, for the many inspiring discussions, her understanding and unremitting support. v List of Figures Figure 1: The Orhun Inscriptions carved on a stone pillar. ........................................................... 65 Figure 2: Great Seljuk Sultan Berk Yaruk ibn Malik Shah (r. 1093-1105) ....................................... 71 Figure 3: Silver coins struck by Orhan Gazi (c. 1326). .................................................................... 85 Figure 4: Miniature portrait of Osman Gazi . ................................................................................. 87 Figure 5: Sultan Yıldırım Bâyezid with Molla Şemseddin Fenarî. ............................................... 115 Figure 6: Orhan Gazi gives a composite bow as a gift to the Byzantine prince Kalo-Ioannis. ...... 121 Figure 7: The conscription of Christian boys (devshirme) for the kul institution ....................... 142 Figure 8: The enthronement of Sultan Yıldırım Bâyezid I in Kosovo in 1389. .............................. 147 Figure 9: Miniature portrait of Sultan Murad II. ......................................................................... 159 Figure 10: A Turkish nomadic mounted warrior ........................................................................ 207 Figure 11: Miniature portrait of Sultan Mehmed II ..................................................................... 225 Figure 12: Miniature of the legend about the capture of Aydos Castle ....................................... 267 Figure 13: (left) Sultan Yıldırım Bâyezid I. ................................................................................. 274 Figure 14: (right) Emir Timur Lenk. Timurid period. ................................................................. 274 Figure 15: The Ottoman army on campaign ............................................................................... 284 Figure 16: A scene of feasting at the princely court ................................................................... 345 vii Table of Contents Introduction: Methodology and Conceptual Framework ................................ ...................... 1 Theories of State Formation ................................................................................................... 7 What is a ‘state’? ............................................................................................................. 8 Nomadic State Formation ............................................................................................ 12 The concept of ideology ........................................................................................................ 15 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) ......................................................................................... 16 Outline of this study ............................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 1 The Sources ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 21 1.1 Early Ottoman Historiography ................................................................................... 21 1.2 Early Ottoman historical texts .................................................................................... 25 1.3 Gazavatname s or Books of Campaign .......................................................................... 27 1.3.1 The Gazavat-ı Sultan Murad bin Mehemmed Han ............................................. 29 1.4 Early Fifteenth-Century Chronicles ........................................................................... 32 1.4.1 Ahmedî (c. 1410) ............................................................................................... 33 1.5 The period of Murad II (r. 1421-1451) ........................................................................ 37 1.5.1 Royal Calendars or Takvims ............................................................................. 39 1.5.2 Anonymous Chronicles .................................................................................... 39 1.6 Chronicles from the period of Mehmed II (1451-1481) ........................................... 43 1.7 Chronicles from the period of Bâyezid II (1481-1512) ............................................. 46 1.7.1 Aşık Paşazade (c. 1480s) ................................................................................... 46 1.7.2 Neşrî (c. 1490s) .................................................................................................. 53 1.7.3 Oruç Beg (c. 1502) ............................................................................................. 56 Chapter 2 Patterns of State Formation in the Early Ottoman Empire, c. 1300 - 1453 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................ 59 2.1 The world of the steppe ............................................................................................... 59 Those Who Draw the Bow - the Nomad as Empire-Builder ....................... 61 2.2 The Kök Türk Empire ................................................................................................... 63 2.3 The Great Seljuk Empire .............................................................................................. 67 2.4 The Seljuk Rum Sultanate of Anatolia (c. 1080-1308) .............................................. 72 The Disintegration of the Rûm Seljuk Sultanate .......................................... 74 2.5 The Arrival of the Mongols ......................................................................................... 76 ix 2.6 The Emergence of Turkish principalities in Anatolia ............................................. 77 2.7 From Osman’s Beylik (principality) to an Empire (c. 1302-1402) ........................... 82 2.7.1 Before the founding of the Beylik (principality) .......................................... 83 2.7.2 Osman Gazi founds a dynasty and state ........................................................ 84 2.7.3 Early socio-political structures and institutions ......................................... 88 2.7.4 Dynastic marriages ........................................................................................... 90 2.8 The Debate on the Origins and Nature of the Ottoman State ................................ 94 2.8.1 Critical Voices: Giese, Köprülü and the Annales-methode ........................ 95 2.8.2 Wittek’s gazi -thesis ........................................................................................... 96 2.8.3 Critics of Wittek’s thesis ................................................................................ 100 2.8.4 Gaza, Jihad and Holy War .............................................................................. 102 2.9 The Policy of İstimâlet ................................................................................................. 108