To Serdar and Hakan A GATE TO THE EMOTIONAL WORLD OF PRE-MODERN OTTOMAN SOCIETY: AN ATTEMPT TO WRITE OTTOMAN HISTORY FROM “THE INSIDE OUT” The Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University by NİL TEKGÜL In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA May 2016 ABSTRACT A GATE TO THE EMOTIONAL WORLD OF PRE-MODERN OTTOMAN SOCIETY: AN ATTEMPT TO WRITE OTTOMAN HISTORY FROM “THE INSIDE OUT” Tekgül, Nil P.D., Department of History Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Özer Ergenç May 2016 Beginning in the 1980’s, the research produced on various fields of knowledge including history, neuroscience, sociology, psychology and anthropology asserted that emotions are not only a product of biochemical but also cognitive processes. It is now commonly accepted that emotions do have a history, they are socially constructed changing across time and space. This thesis is an attempt to revisit the relations established within the pre-modern Ottoman society, by taking emotions into consideration. The relations are analyzed within three dimensions; the state and the subjects, intra-communal relations and familial ties. It is argued that the Ottoman state, each taife/cemaat within the society and families were not only social but also emotional communities. The collectively constructed emotional norms and codes of each emotional community and their reflections in political relations, negotiations and daily practices are elaborated via linguistic and iii discourse analysis of the primary sources. This thesis offers a new perspective and direction in Ottoman social history and thus stands as a first such attempt. The main emotion code, as reflected in the primary sources, was “telif-i kulûb” and “mahabbet” between the ruler and the ruled; “rıza ve şükran” for the community members; and “hüsn-i zindegani ve musafat” for husbands and wives. It is emphasized in this thesis that not only the material but also the emotional dimension of the political and social relations was important in shaping relations and that they should not be avoided in Ottoman social history studies. Keywords: history of emotions, mahabbet, ottoman history, rıza ve şükran, telif-i kulûb. iv ÖZET PRE-MODERN OSMANLI TOPLUMUNUN DUYGU DÜNYASINA AÇILAN BİR KAPI Tekgül, Nil Doktora, Tarih Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Prof. Dr. Özer Ergenç Mayıs 2016 Tarih, sinirbilim, sosyoloji, psikoloji ve antropoloji gibi farklı bilgi alanlarında, duygular üzerine 1980’lerden beri yapılmakta olan araştırmaların sonuçları, duyguların insan beyninde sadece biyokimyasal süreçler değil, bilişsel süreçlerin de bir ürünü olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bu sonuçlara dayanan genel kabul ile birlikte, duyguların da tarihin bir konusu olduğu, zaman ve mekana göre hem duygular hem de onların ifade biçimlerinin değiştiği ve duyguların toplumsal olarak inşa edildikleri ileri sürülmektedir. Bu çalışma, pre-modern Osmanlı’sında devletinin tebaasıyla, taife/cemaat üyelerinin birbirleriyle ve genelde kadın ve erkek olmak üzere özelde karı ve kocanın aralarında kurmuş oldukları ilişkilere, duyguları da gözönüne almak suretiyle bir yeniden bakış denemesidir. Araştırmada, hem devlet, hem her bir cemaat/taife hem de ailenin birer duygu topluluğu olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Her duygu topluluğunun kollektif olarak inşa edilen duygu normları ve kodları, kullanılan dil üzerinden tespit edilmiş ve bu normların kurulan ilişkilerde, müzakerelerde ve gündelik pratiklerde v yansımaları incelenmiştir. Böylelikle Osmanlı sosyal tarihine bir başka açıdan bakılmıştır. Bu yönüyle, bir ilk olma özelliği taşıdığı söylenebilir. Devletin tebaasıyla kurduğu ilişkide en belirleyici duygu kodu “telif-i kulub ve mahabbet” iken, taife/cemaat ilişkilerinde “rıza ve şükran”, karı koca lişkilerinde ise “hüsn-i zindegani ve musafat”tır. Araştırmada, bireylerin birbirleriyle, ait oldukları taife/cemaatin diğer üyeleri ile devletin de yönetilenlerle kurduğu ilişkilerin maddi boyutu kadar duygu boyutunun da önem taşıdığı ve sosyal tarih açısından bu yönün ihmal edilmemesi gerektiği tezde vurgulanmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: duyguların tarihi, mahabbet, rıza ve şükran, osmanlı tarihi, telif-i kulûb. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis represents the end of my journey in obtaining my Ph.D and I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those who contributed scientifically and emotionally and who made it possible and an unforgettable experience for me. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest “şükran” for my advisor Prof. Özer Ergenç for his continuous support and never lasting patience to my questions. His immense knowledge of Ottoman history and his guidance always enlightened my way throughout my time of research. It would have been impossible to study such an elusive concept like “emotions” without his continuous encouragement. He had not only been my advisor but also my mentor and I always felt myself lucky to feel his deep support. He had always been supportive in my search for emotions in history and could make my journey not only fulfilling but also enjoyable. I am and will always be proud to be one of his students. I’m thankful to my thesis committee members Prof. Mehmet Kalpaklı and Prof. Tülay Artan for their support by encouraging me and for their insightful comments. I’m specifically thankful to Prof. Cemal Kafadar for his esteemed and generous contribution of his vast knowedge into my thesis and agreeing to be a member of my defense committee. I also thank to Prof. Ali Yaycıoğlu for sparing his time for me and for his valuable comments. I would also like to thank all my vii professors in History Department of Bilkent University since they each had an impact on shaping my own understanding of history. Special thanks also to Prof. Yusuf Oğuzoğlu who had been supportive and always interested in my thesis subject by giving me insightful comments and supplying invaluable primary sources for my thesis. I also take this opportunity to sincerely acknowledge Prof. Berrak Burçak and Prof. İlker Aytürk for their academic support and friendship. I would like to expand my huge, warm thanks to my dear friends Birgül, Canan, Füsun, Lale and Sevgi who were always there whenever I needed them helping me to relieve my anxieties by making me laugh and think. I’m thankful for their sincere support. Life would be boring without them. I also owe special thanks to my dear brother Can Erkey who had always been my hero. I am indebted to all of my colleagues, but in particular to Aslıhan and Michael Sheridan, Can Eyüp Çekiç, Merve Biçer for their valuable help and support. There’s also somesome special whom I would like to thank who passed away long ago, my grandmother Ferhunde Betin. She was a member of late Ottoman society in her childhood and a proud citizen of the Turkish Republic as an elementary school teacher in her later life. I always loved to listen to her stories and my passion for history owes a lot to her. I hope she’s in peace in heaven now. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my dear husband Serdar and my beloved son Hakan who had always been supportive, thoughtful and appreciative all throughout my research. I cannot think of a life without them. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................iii ÖZET ......................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................vii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................ix LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................xi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II: WHAT IS “HISTORY OF EMOTIONS”?....................................16 2.1 The Origins and Evolution of the Field...............................................17 2.2 Recent Studies and Their Contributions to the Field...........................23 2.3 Emotions in Ottoman History..............................................................31 CHAPTER III: SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY...........................................37 3.1 Sources, Main Theoretical Approaches and Debates...........................37 3.1.1 Emotionology........................................................................43 3.1.2 Emotional Communities.......................................................44 3.1.3 Emotives................................................................................47 3.2 Methods Utilized in Exploring Emotions............................................50 3.3 Ottoman Sources Utilized....................................................................52 3.3.1 Sources for Exploring Prescriptions of Emotions................54 3.3.2 Sources for Exploring Description of Emotions..................56 CHAPTER IV: OTTOMAN POLITICS OF EMOTION......................................67 4.1 Emotions in Political Discourse:..........................................................67 4.2 Presidential Speeches and Imperial Decrees........................................71 4.3 Creation of State Ideology: The Power of Words................................75 4.4 Symbolic and Emotion Codes In Ottoman Political Rhetoric..............82 4.4.1 Merhamet ile Siyanet, İhtisas ile İtaat.................................82