Vural Genç | Istanbul University (original) (raw)
Papers by Vural Genç
Iranian Studies, 2024
It may seem perplexing, in the beginning, to see Iranian poet Khayyām’s rubaies and other Persian... more It may seem perplexing, in the beginning, to see Iranian poet Khayyām’s rubaies and other Persian
poems on the gravestones of Bidlis from the late nineteenth century. However, when scrutinizing
Bidlis’s political and cultural history, it is clear that Persian language and culture has deep, longstanding
roots in this city and been integrated into high Iranian-Islamic culture in both respects. Based mainly
on primary archival sources and inscriptions, I touch on the adventures and preponderance of Persian—
the lingua franca of the rulers of Bidlis, a Kurdish principality located on the Ottoman-Iranian frontier—
and its intellectuals after the city was integrated into the Ottoman world, and thus the decaying
ascendancy of Persian.
Mohammad Amin Riyāhī’s book, Nofūz-e zabān o adabīyāt-e Fārsī dar qalamrov-e Osmānī, is a wellknown
study in this respect, but mostly focuses on the adventures of Persian in and around court circles.
Another comprehensive book on the subject, The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua
Franca, illustrates the frontiers of Persian’s usage in the vast geography stretching from China, Central
Asia, and India to the Ottoman world. By focusing on a limited area like Bidlis, the region’s most prestigious
principality, this article attempts to elucidate the impact of Persian in the Ottoman-Iranian
frontiers, unearthing its influence as a language of both diplomacy and literature as well as a lingua
franca of Bidlis intellectuals in the lands ruled by Kurdish rulers.
Context Bidlīs is important in the history of the Ottoman Empire and especially its southeastern ... more Context Bidlīs is important in the history of the Ottoman Empire and especially its southeastern frontiers. It has already delivered some Persian and Turkish inscriptions, but as in other parts of the Empire, unpublished inscriptions appear from time to time. The present inscription, which commemorates the building of a complex in the 16th century, is engraved on an outcrop of the Sharafīya to the centre of Bidlīs. 1 The Sharafīya has been carried out during the time of Sharaf Khan I, the Kurdish emir who ruled Bidlīs from 909/1504 to 940/1533. 2 The monumental complex was built during his alliance with the Ottomans when he governed his territory without the interference of the Ottoman Empire. The complex, at the confluence of the Ribāt and Kuchūr streams in the city centre of Bidlīs, is formed of a mosque, a mausoleum, a fountain, a madrasa with a covered market, a qaysārīya (bazaar), a bath-house and a zāwīya with a minaret. The stones carrying the present inscription are of limestone and are formed of
Journal of Persianate Studies, 2020
Malekzāda Āhi was an Iranian-born Shāh-nāma writer (shāh-nāmaji, Ott. şehnameci) who served at th... more Malekzāda Āhi was an Iranian-born Shāh-nāma writer (shāh-nāmaji, Ott. şehnameci) who served at the court of the Ottoman sultan Bāyezid II (r. 1481-1512) and composed the first Ottoman dynastic history to bear the title of "Shāh-nāma." Accompanying the sultan since his years as a prince, Malekzāda wrote his Shāh-nāma after the tradition of Ferdowsi (d. 1019-20) and Nezāmi (d. 1209), in addition to many odes (qasidas) in praise of his patron. Despite his contemporary reputation as the "master of the verse (malek al-kalam)" in the sultan's palace, a series of unfortunate accidents led to his relative obscurity in modern historiography. Malekzāda Āhi's experience as a Shāh-nāma writer is representative of the position held by Iranian artists and scholars in the early sixteenth-century Ottoman palace. His Shāh-nāma also should be regarded as one of the earliest transmissions of the Shāh-nāma style of history-writing to the Ottoman realm. In this article, I attempt to uncover Malekzāda Āhi's real identity and shed light on his activities in the palace circle, based on archival documents that are studied here for the first time.
Osmanlı Araştırmaları / The Journal of Ottoman Studies, 2021
Osmanlılar ile Safeviler arasındaki uzun süreli mücadelelerin bir ayağını da çeşitli mecralarda... more Osmanlılar ile Safeviler arasındaki uzun süreli mücadelelerin bir ayağını da çeşitli mecralarda sürdürülen dinsel tartışmalar oluşturur. II. Bayezid’in iktidarının son yıllarında başlayıp Yavuz Sultan Selim ve Kanunî Sultan Süleyman dönemlerinde devam eden bu tartışmalar, Osmanlı kronik yazarlarının kendi mecralarında konuya dair belirttikleri görüşleri, ulemanın verdiği Safevi/Kızılbaş karşıtı fetvalar ve iki taraf
arasındaki diplomatik yazışmalar üzerinden sürdürüldü. Kuşkusuz bu sonuncusu, tartışmaların en hararetle sürdürüldüğü mecra oldu. Bu makalede mevcut dini ve siyasi polemiklerin bir manifesto şeklinde karşı tarafa duyurulduğu ve karşılıklı çekişmeye dönüştürüldüğü diplomatik yazışmalar ekseninde Şah Tahmasb ile Kanunî Sultan Süleyman arasındaki hararetli meşruiyet tartışmalarına değinilecektir.
Archiv Orientalni, 2019
The Kurdish emirate of Hakkārī played a very important role in the interaction between the Ottoma... more The Kurdish emirate of Hakkārī played a very important role in the interaction between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Brought under Ottoman control, in the course of the sixteenth century Hakkārī turned into one of the principal frontier emirates, connected through frontier regions with the main centers of the Safavid state via Ādharbāyjān. Despite its Ottoman position in the sixteenth century, we know precious little about Safavid efforts to gain the allegiance of Hakkārī. One of Shah Tahmāsp's existing letters, published here for the first time, illustrates his side of the correspondence with the Hakkārī emir Zaynal Bayg, and helps to explain a few obscure points in the Safavid-Kurdish relationship.
In our previous essays " Reflections of Sharaf Khan's Autobiography" and "Why Was Sharaf Khan Kil... more In our previous essays " Reflections of Sharaf Khan's Autobiography" and "Why Was Sharaf Khan Killed?", both published in Manuscripta Orientalia (2015) we rejected the traditional date of Sharaf Khan's death (1012/1603-4) and provided some important details on his life and career. We recently had come across the new unpublished Ottoman-Turkish documents which had not been noticed before. The documents include some new material and details on Sharaf Khan which helps our readers get some new understanding of his killing, political life and what happened to Bidlis principality at the time.
Iranian Studies, 2019
A bureaucrat and historian of Iranian provenance, Idris-i Bidlisi (b. Rayy 1457–d. Istanbul 1520)... more A bureaucrat and historian of Iranian provenance, Idris-i Bidlisi (b. Rayy 1457–d. Istanbul 1520), is undoubtedly one of the most original and important intellectual figures in the Ottoman-Iranian borderland in the sixteenth century. He lived in a very turbulent period and established different relationships with Iranian and Ottoman dynasties at the end of the fifteenth century and at the begining of the sixteenth century. He and his work have been the focus of long-standing historical debates that have continued till the present day. Until now, the focus of most modern scholarly works on Bidlisi has usually been romantic and heroic without providing a proper, in-depth textual, historiographic, and historical analysis. As a result, such modern works have come to present a skewed, romanticized image of Bidlisi, which has been largely detached from the nature and dynamics of the historical context in which Bidlisi evolved as an intellectual and writer.
This paper takes up to portray Bidlisi’s realistic image by eliminating shortcomings in the modern historiography on him. By looking at Bidlisi and his corpus, and more specifically at the ways in which the latter was shaped by Bidlisi’s patronage relationships, this paper aims to open up a window into Bidlisi’s evolving mindset and worldview. On another plane, through an in-depth analysis of his corpus and new archival sources the paper strives to unveil intellectual life and career of an Iranian provenance bureaucrat and historian positioned between Ottoman-Iranian world and provide a glimpse into the nature of patronage and in the sixteenth century.
Tarih Dergisi, 2019
It is well known that after the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmed the Conqueror's pervasive reputatio... more It is well known that after the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmed the Conqueror's pervasive reputation in Islamic realm, paved the way for the influx of many scholars, encomiasts and craftsman from Iran to Ottoman palace. Among them shāhnāma-writers or encomiasts such as Ma'ālī, Kāshifī, Hamīdī and Qabūlī, proved that they were prolific servants through their shāhnāmas and panegyrics. Although the less known Riyāzī-i Samarqandī, did not write a book like his contemporaries Ma'ālī and Kāshifī in shāhnāma genre, he tried to construct an image for his patron Mehmed the Conqueror by means of his Persian epistle. In this article, I will try to investigate an unknown encomiast of Mehmed the Conqueror and his attempts to construct an image for his generous patron.
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft , 2019
We have previously managed to show on what difficult terrain we stand when asking the question ab... more We have previously managed to show on what difficult terrain we stand when asking the question about the historical authenticity of Sharaf-nāma chronicle, penned in the sixteenth century by the Kurdish emir of Bidlīs, Sharaf Khān II. What can be confirmed is that in choosing a historical episode, Sharaf Khān II was on the one hand dealing with something historical, and on the other hand, hoping to gain legitimacy and support (and justification) for his claim and his family’s claim to power by declaring his personal opinion in this historical episode.
Der Islam, 2019
Sharaf Khān, author of the Sharaf-nāma, is the most energetic early modern champion of the Kurdis... more Sharaf Khān, author of the Sharaf-nāma, is the most energetic early modern champion of the Kurdish history. One problem with the standard account of Sharaf Khān is that it commits Kurdish history to a personal distinction, i.e. a distinction without organized administrative information. This indicates that one must be careful to use all claims of Sharaf Khān about particular Kurdish emirs, because all that pertains to the understanding of 16th century Kurdish emirs is not included in the Sharaf-nāma. One way of resolving this inconsistency is to refer to the Ottoman registers of ruus. What we want to emphasize in this paper is the importance of ruus registers for the Kurdish history which, we think, is less widely recognized. In what follows we shall deal with the Kurdish materials given in the ruus registers and with Kurdish side of huge number of these Ottoman registers.
Pazhuheshha-ye Iranshenasi/Iranian Studies , 2018
در مطالعات صفوى روابط سیاسی و دیپلماتیک بین شاه اسماعیل و بایزید دوم، كه در یک محیط نسبتاً صلح آم... more در مطالعات صفوى روابط سیاسی و دیپلماتیک بین شاه اسماعیل و بایزید دوم، كه در یک محیط نسبتاً
صلح آمیز در جریان بود، ظاهراً تحت الشعاع جنگ های بعدى قرار گرفته است. به طور كلی، مطالعات
صفوى بر دوره ای كه با جنگ های ناشی از روى كار آمدن سلیم شروع می شد، متمركز شده است. شاید
مهم ترین دلیل آن نبود منابعی باشد كه در آنها به چنین نکاتی اشاره شده است. با این حال، اسناد
عثمانى نشان می دهند كه هر دو طرف قبل از دورۀ جنگ های طولانى، روابط دیپلماتیک سطح بالایی
داشته اند. هدف اصلى این مقاله بررسی یک دورۀ مسالمت آمیز از روابط دولت های صفویه و عثمانی بر
اساس منابع و اسناد آرشیو عثمانی است. در واقع قبل از جلوس سلیم اول، دولت عثمانى با صفویه
رابطۀ خوبى داشت و هر دو طرف به طور مداوم به همدیگر سفیر و هدیه می فرستادند. بر اساس منابع
عثمانى و هدیه هایی كه بایزید دوم به شیخ اسماعیل اردبیلى می فرستاد، ما نگاه عثمانی به پادشاه ایران
و قبول وی به عنوان یک رهبر فرقۀ مذهبی را بررسی خواهیم كرد. علاوه بر این، چگونگی رفت وآمد
سفیران هر دو طرف و استفاده از آن براى ابراز قدرت نمایی را توضیح خواهیم داد.
The sixteenth century Kurds normally had no access to traditional accomplishments such as prose, ... more The sixteenth century Kurds normally had no access to traditional accomplishments such as prose, poetry, historiography, calligraphy, and professional education. These accomplishments were the instruments of access to the rulers and the cause for higher appointments by the Ottoman and Safavid emperors. The first and most famous member of the Kurdish community to receive an influential bureaucratic position in Ottoman Empire was Idrīs of Bidlīs. In the days of Selim I (r.1512-1520), Idrīs’s fortune rose to such a degree that many Kurdish potentates could only with his assistance and political support. The main point of the present paper is to demonstrate that Idrīs was not the only educated Kurd who, in the sixteenth century, rendered services to the Ottoman emperor, thus coming into his favor and grace. Specifically, it is examines the case of Darwīsh Maḥmūd, a disciple of Idrīs of Bidlīs, who like his master, rose to prominence in service to the Ottomans.
Examining 16th-century Kurdish politics, particularly in the frontier districts between the Ottom... more Examining 16th-century Kurdish politics, particularly in the frontier districts between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, aptly serves as a starting point for understanding Kurdish regional semi-autonomy. This paper, dedicated to the activities of Kurdish individuals involved in information-gathering on behalf of both the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires, is the first of its kind. The findings presented here are the result of close exploration in the Ottoman archives as well as detailed reading of a number of materials from Ottoman and Safavid chronicles. The paper discusses three main subjects. The introductory section briefly explains the methods and potentials of Kurdish spying as well as some of the particulars of Ottoman– Safavid espionage. The second section provides an overview of two famous Kurdish intellectual historians and the role each played in information-gathering. The third section discusses cases of espionage throughout the political careers of several Kurdish frontier emirs.
Idrīs-i Bidlīsī, a historian and bureaucrat, lived at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning ... more Idrīs-i Bidlīsī, a historian and bureaucrat, lived at the end of the fifteenth
and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, during a considerably tumultuous period that witnessed rivalries for supremacy in the Islamic world. He was born in Rayy, Iran, in 1457, where his Shiite-Nurbakhshī father, Husām al-Dīn ‘Ali Bidlīsī, was visiting the founder of the Nurbakhshī order, Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh (d. 1465). After staying there for a short time, Bidlīsī’s family returned to Bidlīs, where they had family roots. After a short residence in Bidlīs, the family moved to Tabriz and settled there just before 1471-1472. He spent more of his life in the Persian lands (‘Ajam) than in Rūm, where he arrived only in his forties. Short works such as Risāla-yi Rabi’ al-Abrār and Risāla-yi Khazāniyya, produced while serving at the court of Sultan Ya’qūb, were the first signs of his success at imitating the works of Ilkhanid and Timurid chroniclers like Vassāf, Juvaynī, and Sharaf al-Dīn Ali Yazdī.
The present study explores a hitherto unknown work by Bidlīsī penned while under the patronage of Sultan Ya’qūb. Being a productive bureaucrat, this short work, titled Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Qiyāfat, was the third that Bidlīsī dedicated to his patron.
'Kurdish history' was written down in the sixteenth century. Its famous version, in the form of t... more 'Kurdish history' was written down in the sixteenth century. Its famous version, in the form of the may have been motivated by the need to remember the glorious past in the face of a rather gloomy present. Despite attempts at unifying the material it contains, there are passages in which individual legendary claims can be detected. It was, for example, intended to proclaim the 'Abbasid moral and politi-co-social ideals or subjects, virtues on which the Hakkari emirs based their emirate and by means of which it was said to survive. References to the dynastic claim of the Hakkaris to 'Abbasid descent suffer from a dearth of primary material however, this paper presents a recently found document which records the 'Abbasid descent of Hakkari emirs.
This article focuses on important unpublished Persian-language correspondence (cited, however, in... more This article focuses on important unpublished Persian-language correspondence (cited, however, in a number of publications) of İdris-i Bidlîsî dispatched to Ottoman sultans Bayezid II and Selim I. Two letters were addressed to Bayezid II and the remainder to Selim I. While the correspondence sent to Bayezid was personal in nature, those dispatched to Selim exhibit similar qualities to correspondence regarding the activities of Kurdish
chieftains sent to Selim by Bıyıklı Mehmed Paşa, Şâdî Paşa and Şeref Han Bidlîsî. This article, rather than providing an in-depth analysis of the letters, concentrates on providing translations and thus making this unique information available to a wider audience. Considering the scarcity of available resources relating to Bidlîsî, it can be seen that the first two letters dispatched to Bayezid II comprise important information about the life of Bidlîsî not available anywhere else. Those dispatched to
Selim also carry valuable details in comparison to Selim Şâh-nâme – our unique source regarding the reign of Selim – and thus demonstrate the importance of the texts.
In our previous essay " Reflections on Sharaf Khān's Autobiography " , we attempted to persuade t... more In our previous essay " Reflections on Sharaf Khān's Autobiography " , we attempted to persuade the academic world to reject 1012/1603–04, the traditional date of Sharaf Khān's death [1]. We based this view on a number of unpublished Ottoman and Armenian documents according to which we guessed the date of the death of Sharaf Khān is sometime between 1007/1598–99 and early 1010/1601–02. It has also been proposed that the supposed death was possibly a murder. During the time that the article was in the press, however, we had come across the evidence which had not been noticed before and which is worth considering. There is further evidence of the death of Sharaf Khān as a topic where great caution needs to be exercised before firm conclusions can be drawn. On the other hand, the references to the death of Sharaf Khān in our essay are somewhat brief, and we gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity to give some new details. This essay falls into two sections, (i) some introductory notes on the death of Sharaf Khān, and (ii) the transcription and English translation of some new documents on his death, which appear as a postscript to our previous essay.
Abstract. The essay is devoted to the new material connected with the autobiography of Sharaf Kha... more Abstract. The essay is devoted to the new material connected with the autobiography of Sharaf Khan (949—1010 / 1543— 1601–02), medieval Kurdish amir and a politician. It is divided into four sections: (i) section one very briefly explains the scope of the study; (ii) the second section provides an overview of the life of Sharaf Khan as it is reflected in his own autobiography. This is also an attempt to criticize and complete the material given in the Sharaf-nama; (iii) the third section falls into two pairs of additions to the traditional version of the autobiography: the family of Sharaf Khan and what finally happened to him. This is an attempt to provide new bases for the biography of Sharaf Khan; (iv) the last section includes an unpublished document on Sharaf Khan which helps readers get some new understanding of Sharaf Khan's life and career.
Iranian Studies, 2024
It may seem perplexing, in the beginning, to see Iranian poet Khayyām’s rubaies and other Persian... more It may seem perplexing, in the beginning, to see Iranian poet Khayyām’s rubaies and other Persian
poems on the gravestones of Bidlis from the late nineteenth century. However, when scrutinizing
Bidlis’s political and cultural history, it is clear that Persian language and culture has deep, longstanding
roots in this city and been integrated into high Iranian-Islamic culture in both respects. Based mainly
on primary archival sources and inscriptions, I touch on the adventures and preponderance of Persian—
the lingua franca of the rulers of Bidlis, a Kurdish principality located on the Ottoman-Iranian frontier—
and its intellectuals after the city was integrated into the Ottoman world, and thus the decaying
ascendancy of Persian.
Mohammad Amin Riyāhī’s book, Nofūz-e zabān o adabīyāt-e Fārsī dar qalamrov-e Osmānī, is a wellknown
study in this respect, but mostly focuses on the adventures of Persian in and around court circles.
Another comprehensive book on the subject, The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua
Franca, illustrates the frontiers of Persian’s usage in the vast geography stretching from China, Central
Asia, and India to the Ottoman world. By focusing on a limited area like Bidlis, the region’s most prestigious
principality, this article attempts to elucidate the impact of Persian in the Ottoman-Iranian
frontiers, unearthing its influence as a language of both diplomacy and literature as well as a lingua
franca of Bidlis intellectuals in the lands ruled by Kurdish rulers.
Context Bidlīs is important in the history of the Ottoman Empire and especially its southeastern ... more Context Bidlīs is important in the history of the Ottoman Empire and especially its southeastern frontiers. It has already delivered some Persian and Turkish inscriptions, but as in other parts of the Empire, unpublished inscriptions appear from time to time. The present inscription, which commemorates the building of a complex in the 16th century, is engraved on an outcrop of the Sharafīya to the centre of Bidlīs. 1 The Sharafīya has been carried out during the time of Sharaf Khan I, the Kurdish emir who ruled Bidlīs from 909/1504 to 940/1533. 2 The monumental complex was built during his alliance with the Ottomans when he governed his territory without the interference of the Ottoman Empire. The complex, at the confluence of the Ribāt and Kuchūr streams in the city centre of Bidlīs, is formed of a mosque, a mausoleum, a fountain, a madrasa with a covered market, a qaysārīya (bazaar), a bath-house and a zāwīya with a minaret. The stones carrying the present inscription are of limestone and are formed of
Journal of Persianate Studies, 2020
Malekzāda Āhi was an Iranian-born Shāh-nāma writer (shāh-nāmaji, Ott. şehnameci) who served at th... more Malekzāda Āhi was an Iranian-born Shāh-nāma writer (shāh-nāmaji, Ott. şehnameci) who served at the court of the Ottoman sultan Bāyezid II (r. 1481-1512) and composed the first Ottoman dynastic history to bear the title of "Shāh-nāma." Accompanying the sultan since his years as a prince, Malekzāda wrote his Shāh-nāma after the tradition of Ferdowsi (d. 1019-20) and Nezāmi (d. 1209), in addition to many odes (qasidas) in praise of his patron. Despite his contemporary reputation as the "master of the verse (malek al-kalam)" in the sultan's palace, a series of unfortunate accidents led to his relative obscurity in modern historiography. Malekzāda Āhi's experience as a Shāh-nāma writer is representative of the position held by Iranian artists and scholars in the early sixteenth-century Ottoman palace. His Shāh-nāma also should be regarded as one of the earliest transmissions of the Shāh-nāma style of history-writing to the Ottoman realm. In this article, I attempt to uncover Malekzāda Āhi's real identity and shed light on his activities in the palace circle, based on archival documents that are studied here for the first time.
Osmanlı Araştırmaları / The Journal of Ottoman Studies, 2021
Osmanlılar ile Safeviler arasındaki uzun süreli mücadelelerin bir ayağını da çeşitli mecralarda... more Osmanlılar ile Safeviler arasındaki uzun süreli mücadelelerin bir ayağını da çeşitli mecralarda sürdürülen dinsel tartışmalar oluşturur. II. Bayezid’in iktidarının son yıllarında başlayıp Yavuz Sultan Selim ve Kanunî Sultan Süleyman dönemlerinde devam eden bu tartışmalar, Osmanlı kronik yazarlarının kendi mecralarında konuya dair belirttikleri görüşleri, ulemanın verdiği Safevi/Kızılbaş karşıtı fetvalar ve iki taraf
arasındaki diplomatik yazışmalar üzerinden sürdürüldü. Kuşkusuz bu sonuncusu, tartışmaların en hararetle sürdürüldüğü mecra oldu. Bu makalede mevcut dini ve siyasi polemiklerin bir manifesto şeklinde karşı tarafa duyurulduğu ve karşılıklı çekişmeye dönüştürüldüğü diplomatik yazışmalar ekseninde Şah Tahmasb ile Kanunî Sultan Süleyman arasındaki hararetli meşruiyet tartışmalarına değinilecektir.
Archiv Orientalni, 2019
The Kurdish emirate of Hakkārī played a very important role in the interaction between the Ottoma... more The Kurdish emirate of Hakkārī played a very important role in the interaction between the Ottoman and Safavid empires. Brought under Ottoman control, in the course of the sixteenth century Hakkārī turned into one of the principal frontier emirates, connected through frontier regions with the main centers of the Safavid state via Ādharbāyjān. Despite its Ottoman position in the sixteenth century, we know precious little about Safavid efforts to gain the allegiance of Hakkārī. One of Shah Tahmāsp's existing letters, published here for the first time, illustrates his side of the correspondence with the Hakkārī emir Zaynal Bayg, and helps to explain a few obscure points in the Safavid-Kurdish relationship.
In our previous essays " Reflections of Sharaf Khan's Autobiography" and "Why Was Sharaf Khan Kil... more In our previous essays " Reflections of Sharaf Khan's Autobiography" and "Why Was Sharaf Khan Killed?", both published in Manuscripta Orientalia (2015) we rejected the traditional date of Sharaf Khan's death (1012/1603-4) and provided some important details on his life and career. We recently had come across the new unpublished Ottoman-Turkish documents which had not been noticed before. The documents include some new material and details on Sharaf Khan which helps our readers get some new understanding of his killing, political life and what happened to Bidlis principality at the time.
Iranian Studies, 2019
A bureaucrat and historian of Iranian provenance, Idris-i Bidlisi (b. Rayy 1457–d. Istanbul 1520)... more A bureaucrat and historian of Iranian provenance, Idris-i Bidlisi (b. Rayy 1457–d. Istanbul 1520), is undoubtedly one of the most original and important intellectual figures in the Ottoman-Iranian borderland in the sixteenth century. He lived in a very turbulent period and established different relationships with Iranian and Ottoman dynasties at the end of the fifteenth century and at the begining of the sixteenth century. He and his work have been the focus of long-standing historical debates that have continued till the present day. Until now, the focus of most modern scholarly works on Bidlisi has usually been romantic and heroic without providing a proper, in-depth textual, historiographic, and historical analysis. As a result, such modern works have come to present a skewed, romanticized image of Bidlisi, which has been largely detached from the nature and dynamics of the historical context in which Bidlisi evolved as an intellectual and writer.
This paper takes up to portray Bidlisi’s realistic image by eliminating shortcomings in the modern historiography on him. By looking at Bidlisi and his corpus, and more specifically at the ways in which the latter was shaped by Bidlisi’s patronage relationships, this paper aims to open up a window into Bidlisi’s evolving mindset and worldview. On another plane, through an in-depth analysis of his corpus and new archival sources the paper strives to unveil intellectual life and career of an Iranian provenance bureaucrat and historian positioned between Ottoman-Iranian world and provide a glimpse into the nature of patronage and in the sixteenth century.
Tarih Dergisi, 2019
It is well known that after the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmed the Conqueror's pervasive reputatio... more It is well known that after the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmed the Conqueror's pervasive reputation in Islamic realm, paved the way for the influx of many scholars, encomiasts and craftsman from Iran to Ottoman palace. Among them shāhnāma-writers or encomiasts such as Ma'ālī, Kāshifī, Hamīdī and Qabūlī, proved that they were prolific servants through their shāhnāmas and panegyrics. Although the less known Riyāzī-i Samarqandī, did not write a book like his contemporaries Ma'ālī and Kāshifī in shāhnāma genre, he tried to construct an image for his patron Mehmed the Conqueror by means of his Persian epistle. In this article, I will try to investigate an unknown encomiast of Mehmed the Conqueror and his attempts to construct an image for his generous patron.
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft , 2019
We have previously managed to show on what difficult terrain we stand when asking the question ab... more We have previously managed to show on what difficult terrain we stand when asking the question about the historical authenticity of Sharaf-nāma chronicle, penned in the sixteenth century by the Kurdish emir of Bidlīs, Sharaf Khān II. What can be confirmed is that in choosing a historical episode, Sharaf Khān II was on the one hand dealing with something historical, and on the other hand, hoping to gain legitimacy and support (and justification) for his claim and his family’s claim to power by declaring his personal opinion in this historical episode.
Der Islam, 2019
Sharaf Khān, author of the Sharaf-nāma, is the most energetic early modern champion of the Kurdis... more Sharaf Khān, author of the Sharaf-nāma, is the most energetic early modern champion of the Kurdish history. One problem with the standard account of Sharaf Khān is that it commits Kurdish history to a personal distinction, i.e. a distinction without organized administrative information. This indicates that one must be careful to use all claims of Sharaf Khān about particular Kurdish emirs, because all that pertains to the understanding of 16th century Kurdish emirs is not included in the Sharaf-nāma. One way of resolving this inconsistency is to refer to the Ottoman registers of ruus. What we want to emphasize in this paper is the importance of ruus registers for the Kurdish history which, we think, is less widely recognized. In what follows we shall deal with the Kurdish materials given in the ruus registers and with Kurdish side of huge number of these Ottoman registers.
Pazhuheshha-ye Iranshenasi/Iranian Studies , 2018
در مطالعات صفوى روابط سیاسی و دیپلماتیک بین شاه اسماعیل و بایزید دوم، كه در یک محیط نسبتاً صلح آم... more در مطالعات صفوى روابط سیاسی و دیپلماتیک بین شاه اسماعیل و بایزید دوم، كه در یک محیط نسبتاً
صلح آمیز در جریان بود، ظاهراً تحت الشعاع جنگ های بعدى قرار گرفته است. به طور كلی، مطالعات
صفوى بر دوره ای كه با جنگ های ناشی از روى كار آمدن سلیم شروع می شد، متمركز شده است. شاید
مهم ترین دلیل آن نبود منابعی باشد كه در آنها به چنین نکاتی اشاره شده است. با این حال، اسناد
عثمانى نشان می دهند كه هر دو طرف قبل از دورۀ جنگ های طولانى، روابط دیپلماتیک سطح بالایی
داشته اند. هدف اصلى این مقاله بررسی یک دورۀ مسالمت آمیز از روابط دولت های صفویه و عثمانی بر
اساس منابع و اسناد آرشیو عثمانی است. در واقع قبل از جلوس سلیم اول، دولت عثمانى با صفویه
رابطۀ خوبى داشت و هر دو طرف به طور مداوم به همدیگر سفیر و هدیه می فرستادند. بر اساس منابع
عثمانى و هدیه هایی كه بایزید دوم به شیخ اسماعیل اردبیلى می فرستاد، ما نگاه عثمانی به پادشاه ایران
و قبول وی به عنوان یک رهبر فرقۀ مذهبی را بررسی خواهیم كرد. علاوه بر این، چگونگی رفت وآمد
سفیران هر دو طرف و استفاده از آن براى ابراز قدرت نمایی را توضیح خواهیم داد.
The sixteenth century Kurds normally had no access to traditional accomplishments such as prose, ... more The sixteenth century Kurds normally had no access to traditional accomplishments such as prose, poetry, historiography, calligraphy, and professional education. These accomplishments were the instruments of access to the rulers and the cause for higher appointments by the Ottoman and Safavid emperors. The first and most famous member of the Kurdish community to receive an influential bureaucratic position in Ottoman Empire was Idrīs of Bidlīs. In the days of Selim I (r.1512-1520), Idrīs’s fortune rose to such a degree that many Kurdish potentates could only with his assistance and political support. The main point of the present paper is to demonstrate that Idrīs was not the only educated Kurd who, in the sixteenth century, rendered services to the Ottoman emperor, thus coming into his favor and grace. Specifically, it is examines the case of Darwīsh Maḥmūd, a disciple of Idrīs of Bidlīs, who like his master, rose to prominence in service to the Ottomans.
Examining 16th-century Kurdish politics, particularly in the frontier districts between the Ottom... more Examining 16th-century Kurdish politics, particularly in the frontier districts between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires, aptly serves as a starting point for understanding Kurdish regional semi-autonomy. This paper, dedicated to the activities of Kurdish individuals involved in information-gathering on behalf of both the Ottoman and the Safavid Empires, is the first of its kind. The findings presented here are the result of close exploration in the Ottoman archives as well as detailed reading of a number of materials from Ottoman and Safavid chronicles. The paper discusses three main subjects. The introductory section briefly explains the methods and potentials of Kurdish spying as well as some of the particulars of Ottoman– Safavid espionage. The second section provides an overview of two famous Kurdish intellectual historians and the role each played in information-gathering. The third section discusses cases of espionage throughout the political careers of several Kurdish frontier emirs.
Idrīs-i Bidlīsī, a historian and bureaucrat, lived at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning ... more Idrīs-i Bidlīsī, a historian and bureaucrat, lived at the end of the fifteenth
and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, during a considerably tumultuous period that witnessed rivalries for supremacy in the Islamic world. He was born in Rayy, Iran, in 1457, where his Shiite-Nurbakhshī father, Husām al-Dīn ‘Ali Bidlīsī, was visiting the founder of the Nurbakhshī order, Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh (d. 1465). After staying there for a short time, Bidlīsī’s family returned to Bidlīs, where they had family roots. After a short residence in Bidlīs, the family moved to Tabriz and settled there just before 1471-1472. He spent more of his life in the Persian lands (‘Ajam) than in Rūm, where he arrived only in his forties. Short works such as Risāla-yi Rabi’ al-Abrār and Risāla-yi Khazāniyya, produced while serving at the court of Sultan Ya’qūb, were the first signs of his success at imitating the works of Ilkhanid and Timurid chroniclers like Vassāf, Juvaynī, and Sharaf al-Dīn Ali Yazdī.
The present study explores a hitherto unknown work by Bidlīsī penned while under the patronage of Sultan Ya’qūb. Being a productive bureaucrat, this short work, titled Risāla dar ‘Ilm-i Qiyāfat, was the third that Bidlīsī dedicated to his patron.
'Kurdish history' was written down in the sixteenth century. Its famous version, in the form of t... more 'Kurdish history' was written down in the sixteenth century. Its famous version, in the form of the may have been motivated by the need to remember the glorious past in the face of a rather gloomy present. Despite attempts at unifying the material it contains, there are passages in which individual legendary claims can be detected. It was, for example, intended to proclaim the 'Abbasid moral and politi-co-social ideals or subjects, virtues on which the Hakkari emirs based their emirate and by means of which it was said to survive. References to the dynastic claim of the Hakkaris to 'Abbasid descent suffer from a dearth of primary material however, this paper presents a recently found document which records the 'Abbasid descent of Hakkari emirs.
This article focuses on important unpublished Persian-language correspondence (cited, however, in... more This article focuses on important unpublished Persian-language correspondence (cited, however, in a number of publications) of İdris-i Bidlîsî dispatched to Ottoman sultans Bayezid II and Selim I. Two letters were addressed to Bayezid II and the remainder to Selim I. While the correspondence sent to Bayezid was personal in nature, those dispatched to Selim exhibit similar qualities to correspondence regarding the activities of Kurdish
chieftains sent to Selim by Bıyıklı Mehmed Paşa, Şâdî Paşa and Şeref Han Bidlîsî. This article, rather than providing an in-depth analysis of the letters, concentrates on providing translations and thus making this unique information available to a wider audience. Considering the scarcity of available resources relating to Bidlîsî, it can be seen that the first two letters dispatched to Bayezid II comprise important information about the life of Bidlîsî not available anywhere else. Those dispatched to
Selim also carry valuable details in comparison to Selim Şâh-nâme – our unique source regarding the reign of Selim – and thus demonstrate the importance of the texts.
In our previous essay " Reflections on Sharaf Khān's Autobiography " , we attempted to persuade t... more In our previous essay " Reflections on Sharaf Khān's Autobiography " , we attempted to persuade the academic world to reject 1012/1603–04, the traditional date of Sharaf Khān's death [1]. We based this view on a number of unpublished Ottoman and Armenian documents according to which we guessed the date of the death of Sharaf Khān is sometime between 1007/1598–99 and early 1010/1601–02. It has also been proposed that the supposed death was possibly a murder. During the time that the article was in the press, however, we had come across the evidence which had not been noticed before and which is worth considering. There is further evidence of the death of Sharaf Khān as a topic where great caution needs to be exercised before firm conclusions can be drawn. On the other hand, the references to the death of Sharaf Khān in our essay are somewhat brief, and we gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity to give some new details. This essay falls into two sections, (i) some introductory notes on the death of Sharaf Khān, and (ii) the transcription and English translation of some new documents on his death, which appear as a postscript to our previous essay.
Abstract. The essay is devoted to the new material connected with the autobiography of Sharaf Kha... more Abstract. The essay is devoted to the new material connected with the autobiography of Sharaf Khan (949—1010 / 1543— 1601–02), medieval Kurdish amir and a politician. It is divided into four sections: (i) section one very briefly explains the scope of the study; (ii) the second section provides an overview of the life of Sharaf Khan as it is reflected in his own autobiography. This is also an attempt to criticize and complete the material given in the Sharaf-nama; (iii) the third section falls into two pairs of additions to the traditional version of the autobiography: the family of Sharaf Khan and what finally happened to him. This is an attempt to provide new bases for the biography of Sharaf Khan; (iv) the last section includes an unpublished document on Sharaf Khan which helps readers get some new understanding of Sharaf Khan's life and career.
Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, 2024
Türkçe, Farsça, Arapça ve Ermenice kronik/arşiv kaynaklarından geniş ölçüde istifade edilerek kal... more Türkçe, Farsça, Arapça ve Ermenice kronik/arşiv kaynaklarından geniş ölçüde istifade edilerek kaleme alınan bu kitap, 15. yüzyıldan itibaren Van Gölü havzasının en önemli kültür merkezlerinden birisi olmayı başaran Bidlis (Muş, Ahlat ve Hınıs da dahil) ile burayı yöneten, entelektüel birikimi yüksek Diyadini hanedanı mensuplarının Osmanlı ve Safevi dünyası arasında yaşadığı entegrasyon, değişim ve dönüşüm hikayesini konu edinmektedir.
İdris-i Bidlisi Heşt Behişt VIII Ketibe: II. Bayezid Dönemi 1481-1512, 2024
Heşt Behişt’in bütün ciltleri Osmanlı tarihi için orijinal birer kaynak olmakla beraber eserin se... more Heşt Behişt’in bütün ciltleri Osmanlı tarihi için orijinal
birer kaynak olmakla beraber eserin sekizinci cildi, Bidlîsî’nin bizzat tanıklık
ettiği ya da birinci ağızdan naklettiği dönemin olaylarını ihtiva etmesi
açısından ayrıca önemlidir. Bidlîsî bu son cildi, II. Bayezid’in imar ve inşa
faaliyetlerine, av şölenlerine, Cem Sultan meselesine, Osmanlı-Memlük ve
Osmanlı-Venedik savaşlarına, ordunun Boğdan ve Adriyatik taraflarındaki
kazanımlarına ve şehzadelerin sünnet düğünlerine ayırmıştır. Bilhassa bu
cildin sonunda yer alan saray ve ordu teşkilatıyla eyalet yöneticilerine dair
bilgiler ise hiçbir kaynakta rastlanmayan eşsizliktedir. Hatime kısmı ise II.
Bayezid’in saltanatının son yıllarına, Selim’in babası ile olan mücadelelerine,
tahtı ele geçirmesi ve kardeşlerini ortadan kaldırmasına ayrılmıştır. Kısacası
metin, bir Acem bürokratının gözünden II. Bayezid’in şahsında Osmanlı
hanedanı için inşa edilen imajı yansıtan, saray çevresini ve çeşitli hizipleri
resmeden eşsiz bir kaynak niteliği taşır.
