Review of Cihan Yüksel Muslu. The Ottomans and the Mamluks: Imperial Diplomacy and Warfare in the Islamic World (original) (raw)

Concerning the questions of Ottoman integration into the modern diplomatic networks in the early modern period, The Ottomans and the Mamluks deals with Ottoman-Mamluk diplomatic relations and contributes to the field of Ottoman diplomatic history, especially to understanding how the Ottomans used diplomacy as a tool of foreign policy and to what extent diplomacy was a mechanism at which interstate conflicts were highlighted, discussed and resolved through diplomacy as an alternative to warfare. Instead of a diplomatic history overshadowed by political history, it focuses on treating the diplomatic exchange itself as a subject matter with a pursuit of understanding the symbolic and representational aspects of the ceremonies, correspondences, gift exchanges, developing ambassadorial decorum etc. in various cultural contexts. Cihan Yüksel Muslu tracks the evolution of Ottoman-Mamluk relations from the mid-fourteenth century until 1512. Having an introduction and five chapters and three appendices, the book presents a chronological evolution of the Ottoman-Mamluk relations. Primary concern of the book is to understand the dynamics between the Ottomans and the Mamluks and how it changed over time. Although the Mamluk supreme political power disappeared from the scene in 1517, Muslu does not include last five years of the Mamluks, on the grounds that "a study that would include the final five years would undoubtedly produce a second volume," (pp. 21-22) because of the intensity of the relations in these years. Besides, the author states that her book serves to depict an alternative picture of Ottoman-Mamluk relations that is undistorted by the weight of the ultimate Ottoman victory. In fact, the Mamluks were the superior and more respected political power compared to the Ottomans from the beginning of the early fourteenth century to the end of the fifteenth century when the Ottomans began to challenge this superiority. Dîvân 2016/1 109 KİTAP DEĞERLENDİRMELERİ ambiguous. Do they refer to the sultans? Or do they include also the sultans' entourage, and bureaucracy that involve in the diplomatic exchange? She mostly focuses on Ottoman and Mamluk sultans in every occasion and pays little attention to the agencies of the pashas, secretaries who most probably participated actively in composing the letters and arranging the diplomatic settings. Köstendilli Ali el-Halvetî. Telvîhât: Bir Osmanlı Şeyhinin Dilinden Tasavvuf. Haz. Semih Ceyhan. İstanbul: Dergah Yayınları, 2016. 285 sayfa.

Sign up for access to the world's latest research.

checkGet notified about relevant papers

checkSave papers to use in your research

checkJoin the discussion with peers

checkTrack your impact