FACTIONS AND FAVORITES AT THE COURTS OF SULTAN AHMED I

303 Pages·2010·1.46 MB·English

FACTIONS AND FAVORITES AT THE COURTS OF
SULTAN AHMED I (r. 1603-17) AND HIS IMMEDIATE PREDECESSORS

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By
Günhan Börekçi
Graduate Program in History

The Ohio State University
2010

Dissertation Committee:
Professor Jane Hathaway, Chair
Professor Howard Crane
Professor Stephen F. Dale
Copyright by
Günhan Börekçi
2010
All rights reserved
ABSTRACT

This dissertation examines the changing dynamics of power and patronage
relations at the Ottoman sultan’s court in Istanbul between the 1570s and the 1610s. This
was a crucial period that many scholars today consider the beginning of a long era of
“crisis and transformation” in the dynastic, political, socio-economic, military and
administrative structures of the early modern Ottoman Empire. The present study focuses
on the politics of factionalism and favoritism at the higher echelons of the Ottoman ruling
elite who were situated in and around Topkapı Palace, which served as both the sultan’s
royal residence and the seat of his imperial government. It is an effort to shed light on the
political problems of this period through the prism of the paramount ruling figure, the
sultan, by illustrating how the Ottoman rulers of this era, namely, Murad III (r. 1574-95),
Mehmed III (r. 1595-1603) and Ahmed I (r. 1603-17), repositioned themselves in
practical politics vis-à-vis alternative foci of power and networks of patronage, and how
they projected power in the context of a factional politics that was intertwined with the
exigencies of prolonged wars and incessant military rebellions. My main contention is
that, under new political circumstances, these three sultans employed new ruling
strategies in order to impose their sovereign authority on the business of rule, an end
which they achieved, with varying degrees of success, mainly through the mediation of
their royal favorites and the court factions led by them.
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To Meral

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This dissertation would not have seen the light of day without my advisor
Professor Jane Hathaway. Since the day I became her student in 2002, she has considered
me one of her younger colleagues and provided every possible kind of support and
encouragement for my academic advancement as an historian. While shaping and writing
my dissertation, I tremendously benefited from her constructive criticisms and
suggestions, and above all from her erudition and guidance. She meticulously read and
commented on every single page of numerous unfinished chapter drafts, even if they
were nothing but a jungle of ideas. She never fell short of directing me to the right
course, especially when I was confused. Moreover, she patiently taught me how to
express myself more effectively in academic writing in English. I still may not be able to
compose as well as a native English-speaker, yet whatever there is of eloquence in the
subsequent pages is her work. I will always remain in her debt for being such an
exemplary and supportive academic mentor to me. Sağolun Hocam.
I consider myself very fortunate to have studied with Professors Stephen Dale and
Howard Crane, who played indispensible roles not only as members of my dissertation
committee, but also in my intellectual training in the stimulating academic environment
of the Ohio State University from the very beginning. Prof. Dale’s seminars on pre-
modern Turco-Mongolian and Persian-Islamic state formations and political cultures
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opened up new vistas for me. Likewise, Prof. Crane offered great insights with respect to
understanding the Ottoman sultans’ pious foundations as well as the complexities of the
history of Islamic art and architecture. They both carefully read this dissertation and
made insightful criticisms. However, the present form of this study is short of reflecting
the true scale of their contributions, which I promise to fully incorporate into the future
development of this dissertation.
I owe lasting gratitude to Professor Geoffrey Parker, who has been a central
scholarly figure for me and many others in our department. Besides his support for my
grant applications and his invaluable answers to my many questions regarding this and
other individual projects, I am indebted to him for offering me the opportunity to work as
one of his research assistants, which not only provided me with a tuition waiver for
several quarters, but also allowed me to observe and learn from a master of European
history at work. He endowed me with insights into several topics pertaining to the
comparative study of early modern empires that I will surely explore in my future
academic career, following in his footsteps.
As a graduate student, I was first introduced to the intricacies of studying
Ottoman history in my home country, Turkey, at the hands of several prominent scholars
in the field. Between 1996 and 2002, my professors at Boğaziçi and the Sabancı
Universities in Istanbul worked hard to imbue me with the necessary qualifications to
penetrate the different periods of Ottoman history in a critical manner. Without the
training and support I received from Professors Edhem Eldem, Metin Kunt, Hülya
Canbakal and Tülay Artan, I could not have come this far. I would also like to extend my
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gratitude to Yücel Demirel and Dr. Metin Berke, who generously spent their time to teach
me Ottoman Turkish.
Professors Gábor Ágoston (Georgetown University), Feridun Emecen (Istanbul
University), Cornell H. Fleischer (University of Chicago), Mehmet Genç (now at Istanbul
Şehir University), Gülru Necipoğlu (Harvard University), Erol Özvar (Marmara
University), Oktay Özel (Bilkent University), Leslie Peirce (New York University) and
Baki Tezcan (University of California at Davis), never turned me down when I contacted
them with my questions. I thank them for their encouragement, for kindly sharing their
erudition, and for helping me locate certain primary sources or clarifying certain
questions.
Unfortunately, I am not able to thank one of the most encouraging professors of
Ottoman history in Turkey, Günhan Danışman, who was always a special source of
inspiration and support for me. He passed away on January 17, 2009. Mekanı cennet
olsun.
Throughout all these years, I have also accumulated many debts to many
wonderful friends, without whom I could have never completed this Ph.D. adventure. I
also know that I cannot enumerate the kind of support, help, motivation and
companionship that each one so generously brought into my life and this dissertation;
thus, in no particular order, I offer my personal gratitude to Ahmet Arslantürk, Dr.
Kahraman Şakul, Dr. Şefik Peksevgen, Dr. Tijana Krstić, Howard Morhaim, Hasan
Karataş, Mehmet Sait Türkhan, Ömer Faruk Bölükbaşı, Dr. Tülün Değirmenci, Yiğit and
Zulal Akın, Müfit Balabanlılar, Dr. Arif Çetintaş, Drs. Yücel and Derya Demirer, Dr.
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Ahmet Mümtaz Maden, Nedret Emin İşli and members of the Turkuaz Sahaf Ailesi, Dr.
Caroline Finkel, Stephan Loewentheil, Sırma Gülgül, Cem Bayol, Dr. John Hunt, and all
the müdavims of the “legendary” Columbus Rakı Table. I am sure I have forgotten
others; please accept my apologies in addition to my sincere thanks.
The research and writing of this dissertation were made possible by grants and
fellowships from the Ohio State University Department of History (2005-2006); the
American Research Institute in Turkey (2006-2007); the Koç University Research Center
for Anatolian Civilizations (2007-2008); and the Ohio State University Presidential
Fellowship (2008-2009).
I would like to thank various archives and libraries for facilitating my research:
the Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Arşivi and its director Sevgi Ağca and her staff; the Topkapı
Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi and its director Zeynep Çelik and her staff; the T.C.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri and its researcher-friendly staff; the former and the
current directors of the Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Nevzat Kaya and Emir Eş,
respectively; İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi; and İstanbul Üniversitesi Kütüphanesi. My
special thanks to Dr. Dona Straley and Patrick Visel of the Middle East Studies Library
of the Ohio State University for their emotional support as well as for acquiring library
resources whenever I needed them; and to Dr. Maurizio Arfaioli, for his superb research
assistance at the Venetian State Archives in Italy.
Finally, my father, mother and elder brother, Mustafa, Zeynep and Gökhan
Börekçi, have always fully supported my pursuit of an academic career abroad, even if
they had to endure long periods of my absence, especially when they needed me nearby
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at their most difficult times. I cannot thank them enough for being such a loving,
understanding and united family. Most of all, to Meral Çetinel, my partner in life, I owe
so much that I should perhaps simply thank her for accepting me for who I am.

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VITA
1996....................................................B.A., Political Science and International
Relations, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
1999....................................................M.A., History, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul
1999-2002 ..........................................Ph.D. Program in History and Graduate
Teaching Associate, Sabancı University, Istanbul
2002 to present ...................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of
History, the Ohio State University

Publications

Articles:
“A Contribution to the Military Revolution Debate: The Janissaries’ Use of Volley Fire
during the Long Ottoman-Habsburg War of 1593-1606 and the Problem of Origins. Acta
Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 59/4 (2006): 407-438.

“İnkırâzın Eşiğinde Bir Hanedan: III. Mehmed, I. Ahmed, I. Mustafa ve 17. Yüzyıl
Osmanlı Siyasî Krizi,” Dîvân Disiplinlerarası Çalışmalar Dergisi 26 (2009): 45-96 [“A
Dynasty at the Threshold of Extinction: Mehmed III, Ahmed I, Mustafa I and the 17th-
century Ottoman Political Crisis”].

Encyclopedia Entries:
“Ahmed I.” “Court and Favorites” (co-author). “Köprülüs.” “Mehmed IV.” “Murad IV.”
“Mustafa I.” Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, eds. Gábor Ágoston and Bruce
Masters. New York: Facts on File, 2009.

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