The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman, Melek Ahmed Pasha (1588-1662): As Portrayed in Evliya Çelebi's Book of Travels (Seyahâtnâme) / Edition 1

by Robert Dankoff, Rhoads Murphy

Overview

Robert Dankoff has culled passages from Evliya Çelebi's Book of Travels that deal directly with the life and times of Çelebi's patron, Melek Ahmed Pasha, an outstanding seventeenth-century military and administrative leader.

Çelebi's account is sensitive to all the currents of his age and reflects them in his narrative. His wry comments and observations extend from the intimate details of daily life, and the attitudes of the lower classes, to the deeds of the mighty, the ideals of the age, and the fate of the empire. He concentrates on the later phase of Pasha's career, beginning with his appointment as Grand Vizier in 1650. Because Çelebi was Pasha's confidant as well as his protege, there is a level of intimacy, almost a psychological portrait, quite unusual in Ottoman and Islamic literature. The narrative highlights the private side of this public figure — his weaknesses as well as his heroics; his religious life and domestic affairs — in particular, his relations with his two successive wives, both sultanas or princesses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791406410
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	07/03/1991
Series:	SUNY series in Medieval Middle East History
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	318
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Robert Dankoff is Professor of Turkish at the University of Chicago. Rhoads Murphey is Associate Professor of Ottoman History at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Illustrations

Maps and Charts

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Author and His Subjects
The Historical Setting by Rhoads Murphey
A Note on References, Sources, and Abbreviations

Translation

1. The Reign of Mehmed IV (1648-87)
2. The Vizierate of Melek Ahmed Pasha (1650-51)
3. Governor of Rumeli (1652)
4. The Vizierate of Ipsir Pasha (1653-54)
5. Governor of Diyarbekir (1640)
6. Governor of Van (1655-56)
7. Governor of Ozu (1656-57)
8. Kaya Sultan (1659)
9. Governor of Bosnia (1659-60)
10. Fatma Sultan (1662)

Glossary

Index

1. Personal Names
2. Place Names
3. Groups
4. Topics

Editorial Reviews

Selections from the private journal of the protege and confidant of a major military and administrative leader reveal details of high life and low life in the 17th century Ottoman Empire. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews