Histories of Political Thought in the Ottoman World

This collection of papers is intended to provide a survey of the history of political ideas in the Ottoman world from its dawn around 1300 to its downfall in the early 20th century. It features fourteen original papers by some of the most prominent and innovative scholars of Ottoman history. The book sheds light on the complex role that ideas have played in all aspects of Ottoman social and political life throughout the history of the Ottoman world, across time, space, social class, and ethnic and religious identity.

Histories of Political Thought in the Ottoman World takes exception to a common tendency, both among Ottoman historians and in the broader academic world, that considers Ottoman political life exclusively in terms of the political ideas of the Sunni Muslim governing elite. It makes clear that the non-elite, non-Sunni Muslim, non-Muslim, non-Turkish, and female members of the Ottoman society have also significantly contributed to the making of Ottoman political culture throughout its history.

Nedim Nomer, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Bo?aziçi University,Kaya Sahin, Professor, Department of History, The Ohio State University

Nedim Nomer is a professor of philosophy at Bo?aziçi University. He received his doctorate in political theory from Columbia University in 2003. His work concentrates on the moral and political ideas of German Idealists, especially those of J. G. Fichte, and on the early twentieth century Turkish political thought. Some of his work appeared in the Journal of Political Philosophy, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Ethics, Philosophical Forum, History of Political Thought, and the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.


Kaya Sahin is Professor of History and the Vice Provost for International Affairs and Global Strategies at the Ohio State University. After receiving his PhD in History from the University of Chicago in 2007, he taught at Northwestern, Tulane, and Indiana. He is the author of Empire and Power in the Reign of Süleyman: Narrating the Sixteenth-Century Ottoman Empire (2013) and Peerless among Princes: The Life and Times of Sultan Süleyman (2022). He published articles on apocalypticism, bureaucracy, early modern Orientalism, cross-cultural encounters, and ceremonies and rituals. He is the editor of Ottomanica: Voices, Sources, Perspectives, a book series under Indiana University Press.

1. Law and State in Ottoman Political Thought, Hüseyin Yilmaz2. Legitimizing the Sultanate: Political Thought and Government in the Reign of Süleyman (1520-1566), Nedim Nomer, Kaya Sahin3. Ottoman Sacred Kingship: Prophetic Relics and Political Ritual, Gottfried Hagen4. The Transformation of the Politics of Ethics from Kinalizade to Birgivi:The Beginnings of Majoritarian Identity Politics in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, Baki Tezcan5. Political Power and Lawmaking in The Ottoman Empire: ?Ulam?? and Sultans vis-à-vis Sharia, Abdurrahman Atçil6. “Where There is Love, Justice is not Needed”: Friendship and Civic Community in Early Modern Ottoman Thought, Aslihan Gürbüzel7. Uncovering Political Thought in Ottoman Political Actors Who Did Not Write, Linda T. Darling8. Utopian Elements in Ottoman Literature: Visions of the Future in Two Sixteenth-Century Texts, Marinos Sariyannis9. The Qizilbash Alternative: Competing Claims to Religious and Political Legitimacy in the Early Modern Middle East, Hüseyin Ongan Arslan10. Jewish Political Allegories and Ottoman Imperial Power, Orit Bashkin11. A Gendered History of Honor in the Ottoman Legal Praxis, Basak Tug12. Ottoman Liberalism during the Liberal Age, Murat R. Siviloglu13. Pavagan E (Enough!): Zabel Yesayan (1878-1943) on Peace, Justice, and People's Right to Self Defense, Melissa Bilal14. Beyond Caliphate Internationalism: Ottoman Visions to Remake the Imperial World Order, Cemil Aydin