Prose of the Ottoman Empire

Last updated

Roughly speaking, the prose of the Ottoman Empire can be divided along the lines of two broad periods: early Ottoman prose, written prior to the 19th century CE and exclusively nonfictional in nature; and later Ottoman prose, which extended from the mid-19th century Tanzimat period of reform to the final fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, and in which prose fiction was first introduced.

Contents

Early Ottoman prose

Early Ottoman prose, before the 19th century CE, never developed to the extent that the contemporary Divan poetry did. A large part of the reason for this was that much prose of the time was expected to adhere to the rules of seci , or rhymed prose, a type of writing descended from Arabic literature ( saj' ) and which prescribed that between each adjective and noun in a sentence, there must be a rhyme.

Nevertheless, there was a long tradition of prose in the Ottoman Empire. This tradition was, for centuries, exclusively nonfictional in nature—the fiction tradition was limited to narrative poetry. A number of such nonfictional prose genres developed:

Later Ottoman prose

Ottoman women writers of the 19th and 20th century wrote extensively on the subjects of Islamic dress, women's employment and education. Borrowing from progressive and conservative modes of thought, their writings reveal a range of views and attitudes on the most important issues of their time. Ottoman feminist writers noted the limited opportunities of Ottoman women to attain financial independence, considered the most important stepping stone to women's emancipation. In Ottoman society, women working outside the home was widely considered dishonorable, not only for the woman herself, but for her entire family. Armenian journalist Zaroubi Galemkearian wrote in her autobiography: [1]

How conservative the social norms were! Girls of modest [social] status would often hide the need to earn money working outside the household. Women who embroidered tival (decorative panels) or crocheted at home to meet essential needs or to help the family regarded the money earned as a sort of disgrace.

Another writer Halide Nusret had more conservative views. Although Nusret acknowledged the need of women to work in cases of financial hardship, she found the toil of daily labor to be less than ideal for women inclined to femininity. A supporter of women's education, Nusret did not envision women's education as a rivalry with men, but an essential for building the character and maturity needed of capable mothers. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evliya Çelebi</span> Turkish traveler and writer (1611–1682)

Dervish Mehmed Zillî, known as Evliya Çelebi, was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands during the empire's cultural zenith. He travelled for over 40 years, recording his commentary in a travelogue called the Seyahatnâme. The name Çelebi is an honorific meaning "gentleman" or "man of God".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ottoman Empire</span> Turkish empire (1299–1922)

The Ottoman Empire, historically and colloquially known as the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that spanned much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe between the early 16th and early 18th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osman I</span> Founder of the Ottoman Empire (died 1323/4)

Osman I or Osman Ghazi was the founder of the Ottoman Empire. While initially a small Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, his beylik transformed into a world empire in the centuries after his death. It existed until shortly after the end of World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultan</span> Noble title with several historical meanings

Sultan is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty without claiming the overall caliphate, or to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. The adjectival form of the word is "sultanic", and the state and territories ruled by a sultan, as well as his office, are referred to as a sultanate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persian literature</span> Oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language

Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, and Turkey, regions of Central Asia, South Asia and the Balkans where the Persian language has historically been either the native or official language. For example, Rumi, one of the best-loved Persian poets, born in Balkh or Wakhsh, wrote in Persian and lived in Konya, at that time the capital of the Seljuks in Anatolia. The Ghaznavids conquered large territories in Central and South Asia and adopted Persian as their court language. There is thus Persian literature from Iran, Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan, the wider Caucasus, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Tajikistan and other parts of Central Asia, as well as the Balkans. Not all Persian literature is written in Persian, as some consider works written by ethnic Persians or Iranians in other languages, such as Greek and Arabic, to be included. At the same time, not all literature written in Persian is written by ethnic Persians or Iranians, as Turkic, Caucasian, Indic and Slavic poets and writers have also used the Persian language in the environment of Persianate cultures.

The culture of Turkey or the Turkish culture combines a heavily diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that have been derived from the various cultures of the Eastern European, Eastern Mediterranean, Caucasian, Middle Eastern and Central Asian traditions. Many of these traditions were initially brought together by the Ottoman Empire, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state spanning across Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of the Ottoman Empire</span> Pattern of human activity and symbolism associated with the Ottoman Empire and its people

The culture of the Ottoman Empire evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the various native cultures of conquered lands and their peoples. There was influence from the customs and languages of nearby Islamic societies such as Jordan, Egypt and Palestine, while Persian culture had a significant contribution through the Seljuq Turks, the Ottomans' predecessors. Despite more recent amalgamations, the Ottoman dynasty, like their predecessors in the Sultanate of Rum and the Seljuk Empire were influenced by Persian culture, language, habits, customs and cuisines.Throughout its history, the Ottoman Empire had substantial subject populations of Orthodox subjects, Armenians, Jews and Assyrians, who were allowed a certain amount of autonomy under the millet system of the Ottoman government, and whose distinctive cultures were adopted and adapted by the Ottoman state.

Turkish literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language. The Ottoman form of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, was highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature, and used the Ottoman Turkish alphabet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azerbaijani literature</span> Literature written or related to Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani literature is written in Azerbaijani, a Turkic language, which is the official state language of the Republic of Azerbaijan, where the North Azerbaijani variety is spoken. It is also natively spoken in Iran, where the South Azerbaijani variety is used, and is particularly spoken in the northwestern historic region of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani is also spoken in Russia, Georgia and Turkey.

<i>Seyahatnâme</i>

Seyahatname is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travellers of the Umayyad period. In a more specific sense, the name refers to the travel notes by the Ottoman Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi (1611–1682).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulgarian literature</span> Literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria

Bulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature. Bulgarian literature can be said to be one of the oldest among the Slavic peoples, having its roots during the late 9th century and the times of Simeon I of the First Bulgarian Empire.

The Nahda, also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arab-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia, during the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahdinan</span> Former country

Bahdinan (Bahdīnān) or Badinan (Bādīnān) was one of the most powerful and enduring Kurdish principalities. It was founded by Baha-al-Din originally from Şemzînan area in Hakkari in sometime between 13th or 14th century CE. The capital of this emirate was Amadiya for a long time. The rulers of the Bahdinan Emirate governed over the Emirate since the Abbasid Empire, an early dynasty in Islamic history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Besni</span> Municipality in Adıyaman, Turkey

Besni is a town of Adıyaman Province of Turkey, 44 km west of the city of Adıyaman. It is the seat of Besni District. Its population is 37,323 (2021).

The history of literature of the early modern period, or early modern literature, succeeds Medieval literature, and in Europe in particular Renaissance literature.

Kazakh literature is defined as 'the body of literature, both oral and written, produced in the Kazakh language by the Kazakh people of Central Asia'.

The Kurdish chiefdoms or principalities were several semi-independent entities which existed during the 16th to 19th centuries during the state of continuous warfare between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran. The Kurdish principalities were almost always divided and entered into rivalries against each other. The demarcation of borders between the Safavid Shah Safi and the Ottoman caliph Sultan Murad IV in 1639 effectively divided Kurdistan between the two empires.

Nasîhatnâme were a type of guidance letter for Ottoman sultans, similar to mirrors for princes. They draw on a variety of historical and religious sources, and were influenced by the governance of previous empires such as the Seljuk Turks or the Mongols, as well as by early Muslim history and by contemporary events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsun Castle</span>

Samsun Castle was a castle in Samsun, Turkey. Built on the seaside in 1092, it was demolished between 1909 and 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aşık Çelebi</span> Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator

Aşık Çelebi was the name of Pir Mehmed, an Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator. Born in Prizren, he served as kadi (judge) in many towns of the Rumelia. His major work Senses of Poets (Meşairü'ş-Şuara) of 1568 is of major importance.

References

  1. 1 2 Koksal, Duygu; Falierou, Anastasia (eds.). A Social History of Late Ottoman Women. Brill. pp. 17–37.