This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the f... more This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the first four centuries of Ottoman history. It opens with the end-of-the-century ‘good news’ of an increasing number of studies ...
Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the p... more Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the perspective of the dynasty, the entity assumed to be seeking legitimacy. This essay approaches the question of law and legitimacy in the Ottoman polity from a provincial vantage point, the province of Aintab, which took its name from its capital city (today's Gaziantep). It also examines the question of legitimation at a particular moment, from September 1540 to September 1541, the period encompassed by the first two extant registers of the court of Aintab available to researchers. In this microstudy of the events of a single year, I treat mid-sixteenth-century Aintab as a laboratory for examining the extent to which legal discourse furthered the process of legitimation, and the ways in which the two were related at the grassroots level. I argue that law broadly construed was a field of negotiation through which the constituent elements of legitimacy were debated and defined. This negotiation was a reciprocal process in which both province and dynasty aimed to establish legitimacy in each other's eyes-that is, they aimed to establish rightful claims over the control of local society and local resources. As the principal site of this process at the grassroots level, the local court provided a venue where this contest for control was articulated in what might be called a civil discourse of legitimation.
The rise to power of the imperial harem is one of the most dramatic developments in the sixteenth... more The rise to power of the imperial harem is one of the most dramatic developments in the sixteenth-century history of the Ottoman Empire. From almost the beginning of the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, who came to the throne ...
Honor in its usage today, in English at least, is typically defined by its constituent attributes... more Honor in its usage today, in English at least, is typically defined by its constituent attributes: Dicitonary.com defines it as "honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions". Reputation on the other hand is a relational concept: "the estimation in which a person or thing is held, especially by the community or the public generally". It takes the community to bestow or deny good reputation. Explicit terms for honor do not often occur in Ottoman sources from the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth century, the period I am interested in. When they do appear, it is the familiar terms `ırz and namus. 1 It seems somewhat risky, therefore, to use the word "honor" in talking about sensibilities and motivations in this period, at least without working from the ground up to observe how honor was conceived and deployed. On the other hand, reputation was palpably present, if not so labeled, in the talk and action of Ottoman subjects-as was the effort to maintain it, or to damage that of another person. To put this another way, looking at reputation and how one gained a good or bad one is arguably the most productive avenue for understanding how people in early modern Ottoman times understood honor. This essay nevertheless employs the terms "honor" and "dishonor". The reader should be thinking of them, however, as embedded in a relational process where one person's gain may spell another's loss, or there may be an attempt to maintain equilibrium among individuals, that is, to recoup damaged reputations for all parties involved in a troubled situation. A person who has been dishonored by the action of another may or may not suffer diminished reputation, depending upon how he or she reacts to the insult. Studying honor as a relational phenomenon-the process of censuring or validating a person or group's actions or inactions-allows us to appreciate the capacity of Ottoman subjects to talk to each other about honor, and also, importantly, of Ottoman authorities and subjects to employ the language of honor to communicate about broader problems.
Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the p... more Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the perspective of the dynasty, the entity assumed to be seeking legitimacy. This essay approaches the question of law and legitimacy in the Ottoman polity from a provincial vantage point, the province of Aintab, which took its name from its capital city (today's Gaziantep). It also examines the question of legitimation at a particular moment, from September 1540 to September 1541, the period encompassed by the first two extant registers of the court of Aintab available to researchers. In this microstudy of the events of a single year, I treat mid-sixteenth-century Aintab as a laboratory for examining the extent to which legal discourse furthered the process of legitimation, and the ways in which the two were related at the grassroots level. I argue that law broadly construed was a field of negotiation through which the constituent elements of legitimacy were debated and defined. This neg...
This essay is interested in the ways in which acts of abduction, their significations, and the id... more This essay is interested in the ways in which acts of abduction, their significations, and the identities of abductors changed over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. At the start of this period, abduction was a positive force for the honor and reputation of the Ottoman sultanate, but it gradually turned into an act that threatened the state’s authority. Powerful abductors—those whose deeds aroused public admiration or alarm, or perhaps both—are our principal subject. If at the start of the sixteenth century abduction was an act that could enhance a monarch’s renown, it was losing its force as emblematic conduct of the royal victor. By the mid-century, the ideal sultan was less a warrior of legendary prowess than a prudent statesman more interested in treaties with his enemies than personal violence against them. Moreover, he was now the prosecutor of abduction. Around 1540, imperial law began to crack down on abduction by prescribing the dire punishment of castr...
International Journal of Middle East Studies, 2004
This is two books in one. The English portion of the book (132 pages) establishes his- torical an... more This is two books in one. The English portion of the book (132 pages) establishes his- torical and linguistic context for al-Mubarrad (d. 898) as an early objector to Sibawayh’s (d. 79) Kitab, in his Radd ↩ ala Kitab ...
Relations between ideas have been viewed as the building blocks of thought since the Greek philos... more Relations between ideas have been viewed as the building blocks of thought since the Greek philosophers began to ponder the nature of human knowledge. Analogy items are thought to reflect the process of recognizing or creating these ...
This report presents the findings of a research project funded by and carried out under the auspi... more This report presents the findings of a research project funded by and carried out under the auspices of the Graduate
information about how-Graduate Record Examnation (GRE).examinees solve verbal analogy problems wa... more information about how-Graduate Record Examnation (GRE).examinees solve verbal analogy problems was obtained in this-study through-protocol analysis.. High-and_low-ability subjects who .baa. reCently.-taken_theGRE..General Test were asked to athink aloud"-as they worked threugh,eight. analogy-items. These items varied-factorially on:the:Ai-mansions:of vOcabulary difficulty (easy vs. rilatiOnShiP.:.0iffiaelty (easy-vs. difficult), and stem-key .correspondence(independent vs. overlapping). A'scoring .systeM,-was-deVeloped-_that,included-.three. phases: (1)-a cognitive process analygis; (2)-a. .glObal..discription of the-subjectl' strategiexIand (1) an-.evaluation..of their-performance. L.: was found that .yodebulary-land_correspendence.tended to have-multiple effects on 'how subjeCtk.solved-analogietand affected-whether they solved them correctly.-..6n-the.other.handu-relationship:difficulty. tended to affect-whetheror-not subjecte.aChieved. correct solutions.but not how they attained-,selOtions, As expected, .high-ability subjects tended to use higherlevel or more Sophisticated-strategies more often than low-ability subjects.-However, the use of higher-level 'strategies was common for both groups of subjects. The results are compared with those reported in-the cognitive science literature. In addition, the implication of these, results for test development and the usefulness of the protocol methodology are discussed. (Author/JAZ)
The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with p... more The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the f... more This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the first four centuries of Ottoman history. It opens with the end-of-the-century ‘good news’ of an increasing number of studies ...
This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the f... more This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the first four centuries of Ottoman history. It opens with the end-of-the-century ‘good news’ of an increasing number of studies ...
Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the p... more Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the perspective of the dynasty, the entity assumed to be seeking legitimacy. This essay approaches the question of law and legitimacy in the Ottoman polity from a provincial vantage point, the province of Aintab, which took its name from its capital city (today's Gaziantep). It also examines the question of legitimation at a particular moment, from September 1540 to September 1541, the period encompassed by the first two extant registers of the court of Aintab available to researchers. In this microstudy of the events of a single year, I treat mid-sixteenth-century Aintab as a laboratory for examining the extent to which legal discourse furthered the process of legitimation, and the ways in which the two were related at the grassroots level. I argue that law broadly construed was a field of negotiation through which the constituent elements of legitimacy were debated and defined. This negotiation was a reciprocal process in which both province and dynasty aimed to establish legitimacy in each other's eyes-that is, they aimed to establish rightful claims over the control of local society and local resources. As the principal site of this process at the grassroots level, the local court provided a venue where this contest for control was articulated in what might be called a civil discourse of legitimation.
The rise to power of the imperial harem is one of the most dramatic developments in the sixteenth... more The rise to power of the imperial harem is one of the most dramatic developments in the sixteenth-century history of the Ottoman Empire. From almost the beginning of the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, who came to the throne ...
Honor in its usage today, in English at least, is typically defined by its constituent attributes... more Honor in its usage today, in English at least, is typically defined by its constituent attributes: Dicitonary.com defines it as "honesty, fairness, or integrity in one's beliefs and actions". Reputation on the other hand is a relational concept: "the estimation in which a person or thing is held, especially by the community or the public generally". It takes the community to bestow or deny good reputation. Explicit terms for honor do not often occur in Ottoman sources from the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth century, the period I am interested in. When they do appear, it is the familiar terms `ırz and namus. 1 It seems somewhat risky, therefore, to use the word "honor" in talking about sensibilities and motivations in this period, at least without working from the ground up to observe how honor was conceived and deployed. On the other hand, reputation was palpably present, if not so labeled, in the talk and action of Ottoman subjects-as was the effort to maintain it, or to damage that of another person. To put this another way, looking at reputation and how one gained a good or bad one is arguably the most productive avenue for understanding how people in early modern Ottoman times understood honor. This essay nevertheless employs the terms "honor" and "dishonor". The reader should be thinking of them, however, as embedded in a relational process where one person's gain may spell another's loss, or there may be an attempt to maintain equilibrium among individuals, that is, to recoup damaged reputations for all parties involved in a troubled situation. A person who has been dishonored by the action of another may or may not suffer diminished reputation, depending upon how he or she reacts to the insult. Studying honor as a relational phenomenon-the process of censuring or validating a person or group's actions or inactions-allows us to appreciate the capacity of Ottoman subjects to talk to each other about honor, and also, importantly, of Ottoman authorities and subjects to employ the language of honor to communicate about broader problems.
Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the p... more Processes of legitimation in the Ottoman Empire are usually approached from the center-from the perspective of the dynasty, the entity assumed to be seeking legitimacy. This essay approaches the question of law and legitimacy in the Ottoman polity from a provincial vantage point, the province of Aintab, which took its name from its capital city (today's Gaziantep). It also examines the question of legitimation at a particular moment, from September 1540 to September 1541, the period encompassed by the first two extant registers of the court of Aintab available to researchers. In this microstudy of the events of a single year, I treat mid-sixteenth-century Aintab as a laboratory for examining the extent to which legal discourse furthered the process of legitimation, and the ways in which the two were related at the grassroots level. I argue that law broadly construed was a field of negotiation through which the constituent elements of legitimacy were debated and defined. This neg...
This essay is interested in the ways in which acts of abduction, their significations, and the id... more This essay is interested in the ways in which acts of abduction, their significations, and the identities of abductors changed over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. At the start of this period, abduction was a positive force for the honor and reputation of the Ottoman sultanate, but it gradually turned into an act that threatened the state’s authority. Powerful abductors—those whose deeds aroused public admiration or alarm, or perhaps both—are our principal subject. If at the start of the sixteenth century abduction was an act that could enhance a monarch’s renown, it was losing its force as emblematic conduct of the royal victor. By the mid-century, the ideal sultan was less a warrior of legendary prowess than a prudent statesman more interested in treaties with his enemies than personal violence against them. Moreover, he was now the prosecutor of abduction. Around 1540, imperial law began to crack down on abduction by prescribing the dire punishment of castr...
International Journal of Middle East Studies, 2004
This is two books in one. The English portion of the book (132 pages) establishes his- torical an... more This is two books in one. The English portion of the book (132 pages) establishes his- torical and linguistic context for al-Mubarrad (d. 898) as an early objector to Sibawayh’s (d. 79) Kitab, in his Radd ↩ ala Kitab ...
Relations between ideas have been viewed as the building blocks of thought since the Greek philos... more Relations between ideas have been viewed as the building blocks of thought since the Greek philosophers began to ponder the nature of human knowledge. Analogy items are thought to reflect the process of recognizing or creating these ...
This report presents the findings of a research project funded by and carried out under the auspi... more This report presents the findings of a research project funded by and carried out under the auspices of the Graduate
information about how-Graduate Record Examnation (GRE).examinees solve verbal analogy problems wa... more information about how-Graduate Record Examnation (GRE).examinees solve verbal analogy problems was obtained in this-study through-protocol analysis.. High-and_low-ability subjects who .baa. reCently.-taken_theGRE..General Test were asked to athink aloud"-as they worked threugh,eight. analogy-items. These items varied-factorially on:the:Ai-mansions:of vOcabulary difficulty (easy vs. rilatiOnShiP.:.0iffiaelty (easy-vs. difficult), and stem-key .correspondence(independent vs. overlapping). A'scoring .systeM,-was-deVeloped-_that,included-.three. phases: (1)-a cognitive process analygis; (2)-a. .glObal..discription of the-subjectl' strategiexIand (1) an-.evaluation..of their-performance. L.: was found that .yodebulary-land_correspendence.tended to have-multiple effects on 'how subjeCtk.solved-analogietand affected-whether they solved them correctly.-..6n-the.other.handu-relationship:difficulty. tended to affect-whetheror-not subjecte.aChieved. correct solutions.but not how they attained-,selOtions, As expected, .high-ability subjects tended to use higherlevel or more Sophisticated-strategies more often than low-ability subjects.-However, the use of higher-level 'strategies was common for both groups of subjects. The results are compared with those reported in-the cognitive science literature. In addition, the implication of these, results for test development and the usefulness of the protocol methodology are discussed. (Author/JAZ)
The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with p... more The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the f... more This article surveys twentieth-century historical scholarship devoted to various aspects of the first four centuries of Ottoman history. It opens with the end-of-the-century ‘good news’ of an increasing number of studies ...
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