Overview

In the early sixteenth century, the political landscape of West Asia was completely transformed: of the previous four major powers, only one - the Ottoman Empire - continued to exist. Ottoman survival was, in part, predicated on transition to a new mode of kingship, enabling its transformation from regional dynastic sultanate to empire of global stature. In this book, Christopher Markiewicz uses as a departure point the life and thought of Idris Bidlisi (1457–1520), one of the most dynamic scholars and statesmen of the period. Through this examination, he highlights the series of ideological and administrative crises in the fifteenth-century sultanates of Islamic lands that gave rise to this new conception of kingship and became the basis for sovereign authority not only within the Ottoman Empire but also across other Muslim empires in the early modern period.

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9781108710572

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Reviews

'This belongs among the best treatments that combine intellectual and sociopolitical history based on Islamic materials. Markiewicz's dense presentation of the life and work of Idris Bidlisi shows both how ideas matter for the conduct of politics and why they must be understood as responses to specific historical situations. The book is essential reading for scholars concerned with the Ottoman, Aqquyunlu, and Safavid empires as well as with Persian as a medium for historiography and the chancery.' Shahzad Bashir, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Humanities, Brown University, Rhode Island 'A masterly study, deeply researched, many-layered and carefully nuanced. Markiewicz offers keen insights into a little known scholarly and philosophical world, and widens the scope of debate about the Ottoman self-image in the crucial era after 1517. Approaching the topic through the thought and influence of Idris Bidlisi makes a potentially impenetrable mass of esoteric thought clearly accessible to modern researchers.' Christine Woodhead, University of Durham 'This belongs among the best treatments that combine intellectual and sociopolitical history based on Islamic materials. Markiewicz's dense presentation of the life and work of Idris Bidlisi shows both how ideas matter for the conduct of politics and why they must be understood as responses to specific historical situations. The book is essential reading for scholars concerned with the Ottoman, Aqquyunlu, and Safavid empires as well as with Persian as a medium for historiography and the chancery.' Shahzad Bashir, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Humanities, Brown University, Rhode Island 'A masterly study, deeply researched, many-layered and carefully nuanced. Markiewicz offers keen insights into a little known scholarly and philosophical world, and widens the scope of debate about the Ottoman self-image in the crucial era after 1517. Approaching the topic through the thought and influence of Idris Bidlisi makes a potentially impenetrable mass of esoteric thought clearly accessible to modern researchers.' Christine Woodhead, University of Durham

'This belongs among the best treatments that combine intellectual and sociopolitical history based on Islamic materials. Markiewicz's dense presentation of the life and work of Idris Bidlisi shows both how ideas matter for the conduct of politics and why they must be understood as responses to specific historical situations. The book is essential reading for scholars concerned with the Ottoman, Aqquyunlu, and Safavid empires as well as with Persian as a medium for historiography and the chancery.' Shahzad Bashir, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Humanities, Brown University, Rhode Island 'A masterly study, deeply researched, many-layered and carefully nuanced. Markiewicz offers keen insights into a little known scholarly and philosophical world, and widens the scope of debate about the Ottoman self-image in the crucial era after 1517. Approaching the topic through the thought and influence of Idris Bidlisi makes a potentially impenetrable mass of esoteric thought clearly accessible to modern researchers.' Christine Woodhead, University of Durham 'This is an old-school monograph in the of best ways; it is extremely focused and necessary reading for experts in the field.' R. A. Miller, Choice

'This belongs among the best treatments that combine intellectual and sociopolitical history based on Islamic materials. Markiewicz's dense presentation of the life and work of Idris Bidlisi shows both how ideas matter for the conduct of politics and why they must be understood as responses to specific historical situations. The book is essential reading for scholars concerned with the Ottoman, Aqquyunlu, and Safavid empires as well as with Persian as a medium for historiography and the chancery.' Shahzad Bashir, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Humanities, Brown University, Rhode Island 'A masterly study, deeply researched, many-layered and carefully nuanced. Markiewicz offers keen insights into a little known scholarly and philosophical world, and widens the scope of debate about the Ottoman self-image in the crucial era after 1517. Approaching the topic through the thought and influence of Idris Bidlisi makes a potentially impenetrable mass of esoteric thought clearly accessible to modern researchers.' Christine Woodhead, Honorary Fellow of Ottoman History, University of Durham 'This is an old-school monograph in the of best ways; it is extremely focused and necessary reading for experts in the field.' R. A. Miller, Choice

Author Information

Christopher Markiewicz is Lecturer in Ottoman and Islamic History at the University of Birmingham. He was the Bennett Boskey Fellow in Extra-European History at Exeter College, Oxford between 2015 and 2017. In recognition of his research, he was awarded the Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award by the Middle East Studies Association in 2016.

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