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Bir Osmanlı Başıbozuğunun İtirafları: 19. Yüzyıl Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Kişinin Kendini Temsili ve Yorumlayıcı Çevreler

Year 2014, , 313 - 340, 15.04.2014
https://doi.org/10.18589/oa.562134

Abstract

Bu makale pek alışılmadık bir Osmanlı tarafından yazılan otobiyografik bir eseri
incelemektedir: Çok az tanınan Anadolulu bir başıbozuk, Deli Mustafa (d. 1791/2),
ya da kendisini el yazması metninde tanıttığı isimle Kabudlı el-Haccî Mustafa Vasfî
Efendi. Eser paramiliter birliklere katılan sayısız Müslüman köylünün karşı karşıya
kaldığı çalkantılı günlük hayat ve manevi ikilemlere dair nadir bir bakış sunmaktadır.
Deli Mustafa’nın anlatısı ve öz-biçim verme stratejileri paramiliter gruplara hizmet
eden sıradan Müslümanların Osmanlı tarihinin bu fırtınalı dönemi boyunca geçimlerini sağlamak için ne yapmak zorunda kaldıklarını, ve daha da önemlisi şaibeli
ve çekişmeli hayat biçimlerini nasıl açıkladıkları ve meşrulaştırdıklarını anlamamıza
yardımcı olmaktadır. Mustafa’nın anlatısının doğruluğunu tartışmaktan daha önemli
olan onun – veya metni derleyenin – yazınsal seçimleri, hedeflediği okuyucu kitlesi,
ve imparatorluğun doğu sınırlarından batı sınırlarına doğru hareket ettikçe şiddeti
betimleme tonunun zaman ve mekanda nasıl değiştiğidir.

References

  • Bibliography Archival Documents B.O.A. Hatt-ı Hümâyûn (HAT), 2402C. Ms. Or. 1551. Leiden University Library. Published Works Aksan, Virginia: Ottoman Wars, 1700-1870: An Empire Besieged, London: Harlow 2007. Anscombe, Frederick: “Albanians and ‘Mountain Bandits,’” Frederick Anscombe (ed.), e Ottoman Balkans, Princeton: Markus Wiener, 87-114. Bracewell, Wendy: e Uskoks of Senj: Piracy, Banditry, and Holy War in the SixteenthCentury Adriatic, Ithaca and London: Cornell University, 1992. Brubaker, Rogers: Ethnicity Without Groups, Cambridge: Cambridge University 2004 Cevdet Paşa, Ahmet. Tarih-i Cevdet, Vol. X, Der-s‘aâdet, 1309. Esmer, Tolga Uğur: “Economies of Violence, Governance, and the Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Banditry in the Ottoman Empire, c. 1800,” Past & Present, 224 (Oxford 2014), yayınlanacak/forthcoming. Esmer, Tolga Uğur: “A Culture of Rebellion: Networks of Violence and Competing Discourses of Justice in the Ottoman Empire, 1790-1808” (Unpublished Ph.D. esis) Chicago: University of Chicago, 2009. Flemming, Barbara: “‘Āşıkpaşazādes Blick auf Frauen”, Sabine Prätor and Christoph Neumann (eds.), Arts, Women and Scholars: Studies in Ottoman Society and Culture – Festschrift Hans Georg Majer, Vol. I, İstanbul: Simurg, 2002, 69-97. Gingeras, Ryan: Sorrowful Shores: Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire, 1912-1923 Oxford: Oxford University, 2009. Girard, Rene. Violence and the Sacred, trans. P. Gregory, Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University, 1988. Grandits, Hannes, Nathalie Clayer, and R. Pichler (eds.): Conflicting Loyalties in the Balkans: e Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire, and Nation-Building, London: I.B. Tauris, 2011. Kafadar, Cemal: “Rome of One’s Own: Reflections on Cultural Geography and Identity in the Lands of Rum,” Muqarnas 24 (2007), 7-25. Koliopoulos, George: Brigands with a Cause: Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece, 1821-1912, Oxford: Clarendon/Oxford University, 1987. Krstić, Tijana: Contested Conversions to Islam: Narratives of Religious Change in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, Palo Alto: Stanford University, 2011. M. Ma΂uranić, A Glance into Ottoman Bosnia, or A Short Journey into that Land by a Native in 1839-1840, translated by Brank Magaš, London: Saqi Books, 2007. Sajdi, Dana: e Barber of Damascus: Nouveau Literacy in the Eighteenth-Century Middle East, Berkeley: University of California, 2013. Sant Cassia, Paul: “Better Occasional Murderers than Frequent Adulteries:’ Discourses on Banditry, Violence, and Sacrifice in the Mediterranean,” in Julia Skurski and Fernando Coronil (eds.), States of Violence, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2006), 219-268. Schick, Irvin Cemil: “Christian Maidens, Turkish Ravishers: e Sexualization of National Conflict in the Late Ottoman Period,” Amila Buturović and Irvin Cemil Schick (ed.), Women in the Ottoman Balkans: Gender, Culture, and History, New York: 2007), 273-305. Schmidt, Jan: “e Adventures of an Ottoman Horseman: e Autobiography of Kabudlı Vasfî Efendi, 1800-1825,” Jan Schmidt (ed.), e Joys of Philology. Studies in Ottoman Literature, History, and Orientalism (1500-1923), İstanbul: İsis Yayınları 2002, s 166-286. Smiley, Will: “‘When Peace is Made, You will Again be Free:’ Islamic and Treaty Law, Black Sea Conflict, and the Emergence of ‘Prisoners of War’ in the Ottoman Empire, 1739-1830,” (Unpublished PhD. Dissertation) Cambridge: Queens’ College, Cambridge University, 2012. Tezcan, Baki: e Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern World , Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2010. Vaporis, Nicholas M.: Witnesses for Christ: Orthodox Christian Neomartyrs of the Ottoman Period, 1437-1860 (Crestwood, NY, 2000). White, Sam: e Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2011.

The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century

Year 2014, , 313 - 340, 15.04.2014
https://doi.org/10.18589/oa.562134

Abstract

This paper will analyze an autobiographical account attributed to a very unlikely
Ottoman author: an obscure Anatolian irregular cavalryman Deli Mustafa (b. 1791/2)—or
Kabudlı el-Haccî Mustafa Vasfî Efendi as he fashioned himself in his manuscript. His narrative provides rare glimpses into the tumultuous everyday life and moral dilemmas faced
by the countless Muslim peasants who joined itinerant military orders in the Ottoman
Empire. Deli Mustafa’s narrative and self-fashioning strategies help us understand what
common Muslim men serving in paramilitary forces had to do to make a living during this
tumultuous period of Ottoman history, and most importantly, how they explained and
legitimated their precarious and contentious way of life. Rather than debating the veracity
of Mustafa’s jumbled historical account full of inaccuracies and contradictions, this essay
focuses on his—or the compiler of the text’s—editorial choices, his target audiences, as
well as how the tone of his description of violence changes over time and space as he travelled from the eastern to western frontiers of the Empire in order to determine what was
at stake for such an obscure author and his interpretative community to tell his story.

References

  • Bibliography Archival Documents B.O.A. Hatt-ı Hümâyûn (HAT), 2402C. Ms. Or. 1551. Leiden University Library. Published Works Aksan, Virginia: Ottoman Wars, 1700-1870: An Empire Besieged, London: Harlow 2007. Anscombe, Frederick: “Albanians and ‘Mountain Bandits,’” Frederick Anscombe (ed.), e Ottoman Balkans, Princeton: Markus Wiener, 87-114. Bracewell, Wendy: e Uskoks of Senj: Piracy, Banditry, and Holy War in the SixteenthCentury Adriatic, Ithaca and London: Cornell University, 1992. Brubaker, Rogers: Ethnicity Without Groups, Cambridge: Cambridge University 2004 Cevdet Paşa, Ahmet. Tarih-i Cevdet, Vol. X, Der-s‘aâdet, 1309. Esmer, Tolga Uğur: “Economies of Violence, Governance, and the Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Banditry in the Ottoman Empire, c. 1800,” Past & Present, 224 (Oxford 2014), yayınlanacak/forthcoming. Esmer, Tolga Uğur: “A Culture of Rebellion: Networks of Violence and Competing Discourses of Justice in the Ottoman Empire, 1790-1808” (Unpublished Ph.D. esis) Chicago: University of Chicago, 2009. Flemming, Barbara: “‘Āşıkpaşazādes Blick auf Frauen”, Sabine Prätor and Christoph Neumann (eds.), Arts, Women and Scholars: Studies in Ottoman Society and Culture – Festschrift Hans Georg Majer, Vol. I, İstanbul: Simurg, 2002, 69-97. Gingeras, Ryan: Sorrowful Shores: Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire, 1912-1923 Oxford: Oxford University, 2009. Girard, Rene. Violence and the Sacred, trans. P. Gregory, Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University, 1988. Grandits, Hannes, Nathalie Clayer, and R. Pichler (eds.): Conflicting Loyalties in the Balkans: e Great Powers, the Ottoman Empire, and Nation-Building, London: I.B. Tauris, 2011. Kafadar, Cemal: “Rome of One’s Own: Reflections on Cultural Geography and Identity in the Lands of Rum,” Muqarnas 24 (2007), 7-25. Koliopoulos, George: Brigands with a Cause: Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece, 1821-1912, Oxford: Clarendon/Oxford University, 1987. Krstić, Tijana: Contested Conversions to Islam: Narratives of Religious Change in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, Palo Alto: Stanford University, 2011. M. Ma΂uranić, A Glance into Ottoman Bosnia, or A Short Journey into that Land by a Native in 1839-1840, translated by Brank Magaš, London: Saqi Books, 2007. Sajdi, Dana: e Barber of Damascus: Nouveau Literacy in the Eighteenth-Century Middle East, Berkeley: University of California, 2013. Sant Cassia, Paul: “Better Occasional Murderers than Frequent Adulteries:’ Discourses on Banditry, Violence, and Sacrifice in the Mediterranean,” in Julia Skurski and Fernando Coronil (eds.), States of Violence, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2006), 219-268. Schick, Irvin Cemil: “Christian Maidens, Turkish Ravishers: e Sexualization of National Conflict in the Late Ottoman Period,” Amila Buturović and Irvin Cemil Schick (ed.), Women in the Ottoman Balkans: Gender, Culture, and History, New York: 2007), 273-305. Schmidt, Jan: “e Adventures of an Ottoman Horseman: e Autobiography of Kabudlı Vasfî Efendi, 1800-1825,” Jan Schmidt (ed.), e Joys of Philology. Studies in Ottoman Literature, History, and Orientalism (1500-1923), İstanbul: İsis Yayınları 2002, s 166-286. Smiley, Will: “‘When Peace is Made, You will Again be Free:’ Islamic and Treaty Law, Black Sea Conflict, and the Emergence of ‘Prisoners of War’ in the Ottoman Empire, 1739-1830,” (Unpublished PhD. Dissertation) Cambridge: Queens’ College, Cambridge University, 2012. Tezcan, Baki: e Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern World , Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2010. Vaporis, Nicholas M.: Witnesses for Christ: Orthodox Christian Neomartyrs of the Ottoman Period, 1437-1860 (Crestwood, NY, 2000). White, Sam: e Climate of Rebellion in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire, Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2011.
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Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Tolga Esmer This is me

Publication Date April 15, 2014
Published in Issue Year 2014

Cite

APA Esmer, T. (2014). The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century. Osmanlı Araştırmaları, 44(44), 313-340. https://doi.org/10.18589/oa.562134
AMA Esmer T. The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century. OA. April 2014;44(44):313-340. doi:10.18589/oa.562134
Chicago Esmer, Tolga. “The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century”. Osmanlı Araştırmaları 44, no. 44 (April 2014): 313-40. https://doi.org/10.18589/oa.562134.
EndNote Esmer T (April 1, 2014) The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century. Osmanlı Araştırmaları 44 44 313–340.
IEEE T. Esmer, “The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century”, OA, vol. 44, no. 44, pp. 313–340, 2014, doi: 10.18589/oa.562134.
ISNAD Esmer, Tolga. “The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century”. Osmanlı Araştırmaları 44/44 (April 2014), 313-340. https://doi.org/10.18589/oa.562134.
JAMA Esmer T. The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century. OA. 2014;44:313–340.
MLA Esmer, Tolga. “The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century”. Osmanlı Araştırmaları, vol. 44, no. 44, 2014, pp. 313-40, doi:10.18589/oa.562134.
Vancouver Esmer T. The Confessions of an Ottoman ‘Irregular’: Self-Representation and Ottoman Interpretive Communities in the Nineteenth Century. OA. 2014;44(44):313-40.

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