Orta Çağ Hristiyan Apokaliptik Yazınında Kıyamet Alameti Türkler

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Orta Çağ Hristiyan eskatolojik düşüncesinde Türklerin kıyamet alameti olarak konumlandırılma sürecini ve bu süreçte Türklere hangi kaynaklara dayanarak ne tür vasıflar yüklendiğini incelemektedir. Osmanlı hanedanının yükselişinin ardından İslam’ın temsilcisi konumuna yerleşmesi ve Avrupa’nın güç dengelerini tehdit eder hale gelmesi, bu devlet ve tebaasının yalnızca siyasi yahut dünyevi bir düşman değil, aynı zamanda ilahi bir kaderin faili olarak yorumlanmasına yol açmıştır. Ancak Türklerin ahir zaman anlatılarındaki rolü çok daha erken bir tarihe dayanmaktadır, zira bu halk Erken Orta Çağ’dan beri stepleri aşarak Hristiyan alemini tehdit eden barbar kavimlerin parçası olarak görülmüştür. Antik Çağ’dan beri süregelen barbarlık ve ötekilik tasavvurları, Orta Çağ Hristiyan teolojisinde apokaliptik metinlerle harmanlanarak Türklerin Gog ve Magog gibi kıyamet alameti halklarla özdeşleştirilmesine yol açmıştır. Bu bağlamda çalışmanın temel hedefi, Türklerin apokaliptik bir halk olarak tahayyül edilişinin dinî, siyasi ve kültürel arka planını genel hatlarıyla ortaya koymaktır. Böylece öncelikle siyasi bir gerçekliği anlamlandırma ihtiyacına binaen etnografik ve teolojik yorumlar aracılığıyla şekillenen, asırlara yayılan bir birikimin sonucu olan ve farklı dönemlerde farklı söylemlerin istifadesine sunulan imge repertuarını kapsayıcı bir şekilde irdelemek mümkün olacaktır.

Keywords

• Hristiyan Apokaliptik Yazını
• Gog ve Magog
• Sözde Methodios
• Hristiyanlıkta Türk İmgesi
• Barbarlık Algısı

The Turks as a Portent of Doom in Medieval Christian Apocalyptic Literature

Abstract

The Turks as a Portent of Doom in Medieval Christian Apocalyptic Literature

Abstract

This study examines the process of interpreting the Turks as a portent of the apocalypse in medieval Christian eschatological thought as well as the role and types of attributes assigned to them as a result of the sources used in this process. Following the rise of the Ottoman dynasty and its establishment as the representative of Islam, coupled with its growing threat to the balance of power in Europe, this state and its subjects came to be interpreted not only as a political or worldly enemy but also as agents of divine destiny. However, the significance of the Turks in end-time narratives dates back much earlier, as they had been regarded since the Early Middle Ages as part of the barbarian tribes crossing the steppes and threatening Christendom. The longstanding notions of barbarism and otherness inherited from Antiquity were interwoven with apocalyptic texts in medieval Christian theology, leading to the identification of the Turks with eschatological peoples such as Gog and Magog. In this context, the primary aim of this study is to outline the religious, political, and cultural background behind the conceptualization of the Turks as an apocalyptic people. Thus, it will be possible to examine in a comprehensive manner the repertoire of images that were shaped through ethnographic and theological interpretations primarily in response to the need to make sense of a political reality and that was the result of a centuries-long accumulation, later becoming available to different discursive uses in different periods.

Keywords

• Christian Apocalyptic Literature
• Gog and Magog
• Pseudo-Methodius
• The Image of the Turks in Christianity
• The Perception of Barbarism

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