Seventeenth century is a period in which the Ottoman
Empire lived a period of stagnation. In this period, great changes and
degenerations were observed in political, military, social and economic life.
It iss important to evaluate with a perspective of mutasavvıfs of this period
took place in boks of many statesmen, poets and writers.
Kâdirî Muhyiddîn is one of the important sufis and
poets who lived in the seventeenth century. We have very little information
about his life. His Nasîhatnâme is his only work, that we have available. He
had the opportunity to observe the political, military, social and economic
life in the Ottoman geography, especially in Istanbul-Kırım-Kefe cities from
many points of view. He expressed his observations in his poetic nasîhatnâme
that included 7997 couplets.
The widespread use of tobacco
and coffee in the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century, the
increase in the number of coffeehouses, the increase of adultery and bribery,
the increase of the admiration of luxury especially the sable fur, the bribe-buying
of the authorities, the continuous dismissal of the state officials, the
deterioration of the sufi class and the conflicts among themselves, and the influence
of the women and bad “musâhib” the deterioration of the Ottoman military system
and the various sufism issues are some of the issues addressed in the Kâdirî
Muhyiddîn’s Nasihatname. In this study, seventeenth century, Ottoman state
management and social life will be discussed through the eyes of Kâdirî
Muhyiddîn.
SUMMARY
Theterritory
of the Ottoman State reached its widest border, the state enriched, the welfare
level of the people increased in the 16th century. However, in the view of
contemporary historians, the richness of the Ottoman State is the beginning of
some kind of “ counting in place” or decline. The beginning of this decline is
possible to go to back to the period of Sultan Süleyman (1520-1566). Because
The unilateral privileges granted to the French in this period were given to
other states in later periods. This situation negatively affected the national
economy. In addition, long-lasting wars also adversely affected the economy and
put a large burden on the budget.
For
the first time, during the reign of Sultan Murad III (1574-1595 ), it was
started to recruit unlawful soldiers to the Yeniçeri Ocağı. After this date,
the number of soldiers increased. It become harder to pay the salary of the
increasing soldiers. In addition, the deficit in the budget to be closed with
additional taxes imposed on the public caused serious discomfort in the public.
Severe
consequenses of the economic weakening in the Ottoman State and deterioration
in the military system manifested itself in the 17th century. In 1623, when he
was twelve years old, he ascended the throne, Sultan Murad IV ( 1632-1640),
from the age of eighteen began to be effective in goverment administration.
During this period, the military class was regulated and both the rebels in
Istanbul and the celalî revolts in Anatolia were eliminated. In addition,
during this period tobacco was banned and coffee houses and pubs were shut down
especially after the great Istanbul fire. Those who did not comply with these
prohibitions were punished most severely and the lost tried to be
re-established.
The
changes and degenerations in political, military, social and economic life in
the Ottoman State since the 17th century have been the subject of many
statesmen, poets and writers. Since the second half of the 16th century, many
works have been written in the style of siyasetnâme and nasîhatnâme. The most
well-known of these works are the works of bureaucrat writers such as Lütfi
Paşa, Koçi Bey, Kâtip Çelebi and
Defterdar Sarı Mehmet Efendi.
One
of the works dealing with the negative changes and degenerations in the
political, military, social and economic life of the Ottoman State, which was
written in the 17th century, is the Nasîhatnâme of Kâdirî Muhyiddîn. He wrote his work to present to Sultan Murad IV.
However, there is no definite information as to whether the work was presented
to Sultan Murad IV. Most of the topics discussed in the tractate of the famous
writer of the period, Koçi Bey, took place in the Nasîhatnâme of Kâdirî Muhyiddîn as verse. Moreover, this nasîhatnâme
was written before the tractate of
Koçi Bey and many works written during this period. However, there is little
information available about Kâdirî
Muhyiddîn and his work. Like Koçi Bey, who is understood to have lived at the
same time, Kâdirî Muhyiddîn analyzes the changes in the life of the Ottoman
State and society from a traditional perspective.
Kâdirî Muhyiddîn is one of the important sufis and
poets who lived in the seventeenth century. We have very little information
about his life. His Nasîhatnâme is his only work, that we have available. He
had the opportunity to observe the political, military, social and economic
life in the Ottoman geography, especially in Istanbul-Kırım-Kefe cities from
many points of view. He expressed his observations in his poetic nasîhatnâme
that included 7997 couplets.
In this study, the subjects, addressed in the Nasîhatnâme
of Kâdirî Muhyiddîn, were examined under the main headings
of the Ottoman State Administration in
the 17th Century and Social Life in the Ottoman Empire. The main title that The
Ottoman State Administration in the 17th Century, were addressed under the following headings:
Disruptions in Administrative Operation and Recommendations to the Sultan and
Statesmen; Deterioration of the judicial system and the disruption of the
military organization. The
Deterioration of the Judicial System and the Disruption of the Military
Organization are handled as subheadings.
In the subheading of Disruption in Administrative
Operation and Recommendations to the Sultan and Statesmen, some of there
commendations of Kâdirî Muhyiddîn to the Sultan and statesmen are as follows:
The Sultan as the administrator, should take the four caliphs and victorious
sultans of the Ottoman State as an
example to himself. The sultan must strictly adhereto God’s commandments. He
should exchange opinions with scholars and experienced people in some areas.
The sultan must be close to his people in order to be aware of the problems of
the people. Justice is very important for the continuation of the state. For
this, the sultan must provide justice. Merit
should be given importance in the recruitment of civil servants and bribery
should not be prevented. The tax system should be reviewed and unfair tax
should not be collected from the public.
Another problem that Kâdirî Muhyiddîn sees in
administrative process is the failure in the judicial system. Kâdirî Muhyiddin
attributes the main source of the problems seen in the judicial system to the
unqualifiedness of judges and their work in exchange for bribery.
Making
unlawful purchases to Yeniçeri Ocağı is the most important issue that Kâdirî Muhyiddîn
has dealt with regarding the disruptions in the military system. Kâdirî Muhyiddîn warns Sultan Murad IV of
enemy attacks from the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. One of the issues
that Kâdirî Muhyiddîn complained about is the situation of Anatolia in the17th century. With his narration,
Anatolia was devatated during this period. Because of the riots in Anatolia,
the people are leaving their homes. But
Sultan Murad IV is unaware of what is happening in Anatolia.
The
second main title that we call, According to Kâdirî Muhyiddîn’s Nasîhatnâme Social Life in the Ottoman State,
is divided into three sub-titles: Traditions and Habits, Daily Life and Other
Social Life Elements. Under these titles Kâdirî Muhyiddîn focuces on the consumption of coffee and the spread of coffee houses in the
Ottoman State, the increase in tobacco
use and negative consequences of these. Addition he addressed to the people
move away from the religion, the number of prayers in mosques is reduced,
degradation of the sheikhs, there is no respect for the elders. This section
also provides information about occupational names in the Ottoman State,
economic concepts, public entertaintment, foods, clothings and war tools.
The examples used in this study taken from the
doctoral thesis that named “A Text with Vowel Point that
Belongs to 17th Century: Kâdirî Muhyiddîn’s
In Verse Nasîhât-nâme (AdviceBook) (Analysis-Text-Dictionary-index
of special names-Facsimile)” prepared by
Mehmet Emin Tugluk.
