Chapter 12 The Oscillating Circle: Revisiting the Ottoman Fifteenth-Century Imperial Paradigm

In: Transforming Empire: The Ottomans from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean
Author:
Lee Beaudoen
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Type:
Chapter
Pages:
248–267
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004704374_013

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Abstract

Taking a longue durée approach, Linda Darling’s contribution to the Circle of Justice investigated the paradigms of political power in the Middle East from antiquity to modernity. Yet, the fifteenth century stands out as a “liminal century”. It helped to catalyze an emergent Ottoman paradigm bookmarked by the Ottoman civil wars and interregnum, the mid-century capture of Constantinople, and the succession of Bayezid II in the final quarter of the century. This article juxtaposes the circle of justice with the longstanding tradition of the Alexander Romances and its Ottoman contribution – the Iskendername. It asserts that three key frameworks are critical for understanding how the Ottomans took part in the Alexander Romance tradition: translatio studii, translatio imperii, and imitatio Alexandri. More nuanced readings of these themes underscore the role of dynastic and imperial succession to illuminate the “early modern” Ottoman Imperial project.

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Series:  The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage, Volume: 80
Cover Transforming Empire: The Ottomans from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean
E-Book ISBN:
9789004704374
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
17 Sep 2024
Front Matter
Part 1 Peoples
Part 2 Places
Part 3 Practices
Back Matter

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