Description
Book SynopsisIn Making Sense of History: Narrativity and Literariness in the Ottoman Chronicle of Naʿīmā, Gül Şen offers the first comprehensive analysis of narrativity in the most prominent official Ottoman court chronicle. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines methods from history and literary studies, Şen focuses on the purpose and function of the chronicle—not just what the text says but why Naʿīmā wrote it and how he shaped the narrated reality on the textual level. As a case study on the literalization of historical material, Making Sense of History provides insights into the historiographical and literary conventions underpinning Naʿīmā’s chronicle and contributes to our understanding of elite mentalities in the early modern Ottoman world by highlighting the author’s use of key concepts such as history and time.
Trade Review"In the introduction to The Sultan’s Servants: The Transformation of Ottoman Provincial Government, 1550–1650, 5 Metin Kunt tells of his studies at Princeton. Among the courses that encouraged him to look closer into the Islamic background of Ottoman institutions he mentions David Ayalon’s seminar on the Mamluk state. And indeed, students of Mamluk historiography would benefit from Şen’s meticulous research. Her insights into the motives, structure and style of Naʿīmā’s chronicle serve as an inspiring study." --Yehoshua Frenkel, University of Haifa, in Mamlūk Studies Review, Vol. 25 (2022)
