Description
Book SynopsisExamines the "golden age" of the culture of the Ottoman empire in the 16th century, exploring sexuality, gender and literary society, as well as the demographics, economics, politics, society of love and other cultural productions of the Ottomans. In part
Trade Review“
The Age of Beloveds is a treasure and a masterpiece. With breathtakingly extensive original research, it is beautifully written, in a style both inviting and impressive. It is the fruit of a lifetime’s project to add Ottoman literature to the canons of world literature.”—Victoria Holbrook, author of
The Unreadable Shores of Love: Turkish Modernity and Mystic Romance“
The Age of Beloveds is a unique and powerful book. There is nothing remotely like this out there and yet as one reads it one is struck by the dire need for the sort of basic information and insights it provides about the other half of the Mediterranean during the early modern period.”—María Rosa Menocal, author of
Shards of Love: Exile and the Origins of the Lyric“A wonderful and brave book that is so fun to read. . . . An astonishing account of love and the beloved where they intersect with sex, spirituality, politics and power. . . . Amazing!”—Orhan Pamuk, author of the novels
Snow and
My Name Is RedTable of ContentsPreface ix
A Guide to Ottoman Turkish Transcription, Pronunciation, Names, and Titles xi
1. Introduction 1
2. Beloved Boys (and Girls) 32
3. Love Scripts I, Male Bonding 59
4. Love Scripts II, Poems about Poetry about Love 85
5. Love, Sex, and Poetry 113
6. Women and the Art of Love 163
7. Seduction and Reversal 217
8. To Die For...: Love and Violence in the Age of the Beloveds 251
9. Love, Law and Religion 270
10. The End of an Age 304
11. Renaissance, Renaissances, and the Age of the Beloveds 329
Appendix: Ottoman Sultans during the Age of the Beloveds 355
Notes 357
Glossary of Ottoman Terms 389
Bibliography 393
Index 411
