Emotions in the Ottoman Empire: Politics, Society, and Family in the Early Modern Era

Description

Exploring the political, social and familial ties in early modern Ottoman society, this book is a timely contribution to both the history of emotions and the study of the Ottoman Empire. Spanning love and compassion in political discourse, gratitude in communal relations to affection in the home, Emotions in the Ottoman Empire considers the role of emotions in both micro and macro settings. Drawing on Ottoman primary sources such as advice manuals, judicial court records and imperial decrees, this book claims that the contested concept of 'protection', related to how and who to protect, was culturally specific and historically contingent and stands at the center of all debates about how the Ottoman empire and society itself employed the politics of difference. It explores what it felt like to protect and be protected in the early modern era and how Ottoman subjects conceptualized the unequal power relations. The central argument of the book is that it was emotions in the early modern era which provided the meaning of the concept of “protection”. It also traces change in meaning of protection in the nineteenth century and explores how emotions transformed or got lost in social, political and familial relations during the period of modernization. Highlighting a culture that has so far been neglected in the history of emotions, this book looks to globalise the field and think more deeply about Ottoman society in the early modern period. Cover Contents A Note on Transliteration and Translation Acknowledgments Introduction: Emotions and the Concept of Protection Ottoman Politics of Difference Emotions in Historical Studies Emotions in Ottoman Studies Methods and Sources 1 Emotion Knowledge Kınalızade’s Ahlak-ı Ala’i Faculties of Vegetative, Animal, and Human Soul Emotions in Ahlak-i Ala’i Emotions and the Domain of Medical Knowledge Absence of Emotions in Ottoman Self-Narratives Concluding Remarks 2 Ottoman Politics of Emotion Protection with Compassion Uniting with the Hearts of the Subjects (telif-i kulüb and istimalet) The Path of Love (mahabbet) Concluding Remarks 3 Emotions in Intracommunal Relations: Rıza and Şükran Sub-communities in Ottoman Society Neighborhoods and Guilds as “Domains of Gratitude” Sensations and Drawing the Boundaries of Communities: Kendü halinde olmak Expulsions from Domains of Gratitude Emotions as Practices Concluding Remarks 4 Regulating Communities by an Emotion: Shame Shame in Different Cultures Shame in Ottoman Sources Gendered Emotion of Shame: Ar Shaming Others in Ottoman Society Concluding Remarks 5 Emotions in the Ottoman Family Emotionology of the Ottoman Family: House of Companionship and Love (Hane-i Ülfet ve Mahabbet) Expressions of Emotions in Engagement Expressions of Emotions in Divorce Concluding Remarks 6 Changing Meanings of Protection and Transformation of Emotions Modernization Efforts in the 19th Century From Mahabbet to Love of Fatherland Change in the Domain of Medical Knowledge Transformation of Emotions in Societal and Familial Relations Concluding Remarks Conclusion Bibliography Index