Nasîhatnâme ( ota, نصيحت نامه, ''Naṣīḥat-nāme'') were a type of guidance letter for

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

sultans, similar to

mirrors for princes Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Renaissance. ...

. They draw on a variety of historical and religious sources, and were influenced by the governance of previous empires such as the Seljuk Turks or the Mongols, as well as by early Muslim history and by contemporary events.

History

Nasîhatnâme became common in the sixteenth century but built on earlier works such as the Kutadgu Bilig (''Knowledge of Prosperity''), written in 1070 by Yusuf Has Hacip. Early influences include the inşa literature of the Abbasid era. Some refer to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. However, nasîhatnâme are different from

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

''Chronographia'', and were written for a different audience. Nasîhatnâme were even commissioned by aspirants to Ottoman government - including, in one case, by the

Phanariot Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

Alexandros Skarlatou Kallimaki Alexandros may refer to: *Alexandros, a Greek name, the origin for the English name Alexander *Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great *Alexandros, Greece, a village on the island of Lefkada *Alexandros (band), a Japanese r ...

, the probable father of

Skarlatos Voyvodas Alexandrou Kallimaki Skarlatos is a Greek surname and forename. People with the name include: Surname *Alek Skarlatos (born 1992), American soldier, Knight of the French Legion of Honour * Konstantinos Skarlatos (1872-1969), Greek army officer and Olympic sports shoo ...

. By the 17th century, a sense of imperial decline began to affect the content of these texts; more than just advocating a return to some golden age (i.e.

Suleyman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...

) they highlighted specific systemic problems in the empire - including nepotism, revolts, military defeat, and corrupt

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ...

Content

Nasîhatnâme typically state a clear moral reason for why they are written and presented to leaders; whether piety, or morality, or realpolitik.

Examples

Precursors

* Nasihat al-Muluk (نصيحةالملوك) (literally "''advice for rulers''") by

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polym ...

* Kabusnama, (قابوسنامه) by Keykavus bin İskender * Siyasetname (سياستنامه) by

Nizamülmülk Abu Ali Hasan ibn Ali Tusi (April 10, 1018 – October 14, 1092), better known by his honorific title of Nizam al-Mulk ( fa, , , Order of the Realm) was a Persian scholar, jurist, political philosopher and Vizier of the Seljuk Empire. Rising ...

, written by order of the Seljuk emperor

Melikşah Jalāl al-Dawla Mu'izz al-Dunyā Wa'l-Din Abu'l-Fatḥ ibn Alp Arslān (8 August 1055 – 19 November 1092, full name: fa, ), better known by his regnal name of Malik-Shah I ( fa, ), was the third sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire from 1072 t ...

. * Ahlak-ı Nasıri (اخلاق ناصرى) (Nasırian Ethics) by

Nasiruddin Tusi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Tūsī ( fa, محمد ابن محمد ابن حسن طوسی 18 February 1201 – 26 June 1274), better known as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ( fa, نصیر الدین طوسی, links=no; or simply Tusi in the West ...

Çahar Makala Çahar (also, Chakhar) is a village and municipality in the Imishli Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,156. References * Populated places in Imishli District {{Imishli-geo-stub ...

(Four Discourses) by

Nizamuddin Arudi Nizam al-Din ( ar, نظام الدّین, Niẓām al-Dīn, Good Order of the Faith), spelled variously Nizamuddin or Nizamüddin or etc. may refer to: People *Niżām ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakī ibn-Mu‘ayyad, or Nizami ...

Kitab Nasihat al-Mulk Kitab ( ar, کتاب, link=no, ''kitāb''), also transcribed kitaab, is the Arabic, Turkic, Urdu, Hindi and in various Indian Languages word for " book". * '' Kitaab'', a 1977 Hindi language movie * ''Kithaab'' (also written ''Kitab''), a 2018 ...

, by

Al-Mawardi Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī Ibn Muḥammad al-Māwardī (), known in Latin as Alboacen (972–1058 CE), was an Islamic jurist of the Shafi'i school most remembered for his works on religion, government, the caliphate, and public and constitutional law ...

Hussain Vaiz Kashifi Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", ...

's Aklhaq i Muhsini (composed in Persian AH 900/AD 1495), translated into English as "The Morals Of The Beneficent" in the mid 19th century by

Henry George Keene Henry George Keene (30 September 1781–29 January 1864) was an English employee of the East India Company, as soldier, civil servant, and orientalist. He was known as a Persian scholar, and also was a churchman and academic. Life Born on 30 Sept ...

Al-Muqaddimah The ''Muqaddima'' ( ar, المُقَدِّمَة ''al-muqaddima,'' "The Introduction"), also known as the ''Muqaddima of Ibn Khaldun'' ( ar, مقدّمة ابن خلدون) or ''Ibn Khaldun's Prolegomena'' ( grc, Προλεγόμενα), is a b ...

, by

ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, o ...

* ''The Biographies of Illustrious Men'' by ibn Zafar as-Siqilli

Nasîhatnâme texts

* Tarih-i Ebü’l-Feth (''History of the father of conquest''), by Tursun Bey
Destan ve Tevarih-i Müluk-i Al-i Osman
by Ahmedi * The ''Asafname'' ("Mirror for Rulers"), by

Lütfi Pasha Lütfi Pasha ( ota, لطفى پاشا, ''Luṭfī Paşa''; Turkish language, Modern Turkish: ''Lütfi Paşa'', more fully ''Damat Çelebi Lütfi Paşa''; 1488 – 27 March 1564, Didymoteicho) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Albanian statesman, ge ...

* Nushatü’s Selatin (Advice to the sultans), by Gelibolulu Mustafa Ali * ''Ravżatu'l-Ḥüseyn fī ḫulāṣati aḫbāri'l-ḫāfiḳeyn'', by

Mustafa Naima Mustafa Naima ( ota, مصطفى نعيما; ''Muṣṭafā Na'īmā''; Aleppo, Ottoman Syria 1655 – 1716) was an Ottoman bureaucrat and historian who wrote the chronicle known as the ''Tārīḫ-i Na'īmā'' (''Naima's History''). He is oft ...

* Hirzü’l-Mülûk (Spells of the sultans), anonymously written * Usûlü’l-hikem fi Nizâmi’l-âlem (The principles of wisdom for the order of the world), by

Hasan Kâfî el-Akhisarî Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People * Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name * Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scott ...

* Habnâme (Book of dreams), by Veysi. * Kitâb-i Müstetâb (Beautiful book), anonymous. *

Risale A risale ( ar, لرسالة) is a small book in the form of a treatise on socio-economic, political or historical topics. This type of Ottoman literature became popular thanks to two risales written by Koçi Bey from the first half of the 17th cen ...

Koçi Bey Koçi Bey (died 1650) was a high-ranking Ottoman bureaucrat who lived in the first half of the 17th century. Biography He was an ethnic Albanian, born in Korçë in eastern Albania. Within the scope of the ''devshirme'' system, he studied in th ...

* Veliyüddin Telhisleri * Kanûnnâme-i sultânî li Aziz Efendi; the identity of the author, Aziz Efendi, is unclear. * Kitâbu mesâlihi’l-müslimîn ve menâfi’i’l-müminîn, anonymous. * Düsturü’l-Amel li-Islahi’l-Halel, by Katip Çelebi * Telhisü’l-beyan fi kavanin-i al-i Osman, by Hezarfan Hüseyin Efendi, who also wrote the history book Tenkîh-i Tevârih-i Mülûk

References