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

''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 Ecumen ...

Alexandros Skarlatou Kallimaki, the probable father of Skarlatos Voyvodas Alexandrou Kallimaki. 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.

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 poly ...

* Kabusnama, (قابوسنامه) by Keykavus bin İskender * Siyasetname (سياستنامه) by Nizamülmülk, written by order of the Seljuk emperor Melikşah. * Ahlak-ı Nasıri (اخلاق ناصرى) (Nasırian Ethics) by Nasiruddin Tusi * Çahar Makala (Four Discourses) by Nizamuddin Arudi * Kitab Nasihat al-Mulk, 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'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 Sep ...

* Al-Muqaddimah, by ibn Khaldun * ''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''; Modern Turkish: ''Lütfi Paşa'', more fully ''Damat Çelebi Lütfi Paşa''; 1488 – 27 March 1564, Didymoteicho) was an Ottoman Albanian statesman, general, and Grand Vizier of the O ...

* 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 ofte ...

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