Roughly speaking, the prose of the Ottoman Empire can be divided along the lines of two broad periods: early Ottoman prose, written prior to the 19th century CE and exclusively
nonfictional in nature; and later Ottoman prose, which extended from the mid-19th century
Tanzimat period of reform to the final fall of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1922, and in which prose
fiction was first introduced.
Early Ottoman prose
Early Ottoman prose, before the 19th century CE, never developed to the extent that the contemporary Divan poetry did. A large part of the reason for this was that much prose of the time was expected to adhere to the rules of ''
seci'', or
rhymed prose Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing. In modern literary traditions ...
, a type of writing descended from Arabic literature (''
saj'
Saj‘ ( ar, سجع) is a form of rhymed prose in Arabic literature. It is named so because of its evenness or monotony, or from a fancied resemblance between its rhythm and the cooing of a dove. It is a highly artificial style of prose, characte ...
'') and which prescribed that between each adjective and noun in a sentence, there must be a
rhyme.
Nevertheless, there was a long tradition of prose in the Ottoman Empire. This tradition was, for centuries, exclusively
nonfictional in nature—the
fiction tradition was limited to narrative poetry. A number of such nonfictional prose genres developed:
* the ''seyahâtnâme'', or
travelogue
Travelogue may refer to:
Genres
* Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling
* Travel documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or ...
, of which the outstanding example is the 17th-century ''
Seyahâtnâme'' of
Evliya Çelebi
Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...
* the ''sefâretnâme'', a related genre that is a sort of travelogue of the journeys and experiences of an Ottoman
ambassador, and which is best exemplified by the 1718–1720 ''Paris Sefâretnâmesi'' of
Yirmisekiz Mehmet Çelebi Efendi, ambassador to the court of
Louis XV of France
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
* the ''siyâsetnâme'', a kind of political treatise describing the functionings of state and offering advice for rulers, an early Seljuk example of which is the 11th-century ''
Siyāsatnāma'', written in Persian by
Nizam al-Mulk,
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...
to the Seljuk rulers
Alp Arslan and
Malik Shah I
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 ...
* the ''tezkire'', a collection of short
biographies
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
of notable figures, some of the most notable of which were the 16th-century ''tezkiretü'ş-şuara''s, or biographies of poets, by
Latîfî and
Aşık Çelebi
Aşık Çelebi ("Gentleman Bard" in Turkish) was the name of Pir Mehmed ("Mehmed the Pir"; 1520–1572), an Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator. Born in Prizren, he served as '' kadi'' (judge) in many towns of the Rumelia. His major wor ...
* the ''münşeât'', a collection of writings and letters similar to the Western tradition of ''
belles-lettres''
* the ''münazara'', a collection of
debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...
s of either a religious or a philosophical nature
Later Ottoman prose
*
Safveti Ziya
Ottoman culture
History of literature
Turkish
{{Ottoman-stub