AN ANONYMOUS TREATISE ON POLITICS, SUBMITTED TO BAYEZID II
The absence of an elaborate and complete list of Ottoman political thought manuscripts constitutes a serious obstacle to be able to analyze the sources in the field and to make use of them. This study aims to make a modest contribution to the elimination of the lack of knowledge about the texts in this area. With such an aim, the study aims to introduce an Arabic treatise written by an unknown author who was involved in the private conversation with Mehmed II (d. 1481) and dedicated his treatise to Bayezid II. The name of the book, the possibilities about the identity of the author, the main issues of it and the main features and resources of the treatise will be examined in this study. In this treatise,
which conveys the necessary information for an ideal state administration, the issues of ethics, politics and history are intertwined and also a special attention is given to the issues of âdâb-ı harb (art of war). Presenting Mehmed the Conqueror as the ideal sultan prototype within the text, the necessity of having proper action with the Shari’ah, jihad as an obligation to be performed, the comparison between the Ottomans and the Mamluks, and the history of Andulusia and its situation in late XVth century are among the issues attracting attention.
