Koçi Bey

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Mustafa Koçi Bey (or Muṣṭafā Qoči Bey ), full name Kuricali Koƈ u Mustafa Bey , also known as Kuricali , Göriceli , Koƈ u or Koƈ i , (* probably in Korça , Ottoman Empire , today's Albania ; † around 1650 or 1654 in Istanbul , buried near Korça) was an Ottoman statesman and reformer of Albanian origin.

life and work

Under the reign of Sultan Ahmed I (1603 to 1617) Koçi Bey came into court service

As a boy originally baptized as a Christian, Koçi Bey enjoyed the Knabenlese ( Ottoman دوشيرمه Devşirme ) an education in the elite and palace school ( Enderun ) of Istanbul and entered the court service under Sultan Ahmed I.

His most important work was the memorandum Risâle-i Koçi Bey (Treatise of Koçi Bey), which he addressed to the young Sultan Murad IV as an adviser in 1630/1631, in a chaotic phase of Ottoman politics . Considered one of the most significant works of Ottoman political literature of the 17th century, the script is a brilliant study of the causes of the decline of Ottoman power. In it, he analyzes the problems of the political system and submits proposals for drastic reforms that a Golden Age like to rule again I. Suleiman should usher.

In contrast to similar memoranda of late and earlier times, the author did not spare harsh criticism and clear words when he subjected the Ottoman rule to a critical analysis on the basis of statistics, events and facts. 1574, the year of Selim II's death , was the decisive change of epoch: until then, the feudal army ( Timar system ) had been the mainstay of the military power and supported the expansion of the Ottoman Empire; With the strengthening of the clique settled at the court, which gathered around the harem and the grand vizier, and the palace troop of the janissaries , a favored economy and benefice economy had arisen since then, which favored relatives and the soldier skills and virtues of the sipahis (riding troops) Sacrificed to friends of courtiers. The clergy and the judiciary would have associated through science and education to be upgraded, the protection mischief and especially the powerful enemy seniority would have to give way here. The tax burden for the population is also too high.

Due to his radical memorandum, Koçi Bey took a prominent position among the advisors of the young, dynamic and cruel ruler Murad IV, an honorary rank that he retained under his successor, Sultan Ibrahim I. He is said to have dedicated another memorandum to him in 1640, although in terms of language and content, compared to the first treatise, he was much weaker. When Ibrahim was overthrown, Koçi Bey was banished from court.

Due to his critical, fact-rich approach, Koçi Bey is also referred to as the " Montesquieu of the Ottomans" , with whom he is also linked by the - largely unjustified - pessimistic attitude towards historical decline (the idea of ​​decadence ), here on the idealized time of Suleyman the Magnificent , there on the Roman antiquity related.

expenditure

  • Koçi Bey risaleleri. Sultan IV. Murad'a devlet yönetimindeki bozukluklar ile alınması gereken tedbirler hakkında sunulan risale ve Sultan 1. İbrahim'e Osmanlı Devlet teşkilatı hakkında sunulan risale. Edited by Seda Çakmakcıoğlu. Kabalcı Yayınevi, İstanbul 2008.
  • Yılmaz Kurt (Ed.): Koçibey Risalesi . Ankara: Burak 1998.
  • Zuhuri Danişman: Koçi Bey risalesi . 1st edition. Devlet Kitapları, Istanbul 1972 (Türk kältürü kaynak eserleri dizisi). - Linguistically modernized Turkish text.
  • Ali Kemali Aksüt: Koçi Bey Risalesi. Şimdiye kadar elde edilememiş olan tarihî eserin tamamı; Koçi Beyin resmini havidir . Vakit, Istanbul 1939. - Translation into modern Turkish language.
  • Koçi Bey Risalesi . Istanbul 1303 (= 1885/86). - Uncritical Ottoman edition.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The elite school in Istanbul was founded by Sultan Bayezid II in 1481 as Galata Sarayı Enderun-ı Hümayunu (“Imperial Galata Palace School”), today's Galatasaray High School .
  2. ↑ Attribution to Koçi Bey with not entirely convincing arguments by M.Çağatay Uluçay: Koçi Bey'in Sultan Ibrahim'e takdim ettiği Risale ve arzları . In: Zeki Velidi Togan Armaganı . Istanbul 1950–1955. Pp. 177-199.
  3. ↑ Bedriye Atsız: Mustafa Bey Qoči . In: Kindlers Neues Literaturlexikon , Volume 13, p. 781.
  4. ↑ Faroqhi, Culture, p. 90.
personal data
SURNAME Koçi Bey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mustafa Koçi Bey
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ottoman politician and author
DATE OF BIRTH 16th century or 17th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Korça
DATE OF DEATH around 1650
Place of death Istanbul