Silâhdar Fındıklılı Mehmed Ağa

The chronicler Mehmed , called Silâhdar Fındıklılı Mehmed Ağa (* 1658 , † 1723 ) comes from Fındıklı, a suburb of Istanbul . He is an Ottoman historiographer , his main work is the history of the Silâhdar .

life and work

Mehmed had already made a name for himself as a historian as a page at the Sultanshof . He was commissioned by Sultan Mustafa II to write a book, the content should be the reign of the Sultan under the title nusratname ( Eng . " Victory Book "). He became the turban keeper and under Sultan Ahmed III. to the Silâhdar  /سلحدار( Arabic سلاح, DMG silāḥ  'weapon', Persian دار -dâr , 'keeper', that is to say, "weapon bearer") appointed. Therefore, since then he has been called Silâhdar Fındıklılı Mehmed Ağa and his important work simply "The History of Silâhdar".

Going beyond the original framework, in this work he condenses and comments on reports by other chroniclers, which he supplements with additions from mostly unmentioned sources. But sometimes the unchanged wording is also given, e.g. E.g. the report of the Grand Ambassador Kara Mehmed Pascha , who was at the imperial court in Vienna in 1665 (in Volume I of the story ). If Evliya Çelebi combined this with much more information about the country and its people in Volume VII of his travel book Seyâhatnâmesi , the Silâhdar is limited to the ambassador's political report.

“We replied that our Lord, the mighty and exalted, world-protecting Padishah had given us these drums and banners and had sent us in the spirit of friendship; So if we weren't allowed to move in the Ottoman fashion, where would the friendship be? [...] Incidentally, we are not thinking of moving into Vienna in any other way. "

He also describes Kara Mustafa's campaign against Vienna from the master of ceremonies' diary . He has streamlined this book by eliminating passages that seemed unimportant to him, especially the repeated invocations of Allah with the request for victory. In contrast to the master of ceremonies, the Silâhdar is very critical of the person Kara Mustafa and his general art because of the time lag and knowledge of the result of the campaign.

See also

• Main article Sarı Mehmet Pasha

literature

• Richard Franz Kreutel (translator): The history of the Silihdar. from: Kara Mustafa in front of Vienna. The Turkish diary of the siege of Vienna in 1683, written by the master of ceremonies of the Sublime Porte. Volume 1 of the series: Ottoman historians. Verlag Styria, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1955, first edition.
• Richard Franz Kreutel / Erich Prokesch / Karl Teply (translator): In the realm of the golden apple. The Turkish globetrotter Evliyâ Çelebi made a memorable trip to the Giaurenland and the city and fortress of Vienna in 1665. Volume 2 of the series: Ottoman historians. Verlag Styria, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1987, ISBN 3-222-11747-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Richard Franz Kreutel / Erich Prokesch / Karl Teply (translator): In the realm of the golden apple. The Turkish globetrotter Evliyâ Çelebi made a memorable trip to the Giaurenland and the city and fortress of Vienna in 1665. Volume 2 of the series: Ottoman historians. Verlag Styria, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1987, ISBN 3-222-11747-0 .
2. ^ Richard Franz Kreutel / Erich Prokosch / Karl Teply (translator): In the realm of the golden apple. The Turkish globetrotter Evliyâ Çelebi made a memorable trip to the Giaurenland and the city and fortress of Vienna in 1665. Volume 2 of the series: Ottoman historians. Verlag Styria, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1987, ISBN 3-222-11747-0 , p. 257.
3. ^ Richard Franz Kreutel (translator): The story of the Silihdars. from: Kara Mustafa in front of Vienna. The Turkish diary of the siege of Vienna in 1683, written by the master of ceremonies of the Sublime Porte. Volume 1 of the series: Ottoman historians. Verlag Styria, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1955, first edition, pp. 135-137.