History of Nevres as an Early Modern Ottoman Chronicle

Abstract

In this article, in which Nevres Efenedi's perception of Iranians and Shiites and his views as an early reformist, is studied through his work named Tarihiçe-i Nevres, it is attempted to examine whether he was also under the influence of Ibn Khaldunist views of history and society, like the opposition intellectuals of his time. For this purpose, Nevres Efendi's unique and early reformist ideas, are discussed with a descriptive and comparative method in the light of studies about the other early reformist and Ibn Khaldunist intellectuals who looked for remedies to prevent decline of the Ottoman Empire. Tarihçe-i Nevres is studied not in terms of the political reasons and results of the Revan Campaign, but in terms of early modern traces and Ibn Khaldunist influences, within the framework of sub-headings such as Shiite perception, approach to the ancient law, criticism of state institutions. The rationale of this study is based on the fact that Nevres Efendi, who is thought to be a dissident and early reformist and was assumed to be influenced by the Ibn Khaldunist point of view, and his work, Tarihi-i Nevres, were excluded from evaluation by Ottoman researchers. Being almost the very first study on Tarihçe-i Nevres makes this attempt a pioneering but limited experiment.