188 honored by the glory of islam
The narrative also raises some questions. The reader wonders why thepeasant was unable to recognize the sultan as sultan. Although Mehmed IV
would not have been wearing the ghazi aigrettes and very tall turban that served
as dress on ceremonial occasions, he would have been mounted on a fi ne Ara-
bian, wearing a sumptuous fur or fur-lined cloak and surrounded by many
retainers and guards. Sudanese harem eunuchs were a rare sight in Bulgarian
villages. The second question that comes to mind is how the sultan communi-
cated with the drover. Mehmed IV spoke the relatively simple Turkish that Abdi
Pasha uses to write his chronicle. The commoner, who was probably an Ortho-
dox Christian, most likely spoke Bulgarian as his mother tongue. Perhaps the
peasant knew Turkish, or enough Turkish to understand that conversion was
occurring, or perhaps the sultan employed locals to act as hunting guides who
could also speak both languages.
The sultan takes on a remarkable persona in the narrative, speaking asboth the head of a powerful and patrimonial dynasty offering the man a sine-
cure in the palace in Edirne, and as God’s representative on Earth, the shadow
of God, who can assure converts that they will attain the best of the afterlife.
But the commoner still does not comprehend the situation and refuses to con-
vert not once, but twice, which makes for a better conversion story. The sultan
withdraws, astounded that the man failed to accept the offer, surprised that he
was unsuccessful in confi rming that Islam is the true faith. The man quickly
changed his tone and demeanor only after the sultan’s servants, and in particu-
lar the African eunuchs, told the man that it was the sultan who offered him
these benefi ts, the sovereign to whom he owed his liege. According to this con-
struction of a conversion narrative, the power, majesty, and might of Islam as
represented by Mehmed IV were impressive enough to cause conversion. Some
social scientists might explain the rational choice made by the drover facing
extreme alternatives; others may claim the motivation was based on fi nancial
compensation; to still others, the promised rise in social status may have been
the cause. But considering Abdi Pasha’s chronicle to be a piece of literature, it is
important to examine how the story is narrated and how the author depicts the
disposition of the main subject, including his pietistic demeanor.
Let us examine the drover’s claim that he had previously dreamed of beingoffered the chance to convert. It is well known that Sufi s communicate with
people through dreams, where they appear to offer advice, tell the future, or
admonish people to change their ways. It is remarkable that at a time when the
sultan and his court and administration were cracking down on Sufi practices,
the sultan acts in this story like a Sufi sheikh. Mehmed IV, who took his own
and the dreams of others seriously, materializes in real life after appearing in
a man’s dream and becomes the realization of the subconscious or primordial