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political therapies brought about by the Holy Law, which are sufficient
for redressing the disposition of the kingdom and of the state, as well as
for bringing the powers of the rules of the religious community into bal-
ance (edviye-i siyaset-i şer’iyesi ıslah-ı mizac-ı mülk ü devlete kâfi ve ta ’dil-i
kuva-yı kava ’id-i din ü millete vafidir).Old-fashioned as it sounds, this introductory remark mentions balance, a
key concept in Kâtib Çelebi’s vision. Now, in the introduction to his treatise
(AA122–3; G155–156) he sets out to present his views on “the dispositions of the
state” (etvar-ı devlet). First he defines this term, stating that:
[the word] devlet, which [originally] meant saltanat and mülk, according
to another view consists of human society (ictima-ı beşeriyeden ibaretdir).In the whole history of the term, this is the first time it had taken on such
a broad meaning. Ibn Khaldun had spoken of the rise and decline of dawla,
meaning dynasties. In Takvîmü’t-tevârîh, Kâtib Çelebi had somewhat vaguely
referred to groups (ta ’ife) and dynasties, sometimes coupling the latter with
“communities” or “societies” (devlet ve cemi’yet). Yet now he explicitly defines
his subject as society as a whole; this will help him localize the present short-
comings and, consequently, the future measures to be taken across the whole
body politic, rather than only in certain state institutions. To make this leap, he
reverts to the Tusian theory of the continuum of the human condition: there
is the individual state of man and the social state, both of which are governed
by the same natural laws.
Indeed, Kâtib Çelebi argues that the social condition of man (insanın ictima ’i
hali) resembles that of the individual. An individual’s life is naturally divided
into three stages, namely growth, stagnation, and physical decline (nümüv,
vukuf, inhitat); the coming of each age in turn depends upon the disposition
of the individual, so a strong man comes to old age later than a weak one.
Similarly, now, runs the social state of man, i.e. society or devlet (insanın dev-
letden ibaret olan ictima ’î hali), which is also divided into three ages depending
on its strength: this is why some societies (cemi’yet) reached decline quickly,
while others, “like this exalted state”, being strong in their construction and
well-grounded, were late in joining the age of stagnation. Moreover, in both
the individual and the social state of humanity, there are specific signs show-
ing the coming of each age, and those who want to take measures to redress
the conditions of the commonwealth (umur-ı cumhur) have to act according to
these signs, just as, in medical practice, a cure for children should not be given
to an adult.