Khaldunist Philosophy: Innovation Justified 315
verbatim (but, as usual, omitting the statistical data),70 Na’ima argues that, as
the age of a state’s maturity and stagnation comes to an end (he further ex-
plains this as the fourth and fifth stages), the state’s expenses tend to exceed
its income. Balancing the budget is generally considered to be a very difficult
task, and Na’ima agrees with Kâtib Çelebi that only the use of compelling force
(bir kâsirin kasrı) can achieve it. But instead of following his predecessor’s ad-
vice, which focused on gradually reducing military salaries by a powerful vi-
zier, Na’ima prefers to stress once more the need for a temporary abandoning
of war and campaigns until the state budget is balanced and the soldiers regain
their power. During this peaceful period, the government must care for the
re-ordering of the cities and the well-being of the subjects and especially the
peasants. More specifically, a sum equal to one year’s state payments must be
collected by taking arrears from state property (mal-ı miriden), by which the
expenses would be carefully reduced. Na’ima explains that the abundance of
cash will be beneficial, since “as the saying goes, wise merchants gain not from
buying but from selling”.
An excursus emphasizing that these efforts at redressing must be made
carefully and gradually brings to mind similar remarks by Kâtib Çelebi as well
as the rich experiences of seventeenth-century politics available to Na’ima.
Thus, he maintains that one should be careful not to remove the signs of splen-
dor and grandeur (esbab-ı ihtişam) from kings and magnates: the abolition of
customary usage can be difficult albeit beneficial, and wearing furs or using
decorated weapons are now ordinary practices for the people. In the fourth
and second stages of a state’s life, such luxury and respect for the king replaces
the solidarity and nomadism of earlier stages. Some may complain that with-
out money no government is possible and thus that this policy is impossible,
but the result of such advice would only be complaints and misery for the
people. To this effect, Na’ima quotes Ibn Khaldun again: by nature, man seeks
perfection and so people tend to imitate great men, not only in their behavior
and views but also in their attire. Consequently, a wise administrator would
first seek to inspire respect for himself and the law in the people so that, after-
wards, they will follow him wholeheartedly in his decisions. Thus, any reduc-
tion in luxury and pomp must be gradual and careful, and should be executed
according to rank and in moderation. Pomp can be tolerated in state officials
(erkân-ı devlet) while luxury should distinguish between soldiers and the ser-
vants of the state, on the one hand, and commoners on the other.
The end of Na’ima’s first preface culminates in another eulogy of peace-
makers. He mentions Kara Mustafa Pasha’s vizierate and the war he initiated
with Hungary, while noting that the Ottomans were then in the fourth stage
70 Cf. Ayn Ali 1978, 134–135.