46 chapter 1
al-‘ulûm (“The revival of knowledge”), composed in the early twelfth century
and representing a more Islamic version of kingship. Al-Ghazali also stressed
justice as the necessary princely virtue, but he also argued that even an
oppressive ruler (provided he is supported by force, shawka) must be obeyed
for the sake of avoiding civil strife. On the other hand, he emphasized the
moral qualities required by the ruler and employed much stronger religious
bases compared to Nizam al-Mulk’s Sassanian inheritance. In both traditions,
the prevailing assumption is that the ruler has no innate sacred quality: his
rule is clearly distinct from the cosmic rulership associated with the caliph-
ate or with the mystic dimensions of Suhrawardi’s illuminationism; he is an
imperfect man who has to strive continuously in order to attain perfection for
the sake of his subjects. Justice is the ruler’s duty to both God and his subjects,
and if justice is maintained then rulership will be maintained, too. The fol-
lowing synopsis will show clearly that these kinds of Persian-style “mirrors for
princes”, with their emphasis on justice and compassion and their strong pious
and moralistic overtones, remained popular in both Ottoman and Persian
lands until the rise of the “universal” empires necessitated the introduction of
more comprehensive systems for interpreting society and history.
2.1 Ahmedi and Other Persianate Works
Of all the scholars who moved from the neighboring emirates to the Ottoman
court the most famous is undoubtedly Taceddin İbrahim b. Hızır Ahmedi
(c. 1334/5–1412), primarily because of the use of his work in the endless
debate on Paul Wittek’s gazi thesis. A native of Anatolia, Ahmedi moved to
Cairo to study and then entered the service of the beg of Germiyan, Süleyman
Şah. At an unknown time he joined the Ottoman court and, after the battle
of Ankara, served under Süleyman Çelebi (d. 1411). Among his various poeti-
cal and moral works, the most important and well-known is his İskendernâme
(“Book of Alexander”), since it includes a world history, the last part of which
is the Tevârîh-i Mülûk-i âl-i ‘Osmân (“The history of the rulers of the House
of Osman”). This kind of versified chronicle covers the period from Ertoğrul
up to Süleyman Çelebi; the latter is termed a “martyr”, which means the work
was perhaps completed after his death. Although Ahmedi chose the losing side
during the Ottoman interregnum, his work was widely copied during the fif-
teenth century, though it was also strongly criticized during the next century
as regards its poetical merits.38
38 Ahmedi – Silay 2004, xiv. We use here Silay’s edition; other transcriptions or facsimiles in-
clude Ahmedi – Atsız 1949 and Ahmedi – Ünver 1983. On Ahmedi’s work see İnalcık 1962,