Islam siyaset düșüncesini uygulamak: Katip Çelebi ve onun dönemi

Applying the Islamic Political Thought: Hacı Halife and His Time

Abstract

The 17th century was seen by the researchers as the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The economic situation and social phenomena that declined with the lost wars caused changes in the Ottoman style of administration and politics. In this period, we can speak of social changes, uprisings due to political-economic discontent, and changes in the bureaucracy tradition. With the general acceptance of historians, the dates 1603-56 are accepted as a period of chaos or anarchy in terms of Ottoman history. Ottoman high intellectuals did not remain indifferent to these negativities in the state. In the face of this situation, they wrote individual treatises and highlighted the problems of the state and turned towards reform studies. Kâtip Çelebi, one of the most prolific and well-known scholars of the 17th century Ottoman, did not remain silent to the situation and wrote works. This paper explores Katip Çelebi’s Düstûru’l Amel, taking into consideration the intellectual biography of the author and his sources of knowledge, his political philosophy, and his understanding of reform. Essentially, the paper aims to explain Katip Çelebi’s political philosophy by addressing the Ottoman reform studies and the reform thought in the luminary’s view. Düstûru’l Amel, which he wrote to establish a political philosophy will be examined as the main subject of the article.