Catalogus : Recensies
Recensies
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Michael Reinhard Heß Schreiben des Antagonismus Dimensionen des osmanisch-safavidischen Konfliktes in Staatskorrespondenz um 1600 ISBN: 978-3-8440-1556-0 Prijs: 39,80 € / 49,75 SFR |
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The conflict that raged between the Ottomans and the Safavids from the early sixteenth century until 1638 was not just fought on the battlefield; it was conducted by way of mutually vilifying propaganda as well, in the form of countless vituperative letters exchanged between the parties. This book, a reworked and updated version of a Magisterarbeit submitted in 1992, subjects five of these letters to an in-depth analysis. The author’s criterion for selecting the letters and the organizing principle of the study is the nature of the Ottoman Safavid confrontation, and in particular, its motivating causes. What do we learn from these letters? Their form and the style in which they were written, the author points out, are often surprisingly direct, devoid of the niceties prescribed by protocol. The letters are also full of veiled threats that are mostly presented in the form of allusions. At the same time, they do make clear which regions and cities the Ottoman considered to be their natural right – e.g., Tabriz, Baghdad, Nihavand, Erzurum, Georgia, Shirvan. As said, the author’s principal aim is to understand the main impetus behind the conflict. He prioritizes religious fervor, admitting being influenced by global events involving Islamic radicalism since he finished his MA thesis. Of course, on the face of it, religion as a driving force is paramount in the sources, which are rhetorical in tone and presentation, serving as propaganda meant to convey the glory of the ruler and his stature as the defender of the true faith rather than highlighting “mundane” issues such as commercial gain or the fiscal revenue likely to be yielded by new conquests. In the end, though, as Heß himself recognizes, it would be hard if not impossible to distill one cause as the single most important one; religion was interwoven with strategic thinking so that wars fought over land and resources were invariably articulated in religious terms, in the East as much as in the West. In its meticulous analysis of the correspondence it examines, this work makes a valuable contribution to the study of the interaction between the Ottomans and the Safavids, a topic that is finally receiving the attention it deserves. |
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| Bron: Reviews volume 2/2014, journal “Der Islam” | |
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