Publication: Bir sultan ve bir entelektüel : Kansu Gavri’nin sohbet meclisleri ve meşruiyet inşası
Abstract
Bu çalışma, geç dönem Memlük sultanlarından Kansu Gavri’nin (ö. 1516) sohbet meclislerini birer entelektüel faaliyet, siyasi otoritenin temsili ve meşruiyetinin inşası bağlamında değerlendirir. Sultan Gavri'nin düzenlediği ve yazıya aktarılan meclislerdeki tartışmalar; fıkıh, tefsir ve hadis gibi klasik İslamî ilimler çerçevesinde yürütülmekle birlikte, hükümdarın ilim ehliyle kurduğu ilişkileri ve bu ilişkilerin siyasal temsildeki rolünü de gözler önüne serer. Çalışmanın temel sorusu, Kansu Gavri’nin sohbet meclislerinin onun meşruiyetini nasıl temsil ettiği, inşa ettiği ve yeniden ürettiğidir. Tez, bu soruya yanıt ararken hem nitel metin çözümlemesine hem de tarihsel bağlam değerlendirmesine dayalı bir yöntem izlemektedir. Birincil kaynaklar arasında Nefâ'isü'l-Mecâlisi's-Sultâniyye fî Hakâ'iki'l-Esrâri'l-Kur'âniyye, el-Kevkebü’d-Dürri fî Mesâ’ili’l-Gavri,ve Kitâbü Ukûdi’l-Cevheriyye fî’n-Nevâdiri’l-Gavriyye gibi meclis metinleri ile İbn İyâs’ın kroniği yer almaktadır. Özellikle Nefâ'isü'l-Mecâlisi's-Sultâniyye fî Hakâ'iki'l-Esrâri'l-Kur'âniyye metni, hükümdarın entelektüel temsil stratejilerinin ve meşruiyet söylemlerinin yoğunlaştığı bir örnek olarak derinlemesine analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmada, söz konusu metinlerin bilgi aktarımı amacı taşımadığı bununla birlikte sultanın otoritesini söylemsel düzlemde pekiştiren ve saray çevresinde temsiliyetini kuran yapılar olarak işlev gördüğü ortaya konmuştur. Tez iki ana bölümden oluşmaktadır. İlk bölümde Kansu Gavri’nin siyasi ve entelektüel portresi, iktidar stratejileri, ekonomik ve askeri reformları tarihsel bağlamıyla birlikte ele alınmıştır. İkinci bölümde ise sohbet meclislerinin yapısı, temsil dili ve telif amaçları çerçevesinde hükümdarlık tahayyülünün nasıl şekillendiği ve meşruiyet söyleminin nasıl kurgulandığı incelenmiştir. Bu tez, geç dönem Memlük tarihini yalnızca çöküş paradigması çerçevesinde değil; temsil ve entelektüel üretim bağlamında yeniden değerlendirmeye imkân tanımaktadır. Böylece Kansu Gavri siyasi krizlerle mücadele eden bir sultan ve ilmî otoriteyi temsil eden entelektüel bir figür olarak ele alınmıştır.
This thesis examines the intellectual gatherings (majālis) held by the late Mamluk sultan Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī (d. 1516), not merely as cultural traditions but as arenas for the performance of political authority and the construction of legitimacy. The discussions recorded in these gatherings—conducted under the sultan’s leadership and documented in writing—reflect scholarly engagement in disciplines such as jurisprudence, Qur’anic exegesis, and hadith. At the same time, they offer insight into the sultan’s relationship with the scholarly elite and the political symbolism embedded in these relationships. The central research question asks: How did Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī’s intellectual assemblies represent, produce, and reconstruct his legitimacy and authority? The study employs a qualitative methodology, combining textual analysis with historical contextualization. Primary sources include Nefâ'isü'l-Mecâlisi's-Sultâniyye fî Hakâ'iki'l-Esrâri'l-Kur'âniyye, el-Kevkebü’d-Dürri fî Mesâ’ili’l-Gavri, and Kitâbü Ukûdi’l-Cevheriyye fî’n-Nevâdiri’l-Gavriyye, alongside contemporary chronicles such as those of Ibn Iyās. Particular focus is placed on Nafāʾis al-Majālis, analyzed as a site where intellectual discourse is interwoven with political representation. The study argues that these texts were not only vehicles of scholarly exchange but also performative and discursive spaces in which the sultan's legitimacy was constructed and reaffirmed. The thesis is divided into two main chapters. The first explores Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī’s political and intellectual profile in its historical context, examining his reign, reforms, and cultural initiatives. The second chapter focuses on the structure and rhetoric of his majālis, analyzing how sultanic representation and legitimacy were articulated through textual discourse and authorial framing. By shifting focus from narratives of decline to practices of representation and intellectual production, this study seeks to reinterpret late Mamluk history. It repositions Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī not only as a ruler grappling with crisis but also as a sovereign figure actively engaged in the symbolic and scholarly production of his authority.
This thesis examines the intellectual gatherings (majālis) held by the late Mamluk sultan Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī (d. 1516), not merely as cultural traditions but as arenas for the performance of political authority and the construction of legitimacy. The discussions recorded in these gatherings—conducted under the sultan’s leadership and documented in writing—reflect scholarly engagement in disciplines such as jurisprudence, Qur’anic exegesis, and hadith. At the same time, they offer insight into the sultan’s relationship with the scholarly elite and the political symbolism embedded in these relationships. The central research question asks: How did Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī’s intellectual assemblies represent, produce, and reconstruct his legitimacy and authority? The study employs a qualitative methodology, combining textual analysis with historical contextualization. Primary sources include Nefâ'isü'l-Mecâlisi's-Sultâniyye fî Hakâ'iki'l-Esrâri'l-Kur'âniyye, el-Kevkebü’d-Dürri fî Mesâ’ili’l-Gavri, and Kitâbü Ukûdi’l-Cevheriyye fî’n-Nevâdiri’l-Gavriyye, alongside contemporary chronicles such as those of Ibn Iyās. Particular focus is placed on Nafāʾis al-Majālis, analyzed as a site where intellectual discourse is interwoven with political representation. The study argues that these texts were not only vehicles of scholarly exchange but also performative and discursive spaces in which the sultan's legitimacy was constructed and reaffirmed. The thesis is divided into two main chapters. The first explores Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī’s political and intellectual profile in its historical context, examining his reign, reforms, and cultural initiatives. The second chapter focuses on the structure and rhetoric of his majālis, analyzing how sultanic representation and legitimacy were articulated through textual discourse and authorial framing. By shifting focus from narratives of decline to practices of representation and intellectual production, this study seeks to reinterpret late Mamluk history. It repositions Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī not only as a ruler grappling with crisis but also as a sovereign figure actively engaged in the symbolic and scholarly production of his authority.