This thesis is a historical study on the universal history books written in the Ottoman Empire from the mid-17th century onward. The title is inspired by the phrase "Something that cannot be known in its entirety should not be completely abandoned," which appears in the introductions of two mid-17th-century works—one written in Turkish-Persian in Istanbul and the other in Latin in London. By historicizing this phrase, the thesis hypothesizes a connection between ruptures in political theology and emerging temporal and spatial perspectives for compiling universal knowledge, as well as the development of new graphic designs.
The study explores this connection through an analysis of the basic concepts, tables, images and general plans of the works used to universalize historical particulars. It identifies traces of mathematical universal chronology, geographical frameworks for universal history, historiographical approaches favoring vernacularized long narratives, and philosophical universal histories centered on the concepts of civilization and progress.
This research enables a coherent and internal perspective on the transformations in Ottoman historical and political thought.
Mustafa Akay succesfully defended his thesis on 17 January 2025.
Trial lecture
Designated topic: "Ottoman exceptionalism from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century"
Evaluation committee
- Doctor Shahzad Bashir, The Aga Khan University (first opponent)
- Doctor Marinos Sariyannis, FORTH/Institute for mediterranean Studies (second opponent)
- Professor Ragnhild Johnsrud Zorgati, University of Oslo (committee administrator)
Chair of the defence
- Head of Department Rune Svarverud
Supervisors
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Professor Einar Wigen, University of Oslo
- Professor Helge Jordheim, University of Oslo