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Journals / Toplumsal Tarih Akademi / 2026 / Sayı: 8

Searching for Animals in Ottoman Sources

Osmanlı Kaynaklarında Hayvanları Aramak

Suraiya Faroqhi Faroqhi(İBN HALDUN ÜNİVERSİTESİ)
Pages
1–20
Publication Date
2026-06-02
DOI
—
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

By addressing regional specificities in Anatolia, the Balkans, and Egypt, the article highlights the complex interplay between animal welfare, animal killing, state-building, and environmental constraints.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This article explores the evolving field of animal history within the Ottoman context, emphasizing that early modern society and statecraft were fundamentally dependent on non-human labor and resources.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Historically neglected due to sparse documentation and the "invisibility" of omnipresent working animals, recent scholarship has begun to reconstruct human-animal relationships through a synthesis of archival records, travelogues like Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname, and environmental studies.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:By addressing regional specificities in Anatolia, the Balkans, and Egypt, the article highlights the complex interplay between animal welfare, animal killing, state-building, and environmental constraints.
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Osmanlı İmparatorluğu · Hayvan Tarihi · Çevre Tarihi

Abstract

This article explores the evolving field of animal history within the Ottoman context, emphasizing that early modern society and statecraft were fundamentally dependent on non-human labor and resources. Historically neglected due to sparse documentation and the "invisibility" of omnipresent working animals, recent scholarship has begun to reconstruct human-animal relationships through a synthesis of archival records, travelogues like Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname, and environmental studies. The study surveys the logistical roles of horses, camels, and oxen in military mobilization, postal communication, and agriculture. It further examines animals as markers of elite prestige through hunting and imperial stables, as well as their role as a primary food source. By addressing regional specificities in Anatolia, the Balkans, and Egypt, the article highlights the complex interplay between animal welfare, animal killing, state-building, and environmental constraints.

Özet

Bu makale, Erken Modern Dönem toplumunun ve devlet yapısının temelde insan dışı emeğe ve kaynaklara bağımlı olduğunu vurgulayarak, Osmanlı bağlamında gelişmekte olan hayvan tarihi alanını incelemektedir. Belge eksikliği ve eskiden her yerde hazır bulunan iş hayvanlarının "görünmezliği" nedeniyle tarihsel olarak ihmal edilen bu alan, son dönemdeki çalışmalarla arşiv kayıtları, Evliya Çelebi'nin Seyahatnâme'si gibi gezgin anıları ve çevre çalışmaları aracılığıyla insan-hayvan ilişkilerini yeniden inşa etmeye başlamıştır. Çalışma; at, deve ve öküzlerin askeri mobilizasyon, posta haberleşmesi ve tarımdaki lojistik rollerini araştırmaktadır. Ayrıca, avcılık ve saray ahırları aracılığıyla hayvanların seçkin prestij göstergeleri olarak kullanımı ve birincil gıda kaynağı olma rolleri ele alınmaktadır. Anadolu, Balkanlar ve Mısır'daki bölgesel özellikleri inceleyen makale; hayvan refahı, hayvan öldürülmesi, devlet inşası ve çevresel kısıtlamalar arasındaki karmaşık etkileşimi vurgulamaktadır.

🔖

Cite This Article

Faroqhi, S. F. (2026). Searching for Animals in Ottoman Sources. Toplumsal Tarih Akademi, Sayı: 8, 1–20. https://ajindex.com/articles/1646815

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