Political Philosophy and Oriental Polemics on the OttomanForm of Government in 18th Century English Literature

Özet

The source and justification of the power and authority of the king have been subject for the discussion in state philosophy. There are two terms employed to explain such relation in the history of thoughts going back to ancient Greek texts; tranny and despo-tism. The term tyranny is first used to refer to the rulers who overthrown the priest-kings whose ancestors are thought to be gods. The new rulers are from human origin; thus, this revolution is taken as the first step for the democracy. Aristotle use despotism to refer the authority in the family. The two terms have been discussed by the Renaissance and Enlightenment writers when referring to the philosophy of the government. Niccolo Machievalli, Thomas More, Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Baron de Montesquieu and John Locke referred to such terms in their works. The argument of the nature and limit of power have been subject for 18thcentury English writers as well. In particular, the two terms have been frequently used by the writers when referring to the nature of oriental government. The present study aims to explore the context of the “Ottoman absolutism” in the 18th century literary texts of the British writers.