The aim of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, we will question the narrow-minded historiography which 'eclipses' the gravity of astrology in various dimensions of early modern Ottoman world. While the reasons of such biased and degrading attitude shaped largely by modern day 'scientism' will be addressed through a closer examination of works dedicated to the history of science and/or ideologies in the Ottoman Empire; the potential dangers of such scholarly habits and misconceptions will be discussed in the light of recent revisionist scholarship in the European historiography. The panorama of the current historiography will be complemented by selected fifteenth and sixteenth century sources varying greatly among genres. Instead of focusing exclusively upon a specific genre and/or the oeuvre of a specific producer-transmitter of astrological knowledge, we will gauge various sources to underline how central was the place of astrology in the intellectual maps and minds of the early modern Ottomans. Astronomical/Astrological Calendars prepared by Muneccimbashis (Court Astronomers/Astrologers), Astrological Treatises produced and/or translated by renowned figures of their times, Manuals for Incantations and Magic, Malhama Literature as a particular form of prognostications, Medical Treatises, Chronicles, Biographical Accounts, Encyclopedic Works and Poetry are among these sources into which the astrological lore did widely infiltrate. This multifariousness in terms of genres is an indication on its own suggesting how astrology, as a focal point of Ottoman world interpretation, had influences in many different aspects of early modern intellectual framework. Yet, the sources in question will not only be utilized to underline this ubiquity of astrology. There are number of questions this paper will enjoy to tackle with, and present as possible directions for further research: What were the sources and mechanisms of the transmission, (re)production and surfacing of the astrological knowledge in distinct contexts of the early modern Ottoman world. What kind of knowledge was defined as 'astrological'? To what extent did astrology find a place in the 'scientific' institutions and the curricula? What was the measure astrology was used as means of expression in political and ideological struggles? Was there any link between the flourishing of astrological knowledge and the apocalyptic visions prevalent in the period? How was astrology received in different social circles? Was there any distinction between "astrology as the science of the learned" and "astrology as the practice of the folk"? What was the concerning legal/religious attitude? Which groups were supportive and which were highly critical?

This study will explore the sixteenth-century Ottoman court's relationship with the esoteric sciences through its patronage of illustrated works. In 1583 two copies of a compendium of esoteric knowledge intended as gifts for the sultan's daughters were presented to Murad III. The work, Matali al-sa'adet ve menabi' al-siyaset, is a collaboration between a former student of Ebu's-Su'ud Efendi named Muhammad al-Su'udi and the atelier of Ustad 'Osman, the chief court painter. Previous efforts to understand the work have focused on its first section, which represents a presentation of the astrological knowledge contained in Abu Ma'shar's Kitab al-mawalid. While such efforts help situate Matali al-sa'adet in a broader literature, ultimately they remain of limited value, because they focus on the pictorial representations of the signs of the zodiac and ignore the other sections of the work. This study will examine the work as a whole (both textually and pictorially) in an effort to elucidate the broader intellectual movements that informed its creation. One previously overlooked influence is the 'Aja'ib al-makhluqat literature which was initially developed by Zakariya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini in the 13th century and sought to establish the cosmological contours of creation. Both in form and content, Matali' al-sa'adet relies on the intellectual tradition of this genre. In a different, but no less important vein, the study will explore the effects of the fifteenth-century scholar 'Abd al-Rahman al-Bistami on the Ottoman court in the sixteenth century through his efforts to integrate the esoteric sciences. While not officially connected to the Ottoman court in his lifetime, one of his works, Miftah jafr al-jami', which presented divinatory techniques, remained popular within the palace throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. More than yet another example of this influence, the creation of Matali' al-sa'adet highlights a shift in the Ottoman court's relationship with this body of knowledge. In the first half of the sixteenth century copies of Miftah jafr al-jami' and related works were circulated and consumed by scholars and court officials who actively sought to promote this sort of knowledge as crucial for political decision-making at a moment in Ottoman history flush with heightened eschatological expectations. Illustrated works produced in the second half of the century, such as Matali' al-sa'adet, represent a popularization and domestication of this knowledge appropriate to a period informed by a more 'sober' approach to imperial policy.

Following the death of Mehmed II in 1481, the Ottoman Empire witnessed a much known political struggle for the Ottoman throne. What is less known is the simultaneous struggle between two Sufi orders over ascendancy in Constantinople, which was no less fierce and interesting than the political struggle of the time. Two sufi sheikhs, namely Sheikh Vefa of Istanbul (d.896/1491) and Celebi Halife of Amasya (d.899/1494) each formed a line behind the rival candidates for the throne. According to the hagiographical sources, Sheik Vefa provided protection to the most powerful member of his political faction by composing a vefk (a square amulet) to him. Celebi Halife on the other hand tried to assassinate this political figure by breaking into this magical protection. The victor of this struggle was Celebi Halife, who with the help of luck yet at the expense of losing his daughter, managed to break into the protective circle drawn by Sheikh Vefa and successfully removed a major obstacle in his candidate's path to the Ottoman throne. The story of this struggle was told in the Sufi circles of Constantinople as a proof of Celebi Halife's spiritual vigor and thus his worth as a Sufi master. Celebi Halife, whose initiatic chain was rather unknown and less prestigious than that of Sheikh Vefa, was able to establish his Sufi order in Constantinople thanks to his reputation in the mastery of occult sciences. And when the presence of Celebi Halife's order's in Constantinople became threatened following the death of its political protector in 1512, this story was reproduced with more political tones as a warning to the authorities. This paper will focus on the perceived connection between spiritual/mystical vigor and the mastery of occult sciences at the turn of the sixteenth century Constantinople. Also by contextualizing this connection within the dynastic struggles of preceding and after the reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512) I aim to explore the representation of the interaction between politics, sufism and occult sciences in the hagiographical literature.

The pursuit of alchemical knowledge for the Muslim literati of the Ottoman Empire still revolved around the long-established classics by the end of Suleiman I's reign in 1566: the vast Jabirian corpus, the individual works of, among others, al-Razi, Ibn Umayl al-Tamimi, Abu'l-Qasim al-'Iraqi, and 'Izzaddin Aydemir al-Jildaki, in addition to a number of important apocryphal treatises attributed to certain historical and mythical characters. Half a century later, these works had been joined - and in some cases even supplanted - by the Arabic and Turkish corpus of Eshrefzade 'Ali Chelebi (d. 1609). A maternal descendant of Eshrefzade 'Abdullah Rumi (d. 1469), the founder of the Eshrefiyye branch of the Qadiriyye Sufi order, 'Ali Chelebi was born and educated in Izniq, but eventually settled in Istanbul around the turn of the seventeenth century. The hitherto unstudied corpus consists of more than twenty alchemical works that have survived to the present in numerous manuscript collections scattered throughout a vast geography stretching from Morocco to India, and which won their writer the epithet al-mu'allif al-jadid (the new author). This paper will socially and historically contextualize the figure of 'Ali Chelebi and some key aspects of the works ascribed to him. More specifically, the often-articulated links between Islamic mysticism and the (re)production of alchemical knowledge will be explored for the early modern Ottoman society, with a focus on 'Ali Chelebi's Sufi connections and on the identities of the known copyists of his writings. In this context, the paper will also dwell on the important notion of secrecy--using the period's alchemical literature, as well as its hagiographies, the inherent epistemological tension between occultation and disclosure in the teaching of esoteric sciences will be probed. It will moreover be shown that late in his life, 'Ali Chelebi chose to transgress the established boundaries between the esoteric and the exoteric; an attempt to answer the difficult question of why there was an explicit intent, on the part of the author, to render alchemical secrets "public" will be made based on the wider circumstances surrounding the corpus's composition.