Some Thoughts on the Politics of Early Modern Ottoman Science

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I am not trained in the history of science. However, inspired by the intellectual courage of Rifa‘at Abou-El-Haj for whom this volume is a small tribute, I would like to tackle a well known debate on the “decline” of “Islamic science” with a view to argue that science, just as almost anything else in life, has always been political, and that an awareness of this political context would enrich our understanding of both political and scientific developments in the early modern Ottoman Empire. The present piece is centered on the short-lived Ottoman Imperial Observatory that was founded and then destroyed by Murad III (1574-95). I will point out the political aspects of the decision to establish such an observatory and also underline the political nature of the opposition that led Murad III to order its destruction. But before doing any of this, let me start by providing the contours of the late sixteenth century Ottoman political stage.

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The Journal Of Ottoman Studies

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The Journal Of Ottoman Studies