پژوهشنامه تاریخ تمدن اسلامی
سال چهل و نهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 102، بهار و تابستان 1395)

Egypt has always had an effective role on the economy of the pre-modern world due to its strategic geographical location. In the Islamic period, in addition to the passage of commercial caravans from this land as one of the main trade routes, the passage of Hajj caravans of North Africa also added to its economic importance. Conquering Cairo by Sultan Selim I in the year of 923 A.H/1517 A.D, mainly due to economic incentives, despite some damages to the Egypt’s economy, provided in with new opportunities, especially in the field of foreign trade. The propulsion and stimulus of the commercial economy in Egypt, in addition to Egyptian and Syrian merchants, were Maghrebian families immigrated to Egypt from areas such as Algeria, Tunisia, Tripoli, Andalusia and Morocco. These families have played a major role in the economic and commercial prosperity of Egypt in Ottoman period through various commercial and economic activities. In the present research, introducing the most important Maghrebian commercial families and their sucsess, the commercial role of these families and their effects on the economy of Ottoman Egypt have been described and explained.

In its age of glory, which was coincided with the rule of selīm I and Süleymān the Magnificent, the Ottoman rule progressed in various aspects. The development of literature and historiography was one of these aspects which were accompanied with an increase in the number of historical works and creation of literary genres in this period due to several factors. This study shows that Iranian immigrants, whose number increased during this period, were one of these factors. Writing poetic historical works, these elites worked in this field in officials and non-official forms. Iranian immigrants wrote Ottoman Shahnamehs (the book of Ottoman kings) and created a new literary genre in Ottoman historiography which contributed to the legitimacy of the government. These activities show that Iranian poets alongside Ottoman historians helped evolution and development of Ottoman historiography during the rule of selīm I and Süleymān the Magnificent. This development was one of glorious and magnificent symbols of Ottoman government during the age of authority.

One of the most important areas of the cultural encounter of Islamic civilization with the new Western civilization was education and educational system which appeared throughout the Islamic territories in the form of new schools. With different goals, it was the favorite area to the colonialists and the western powers on the one hand, and the reformers of the Islamic world on the other hand. The Ottoman Academy (Dar Al-Fonoun), established as a comprehensive educational complex in 1862/1278 AD, was a suitable model for many Islamic lands and Ottoman provinces during this period. The Afriqia, becoming from the late 16th century under the protection of the Ottomans, was one of the first provinces to be exposed to the concepts and teachings of modernity due to the proximity of geographical boundaries. From the end of the eighteenth century (twelfth century AH), the reform of the educational system became one of concerns of the ruling and reformist elements of the land. The establishment of the Supreme Sadeghieh School was in the direction of the Dar Al-Fonoun in Istanbul. This school had a detailed curriculum and educated levels, and its educators had a profound effect on Afriqian social developments in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries so that one of the main concerns of French colonialism, following the domination of Tunisia from 1881 to 1298, was to weaken, or to close this school. Interestingly, many of the leaders and pioneers of the independence movement in Tunisia, which led to the independence from France from 1956 to 1956, were from the high school students at Sadeghieh.

In the early 10th/16th century, with the formation of the Shiite-Safavid government, political equations in Western Asia collapsed. The religious difference between the Safavids and the Ottomans, dissatisfaction of the Ottoman government's with the formation of a strong government in the east of its territory, the religious propaganda of the Safavids in the Ottoman territory, the Ottoman claims to the dominance of the Islamic world, and the political disagreements between the two states, inevitably led to a confrontation between the Ottomans and the Safavids. During the years 907-1003 AH / 1501-1594, the policy of the Ottoman government against the Safavids was supporting of the Sufi orders who were in line with the Ottomans and a direct military confrontation with the Safavids. The Ottoman Sultans and the Ulamas noticed the danger that threatened their place by safavids and confronted this threat. The Ottoman state during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II, wrote several letters to the Shah Ismail, requesting the suspension of religious propaganda in the Ottoman territory, and then supporting the Sufi orders who were not in line with the Safavids. At the time of Sultan Salim I, along with the support of the Sufi orders who were in line with the Ottomans, and using the Ottoman Ulamas’ Fatwas, direct military confrontation with the Safavids was also on the agenda. Thus, Sultan Selim managed to eliminate the crisis that threatened his kingdom. Sultan Salim's policy against the Safavids continued during his successors.

The Ottoman emirate in Anatolia, from the beginning of its formation to becoming a powerful government, and then a great empire, experienced many wars. The war for the conquest and expansion of the territory was the ultimate goal of the Ottomans. The Ottomans in the eastern borders repeatedly attacked Iran's territory. The occurrence of numerous wars and the conclusion of various treaties is one of the hallmarks of the relationship between Iran and Ottoman for several hundred years. The territorial expansion of the eastern borders was a constant policy of the Ottoman Empire. With the conclusion of the second Erzerum treaty, long and numerous wars ended and, it was decided to be solved the disagreements especially on contested territories through negotiation and delimitation commissions. Therefore, a new chapter in the relationship between the two governments began. A chapter that has yet not been studied. The present paper seeks to show that Ottoman boundary commissioners such as Dervish Pasha and Khorshid Pasha how tried to pursue the Ottoman territorial expansion in a different forms. Mirza Moheb’Ali Khan by writing critical treaties clarified the nature of the objectives of the Ottoman representatives and criticized and refuted their territorial claims. The present research, using historical method and descriptive-analytical approach, relying on first-hand sources and documents answers these questions: What was the basis of the territorial claims of the Ottoman representatives? How reasonable was the criticism and refutation of their claims by representative of Iran?

Under Sultan Mahmud II who ushered in the Tanzimât, favorite conditions were prepared for a new generation of Ottoman intellectuals- Young Ottomans- who formulated critical ideas against the Ottoman despotic rule. One important figure of Young Ottomans was Mustafa Fazıl Paşa, an Egyptian prince, whose supports were very helpful for developing of this reformist movement. This paper touched at an important aspect of Fazıl Paşa’s political career, namely his famous Maktub, and aims to use this important document in order to shed lights on this critical situation of Ottoman Empire, as well as the authors’ reformist ideas. The paper is organized into three parts; in the first one the critical aspects of the Letter is surveyed; the second one deals with the positive aspects of its and in the final part, an analytical appraisal of its content is made.

Yusuf Akçura (1876-1935) is one of the most important political figures in contemporary history of Turkey and a prominent ideologue of Turkism/ Pan-Turkism. He played a key role in the development of the Turkish nationalism and the idea of Pan-Turkism among the Ottomans and later on became one of the cultural architects of the Kemalist Turkey. This research, while analyzing the roots of Akçura's idea about Turkism, has focused on the importance of Nationalist and Marxist concepts and themes in his view. For Akçura, Turkism was considered as a tool for realizing his cultural, political and social goals for transition of the Muslim traditional societies to the modern world. Akçura was not an ethno-nationalist but an intellectual-activist who sought to present a roadmap for the modernization of the Turkic Muslim societies in accordance with the Eurocentric modernization model.