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  • Research Article

Narrative Construction in Early Ottoman Chronicles1

Serhat Soyşekerci1
1Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Biga Vocational School, Department of Management and Organization, Türkiye
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624102
Published: 17/09/2026
: Serhat Soyşekerci.

Narrative Construction in Early Ottoman Chronicles1

. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1222-1231.

Abstract

In the classical Ottoman political tradition, the legitimacy of authority was closely associated with the principles of justice, order, and divine providence. Within this framework, early Ottoman chronicles functioned not merely as records of past events but as narrative texts through which dynastic legitimacy, political identity, and collective memory were constructed. This study examines the social, political, and discursive mechanisms underlying the formation of historical narratives in early Ottoman chronicles. Focusing on the works of historians such as Tursun Beg, Âşıkpaşazâde, Neşrî, and Oruç Beg, it explores how themes including ghaza ideology, Oghuz ancestry, divine destiny, and the ideal ruler were employed to represent and legitimize Ottoman sovereignty. The article argues that these chronicles should be interpreted as historically situated narratives shaped by symbolic frameworks, patronage relations, and contemporary political values rather than as neutral accounts of the past. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the processes of selection, interpretation, and meaning-making found in pre-modern historiography reveal continuities with modern historical writing. Accordingly, Ottoman chronicles represent not only historical sources but also discursive spaces where political legitimacy, collective identity, and concepts of social order were produced.

  1. This article is a revised and expanded version of the conference paper entitled “Historiography in the Classical Ottoman Conception of Administration and Governance,” presented at the Erzurum I. International Congress of Social Sciences, pp. 127–133.↩︎

Keywords: Early Ottoman historiography; Ottoman chronicles; narrative construction; political legitimacy; ghaza ideology

Abstract

In the classical Ottoman political tradition, the legitimacy of authority was closely associated with the principles of justice, order, and divine providence. Within this framework, early Ottoman chronicles functioned not merely as records of past events but as narrative texts through which dynastic legitimacy, political identity, and collective memory were constructed. This study examines the social, political, and discursive mechanisms underlying the formation of historical narratives in early Ottoman chronicles. Focusing on the works of historians such as Tursun Beg, Âşıkpaşazâde, Neşrî, and Oruç Beg, it explores how themes including ghaza ideology, Oghuz ancestry, divine destiny, and the ideal ruler were employed to represent and legitimize Ottoman sovereignty. The article argues that these chronicles should be interpreted as historically situated narratives shaped by symbolic frameworks, patronage relations, and contemporary political values rather than as neutral accounts of the past. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the processes of selection, interpretation, and meaning-making found in pre-modern historiography reveal continuities with modern historical writing. Accordingly, Ottoman chronicles represent not only historical sources but also discursive spaces where political legitimacy, collective identity, and concepts of social order were produced.

  1. This article is a revised and expanded version of the conference paper entitled “Historiography in the Classical Ottoman Conception of Administration and Governance,” presented at the Erzurum I. International Congress of Social Sciences, pp. 127–133.↩︎

Keywords: Early Ottoman historiography; Ottoman chronicles; narrative construction; political legitimacy; ghaza ideology

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Serhat Soyşekerci
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Biga Vocational School, Department of Management and Organization, Türkiye
soysekerci@comu.edu.tr

How to cite:

Serhat Soyşekerci.

Narrative Construction in Early Ottoman Chronicles1

. Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1222-1231.

Publication History

  • Received: 10/06/2026
  • Accepted: 02/09/2026
  • Published: 17/09/2026
Copyright © 2026, Serhat Soyşekerci. Published by Revista Cultura Científica. This article is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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