The Image of the Turk in the Travel Accounts of Jean De Thévenot and Pietro Della Valle: Routes and Representations Across the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Worlds

Bildiriler > Özet Bildiri · 2026

Yazarlar: Eren AKKOÇ

III. ULUSLARARASI TÜRK DÜNYASI GENÇ AKADEMİSYENLER KONGRESİ, Azerbaycan, Bakü, Uluslararası, Sözlü Sunum, Özet Bildiri, 2026-2026, ss 773-773

Özet

<p>Abstract&nbsp;</p><p></p><p>This&nbsp;article&nbsp;aims&nbsp;to&nbsp;depicture&nbsp;the&nbsp;“Image&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Turk”&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;travel&nbsp;narratives&nbsp;of&nbsp;trave&nbsp;lers&nbsp;who&nbsp;lived&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;same&nbsp;century,&nbsp;Pietro&nbsp;Della&nbsp;Valle&nbsp;(1586-1652)&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jean&nbsp;de&nbsp;Thévenot&nbsp;(1633&nbsp;1667)&nbsp;through&nbsp;examining&nbsp;their&nbsp;journeys&nbsp;in&nbsp;three&nbsp;early&nbsp;modern&nbsp;Turkic&nbsp;empires:&nbsp;the&nbsp;Ottoman&nbsp;Empire,&nbsp;Safavid&nbsp;Persia,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Mughal&nbsp;Empire.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Viaggi&nbsp;by&nbsp;Della&nbsp;Valle&nbsp;was&nbsp;formed&nbsp;within&nbsp;a&nbsp;long-standing&nbsp;tradition&nbsp;of&nbsp;letter&nbsp;writing,&nbsp;which&nbsp;was&nbsp;written&nbsp;for&nbsp;Mario&nbsp;Schipano,&nbsp;and&nbsp;went&nbsp;on&nbsp;to&nbsp;become&nbsp;one&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;best-known&nbsp;seventeenth-century&nbsp;European&nbsp;travel&nbsp;texts&nbsp;about&nbsp;the&nbsp;Ottoman,&nbsp;Safavid,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mughal&nbsp;empires.&nbsp;Similarly,&nbsp;Jean&nbsp;de&nbsp;Thévenot&nbsp;is&nbsp;an&nbsp;equally&nbsp;important&nbsp;figure&nbsp;in&nbsp;ear&nbsp;ly&nbsp;modern&nbsp;travelers&nbsp;because&nbsp;he&nbsp;traversed&nbsp;a&nbsp;vast&nbsp;imperial&nbsp;space&nbsp;and&nbsp;left&nbsp;behind&nbsp;a&nbsp;unique&nbsp;travel&nbsp;account&nbsp;that&nbsp;shows&nbsp;particular&nbsp;interest&nbsp;in&nbsp;language,&nbsp;culture,&nbsp;politics,&nbsp;and&nbsp;atmosphere.&nbsp;Through&nbsp;putting&nbsp;side&nbsp;by&nbsp;side&nbsp;the&nbsp;two&nbsp;travel&nbsp;accounts,&nbsp;this&nbsp;paper&nbsp;will&nbsp;try&nbsp;to&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;“Turk”&nbsp;in&nbsp;early&nbsp;modern&nbsp;European&nbsp;travel&nbsp;literature&nbsp;was&nbsp;a&nbsp;composite&nbsp;character&nbsp;and&nbsp;a&nbsp;dynamic&nbsp;image&nbsp;formed&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;context&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;route,&nbsp;empire,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;political-religious-cultural&nbsp;background&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;traveler.&nbsp;Through&nbsp;the&nbsp;comparation&nbsp;of&nbsp;images&nbsp;created&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;Ottoman,&nbsp;Safavid,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mughal&nbsp;spheres,&nbsp;the&nbsp;article&nbsp;proves&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;term&nbsp;“Turk”&nbsp;can&nbsp;be&nbsp;used&nbsp;to&nbsp;define&nbsp;ethnicity,&nbsp;politics,&nbsp;religi&nbsp;on,&nbsp;and&nbsp;civilization&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;same&nbsp;time.&nbsp;Moreover,&nbsp;it&nbsp;is&nbsp;shown&nbsp;how&nbsp;the&nbsp;travel&nbsp;writings&nbsp;were&nbsp;not&nbsp;limited&nbsp;only&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;reproduction&nbsp;of&nbsp;a&nbsp;static&nbsp;image&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Orient&nbsp;created&nbsp;by&nbsp;the&nbsp;Europeans&nbsp;but,&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;contrary,&nbsp;enabled&nbsp;the&nbsp;differentiation&nbsp;between&nbsp;the&nbsp;peoples&nbsp;of&nbsp;Ottoman,&nbsp;Safevid,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mughal&nbsp;lands&nbsp;while&nbsp;simultaneously&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;connections&nbsp;between&nbsp;Islam,&nbsp;the&nbsp;empire,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Turks.</p><p></p><p>&nbsp;Keywords:&nbsp;Image&nbsp;Studies,&nbsp;Turkic&nbsp;Empires,&nbsp;Pietro&nbsp;Della&nbsp;Valle,&nbsp;Jean&nbsp;de&nbsp;Thévenot,&nbsp;Tra&nbsp;vel&nbsp;Accounts,&nbsp;Early&nbsp;Modern&nbsp;Period</p>

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