A tale of two chancellors: Machiavelli, celālzāde muṣṭafā and connected political cultures in the cinquecento/the hijri tenth century

Abstract

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Celālzāde Muṣṭafā (ca. 1490-1567) lived in different geographies, and wrote within distinct political and cultural traditions; still, their works display several commensurable features that warrant a connected and contextual reading. Seen within two separate registers that usually govern the interpretation of their works, one Eurocentric, and the other Orientalist/Ottomanist, the figures of Machiavelli and Muṣṭafā seem utterly irreconcilable. Seen outside the confines of these two registers, however, as two individuals who reacted similarly to political and cultural developments across early modern Eurasia, Machiavelli and Muṣṭafā’s works may be read as variations on similar themes. These include the relationship between morality and politics, the rise of new dynastic powers, the role of secretaries and other intermediate groups within this new environment, and the function of history writing. A joint reading of their works allows us to discuss the political and cultural dynamics that tied together early modern Eurasia, despite linguistic and religious difference and geographic distance.