Chronicler and Diplomat: Raşid Mehmed Efendi, in a Period of the Transformation of the Ottoman Empire’s Diplomatic Perception

Authors : Hilal Çiftçi

Pages : 837-850

Doi:10.9737/historystudies.1577318

View : 166 | Download : 371

Publication Date : 2025-11-10

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article aims to identify the transformation in the Ottoman Empire’s perception of diplomacy by focusing on the chronicler and diplomacy career of Raşid Mehmed Efendi, who was a chronicler and diplomat in the Ottoman Empire in the first quarter of the XVIIIth century. For the Ottoman Empire, which entered the XVIIIth century with the trauma of the Treaty of Karlowitz, this treaty was a milestone with transformative effects in many aspects. One of these was diplomacy. From this date onwards, the Ottoman Empire’s perception of diplomacy has transformed remarkably. The transformation in question was also reflected in the chronicle of the period’s chronicler, Raşid Mehmed Efendi. In this context, the study is significant in terms of revealing how the Ottoman Empire pragmatically transformed the mission it attributed to diplomacy in the face of changing conditions through the chroniclership and diplomacy career of Raşid Mehmed Efendi. The research is based on primary sources such as, the chronicles of Raşid Mehmed Efendi and his successor Çelebizade İsmail Asım Efendi, as well as relevant literature and secondary sources. As a result, this study will demonstrate that how the Ottoman Empire pragmatically transformed its perception of diplomacy according to its military and political position, and this situation obviously reflected in the chronicle of the state’s chronicler.
Keywords : Osmanlı Diplomasisi, Raşid Mehmed Efendi, Vakanüvis, Diplomat

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