Söylem Analizi Denemesi: 3 Numaralı Mühimme Defteri’nde Şehzade Bayezid’in Yakalanmasına İlişkin Yer Alan Hükümler

Abstract

The historical Mühimme defters (records) of the Ottoman Empire contain the copies of the Sultan- sanctioned edicts (fermans), which were the products of the decisions taken in the Supreme Council (Divan-ı Hümâyun). Because these records were kept in the Divan, which was the highest administrative and judicial organ of the Empire, they were regarded amongst the principal primary sources, especially for the 16th and 17th centuries. They were thoroughly analyzed by some historians (Kütükoğlu, 2006: 520, 523). This study examines an official source from the Kanuni era, “Mühimme Defter No. 3”, which includes the addresses to the governors (beylerbeyi) of Diyarbekir, Şam, Erzurum, Rum, Bağdad and Van, and the beys of Ardahan, Trabzon, Karahisar-ı Şarki and Kefe, Mehmed Paşa, Kubad Paşa and the Khan of Crimea on the subject of the capture of the heir apparent Bayezid with a discourse analysis approach. Conceptually, a “discourse” not only involves the content of the message but also the source (who gives the message?), the authority (what is the message based on?), the audience (to whom the message is given?) and the intention (what does the source want to achieve with the message?) of the message (Çelik ve Ekşi, 2008: 100). The discourse analysis, thus, examines the syntax and semantical structure of the texts or the language and deals both with the linguistic and socio-cultural dimensions of discourse (Çelik ve Ekşi, 2008: 107). In this context, with the help of the discursive strategies in the discourse-historical approach (Reisigl, 2018: 52), this study aims to determine how the information was produced about the heir apparent Bayezid, on what grounds he was considered a threat to the crown and how this conception was located. By doing this, we believe that the power relations of the period and its representation in the official statements can be uncovered in the fermans. The study begins with the demonstration of the antagonism between the rival heir apparents Bayezid and Selim and proceeds with the explanation of how the two young candidates were situated based on the statements in the fermans. Also, the latent power relations of the period will be demonstrated based on the causality relations and the choice of words in the statements. Twenty-seven statements were examined in this study. The analysis revealed that the heir apparent Bayezid was considered a threat and his image in his father’s mind was unfavorable. The statements concerning Bayezid included the phrases such as “gathering soldiers (asker toplamak)”, “causing malice (fesada sebep olmak)”, “being a deserter (firar etmek)”, “rebelling (isyan etmek)”, “fighting against the Believers (ehl-i İslâm ile cenk etmek)”, “marching against the heir apparent Selim (Şehzade Selim üzerine yürümek)”, and “being routed and defeated (mağlup ve münhezim olmak)” and he was accused of conspiring against the State and necessary measures were ordered by the Sultan to be taken to his officials.