An Inquiry into an Approach in Contemporary Islamic Historiography: Prosopography

Feyza Betül Köse

Article Details

An Inquiry into an Approach in Contemporary Islamic Historiography: Prosopography

Authors:

Feyza Betül Köse

Publisher:

Hitit University

Main Topics:

İslam Tarihi

Journal:

Hitit İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.22 Issue 2, pp.532-548

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001304127

pISSN:

2757-6949

Keywords:

Abstract:

 In historiography, the desire to look at phenomena differently and the search for new meanings bring new approaches and methods to the agenda from time to time. Prosopography, also known as collective biography, which seeks to draw inferences about the subject based on the common characteristics of the individuals concerned, is one of these approaches, which presented its first products in Western historiography towards the end of the nineteenth century and has been practiced by an increasing number of historians. In addition to the realization by more historians that classical historical understanding and approaches cannot provide a different perspective on a field, the rapid spread of computer use and the beginning of the development of data storage programs have been effective in this increase. Islamic historiography in the West was also influenced by this process and produced successful examples of prosopography. Over a period spanning nearly fifty years, the Andalusian and Mamluk periods in particular have been treated with a prosopographical approach to a much greater extent, whereas studies on early Islamic history have rarely taken a prosopographical approach. Prosopography, which was practiced in areas such as politics, administration, society, economy, and military service during these periods, claims to have the potential to reveal the background and invisible factors of what is. As a matter of fact, it is seen that these claims do not remain as claims in the majority of the studies carried out by approaching the existing literature in Islamic historiography differently from the classical methods, and that contributions such as revealing different dimensions of the facts and opening new research areas have been made. Islamic historiography has no shortage of resources to apply the prosopographical approach. Since the research process focuses on the common characteristics of individuals, the main sources of this approach are works in the genre of rijāl literature, which is defined as biographical dictionaries in the West. The fact that the information that has been available in these sources for centuries is dealt with by going beyond the usual methods through prosopography brings new insights to Islamic historiography. In Turkey, the approach was generally applied in Ottoman history and followed in a small number of studies on the Republican period. However, prosopographical studies on the Jahiliyyah, the Prophet, the Four Caliphs, the Umayyad, Andalusian and Abbasid periods, which constitute the framework of our article, are not currently available. The fact that it has not yet been applied in Islamic historiography of our country gives rise to the opinion that the approach is not sufficiently recognized. The aim of this article is to introduce the approach through prosopographical studies conducted in the field of Islamic history in the West and to discuss what it can contribute to the field. In order to achieve this goal, the path followed in the article is to first discuss the history of prosopography in Islamic historiography in order to provide a basis of knowledge on prosopography, and to evaluate the existing literature by examining the doctoral dissertations and other qualified academic researches, especially the first and now classic examples. One of the requirements for introducing an approach is to demonstrate what benefits it has the potential to provide to the field. In fulfilling this requirement, our study necessarily focuses on the contributions of prosopographical research in the West. The identification of these contributions has become possible through a detailed study of the relevant works. There is no approach that is completely trouble-free, and prosopography is no exception. Therefore, our study focuses on the drawbacks, problems and possible risk factors of prosopography in terms of Islamic history. In our article, we concluded that prosopography has the potential to reveal different dimensions of the functioning of history, and that this potential should be evaluated in areas such as the political, administrative, military structures of Islamic society, tribal activities, population mobility, the process of Islamization, interest relations in any structure, and the formation characteristics of the ulema class. Based on the quantitative increase in the number of studies, we anticipate that the lack of examples and procedures experienced due to the relative novelty of the approach and the fact that it has not yet been applied in the desired number of studies will be eliminated over time. Considering the successful results obtained from prosopographical studies in the West, we think that prosopographical processes can be followed in researches in accordance with the approach as a new opening in contemporary Islamic historiography in our country.

 Tarihçilikte olgulara farklı bakabilme isteği ve yeni anlamlandırma arayışları, zaman zaman yeni yaklaşım ve usûlleri gündeme getirmektedir. Kolektif biyografi de denilen ve ilgili bireylerin ortak özelliklerinden yola çıkarak ele aldığı konuya dair çıkarımlar elde etmeye çalışan prosopografi de bu yaklaşımlardan biri olup Batı tarih yazıcılığında XIX. yüzyılın sonlarına doğru ilk ürünlerini sunmuş ve giderek daha fazla sayıda tarihçi tarafından uygulanır olmuştur. Bu artışta klasik tarihçilik anlayış ve yaklaşımlarının bir alana farklı bakışı sağlayamadığının daha fazla tarihçi tarafından fark edilmesinin yanı sıra bilgisayar kullanımında görülen hızlı yaygınlaşma ve veri depolama programlarının geliştirilmeye başlaması etkili olmuştur. Batıdaki İslâm tarih yazıcılığı da bu süreçten etkilenmiş ve prosopografi yaklaşımının başarılı örneklerini vermiştir. Yaklaşık elli yıla uzanan süre zarfında özellikle Endülüs ve Memlükler dönemleri çok daha fazla; erken dönem İslâm tarihine yönelik çalışmalar ise nadir olarak prosopografik yaklaşımla ele alınmıştır. Bu dönemlerin siyaset başta olmak üzere idare, toplum, ekonomi, askerlik gibi alanlarında uygulanan prosopografi, olanın arka planını, görünmeyen etkenlerini gün yüzüne çıkarma potansiyeline sahip olduğu iddiasını taşımaktadır. Nitekim İslâm tarihçiliğinde mevcut literatüre klasik usûllerden farklı yaklaşılarak yürütülen çalışmaların genelinde bu iddiaların iddia olarak kalmadıkları, olguların farklı boyutlarını ortaya koyma, yeni araştırma alanları açma gibi katkıların sağlandığı görülmektedir. İslâm tarihçiliği, prosopografik yaklaşımı uygulama noktasında herhangi bir kaynak sıkıntısı yaşamamaktadır. Araştırma sürecinin bireylerin ortak özelliklerine yoğunlaşması nedeniyle bu yaklaşımın başlıca kaynakları, Batıda biyografik sözlükler olarak tanımlanan, bizdeki karşılığı ricâl literatürü olan türe dahil eserlerdir. Bu kaynaklarda asırlardır mevcut olan bilgilerin prosopografi sayesinde alışılagelen usûllerin dışına çıkarak ele alınması, İslâm tarihçiliğine yeni anlayışlar kazandırmaktadır. Yaklaşım, ülkemizde genellikle Osmanlı tarihinde uygulanmış, Cumhuriyet dönemine ilişkin de az sayıda çalışmada takip edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte makalemizin çerçevesini teşkil eden Cahiliye, Hz. Peygamber, Dört Halife, Emevi, Endülüs ve Abbasi dönemlerinde prosopografik araştırmalara hâlihazırda rastlanmamaktadır. Ülkemiz İslâm tarihçiliğinde henüz başvurulmamış olması, yaklaşımın yeterince tanınmadığı kanaatini uyandırmaktadır. Bu makalenin amacı da Batıda İslâm tarihi alanında yapılan prosopografik çalışmalar üzerinden yaklaşımın tanıtılması ve alana ne gibi katkılar sunabileceğinin tartışılmasıdır. Bu amaca ulaşmak için makalede izlenen yol, öncelikle prosopografiye dair bilgi zemini sağlaması bakımından İslâm tarih yazıcılığında prosopografinin tarihini ele almak, ilk ve artık klasikleşmiş örnekleri başta olmak üzere doktora tezleri ve diğer nitelikli akademik araştırmaların incelenmesiyle mevcut literatürü değerlendirmektir. Bir yaklaşımın tanıtılmasının gereklerinden biri, onun alana ne gibi yararlar sağlama potansiyeline sahip olduğunun ortaya konulmasıdır. Çalışmamız bu gereği yerine getirirken yine zorunlu olarak Batıda yapılan prosopografik araştırmaların sunduğu katkılara odaklanmıştır. Bu katkıların tespiti, ilgili eserlerin detaylı tetkik edilmesi ile mümkün hale gelmiştir. Tamamen sorunsuz olan hiçbir yaklaşım olmadığı gibi prosopografi de bundan hâli değildir. Bu nedenle çalışmamız, prosopografinin İslâm tarihi açısından aksayan yönleri, taşıdığı sorunlar ve olası risk faktörleri üzerinde durmaktadır. Makalemizde, prosopografinin tarihin işleyişinin farklı boyutlarını ortaya çıkarma potansiyelini taşıdığı, bu potansiyelin İslâm toplumunun siyasî, idarî, askerî yapılanmaları, kabile etkinlikleri, nüfus hareketliliği, İslâmlaşma süreci, herhangi bir yapıdaki çıkar ilişkileri, ulema sınıfının teşekkül özellikleri gibi örneklendirebileceğimiz alanlarda değerlendirilmesi gerektiği sonucuna ulaştık. Çalışmaların niceliksel artış düzeyine bakarak yaklaşımın nispeten yeniliği ve henüz arzu edilen sayıda çalışmada uygulanmamış olması nedeniyle yaşanan örnek ve usûl eksikliğinin zamanla giderileceğini öngörmekteyiz. Batıda prosopografik çalışmalardan elde edilen başarılı sonuçları dikkate aldığımızda ülkemiz çağdaş dönem İslâm tarih yazıcılığında yeni bir açılım olarak yaklaşıma uygun araştırmalarda prosopografik süreçlerin takip edilebileceğini düşünmekteyiz.

 In historiography, the desire to look at phenomena differently and the search for new meanings bring new approaches and methods to the agenda from time to time. Prosopography, also known as collective biography, which seeks to draw inferences about the subject based on the common characteristics of the individuals concerned, is one of these approaches, which presented its first products in Western historiography towards the end of the nineteenth century and has been practiced by an increasing number of historians. In addition to the realization by more historians that classical historical understanding and approaches cannot provide a different perspective on a field, the rapid spread of computer use and the beginning of the development of data storage programs have been effective in this increase. Islamic historiography in the West was also influenced by this process and produced successful examples of prosopography. Over a period spanning nearly fifty years, the Andalusian and Mamluk periods in particular have been treated with a prosopographical approach to a much greater extent, whereas studies on early Islamic history have rarely taken a prosopographical approach. Prosopography, which was practiced in areas such as politics, administration, society, economy, and military service during these periods, claims to have the potential to reveal the background and invisible factors of what is. As a matter of fact, it is seen that these claims do not remain as claims in the majority of the studies carried out by approaching the existing literature in Islamic historiography differently from the classical methods, and that contributions such as revealing different dimensions of the facts and opening new research areas have been made. Islamic historiography has no shortage of resources to apply the prosopographical approach. Since the research process focuses on the common characteristics of individuals, the main sources of this approach are works in the genre of rijāl literature, which is defined as biographical dictionaries in the West. The fact that the information that has been available in these sources for centuries is dealt with by going beyond the usual methods through prosopography brings new insights to Islamic historiography. In Turkey, the approach was generally applied in Ottoman history and followed in a small number of studies on the Republican period. However, prosopographical studies on the Jahiliyyah, the Prophet, the Four Caliphs, the Umayyad, Andalusian and Abbasid periods, which constitute the framework of our article, are not currently available. The fact that it has not yet been applied in Islamic historiography of our country gives rise to the opinion that the approach is not sufficiently recognized. The aim of this article is to introduce the approach through prosopographical studies conducted in the field of Islamic history in the West and to discuss what it can contribute to the field. In order to achieve this goal, the path followed in the article is to first discuss the history of prosopography in Islamic historiography in order to provide a basis of knowledge on prosopography, and to evaluate the existing literature by examining the doctoral dissertations and other qualified academic researches, especially the first and now classic examples. One of the requirements for introducing an approach is to demonstrate what benefits it has the potential to provide to the field. In fulfilling this requirement, our study necessarily focuses on the contributions of prosopographical research in the West. The identification of these contributions has become possible through a detailed study of the relevant works. There is no approach that is completely trouble-free, and prosopography is no exception. Therefore, our study focuses on the drawbacks, problems and possible risk factors of prosopography in terms of Islamic history. In our article, we concluded that prosopography has the potential to reveal different dimensions of the functioning of history, and that this potential should be evaluated in areas such as the political, administrative, military structures of Islamic society, tribal activities, population mobility, the process of Islamization, interest relations in any structure, and the formation characteristics of the ulema class. Based on the quantitative increase in the number of studies, we anticipate that the lack of examples and procedures experienced due to the relative novelty of the approach and the fact that it has not yet been applied in the desired number of studies will be eliminated over time. Considering the successful results obtained from prosopographical studies in the West, we think that prosopographical processes can be followed in researches in accordance with the approach as a new opening in contemporary Islamic historiography in our country.

 In historiography, the desire to look at phenomena differently and the search for new meanings bring new approaches and methods to the agenda from time to time. Prosopography, also known as collective biography, which seeks to draw inferences about the subject based on the common characteristics of the individuals concerned, is one of these approaches, which presented its first products in Western historiography towards the end of the nineteenth century and has been practiced by an increasing number of historians. In addition to the realization by more historians that classical historical understanding and approaches cannot provide a different perspective on a field, the rapid spread of computer use and the beginning of the development of data storage programs have been effective in this increase. Islamic historiography in the West was also influenced by this process and produced successful examples of prosopography. Over a period spanning nearly fifty years, the Andalusian and Mamluk periods in particular have been treated with a prosopographical approach to a much greater extent, whereas studies on early Islamic history have rarely taken a prosopographical approach. Prosopography, which was practiced in areas such as politics, administration, society, economy, and military service during these periods, claims to have the potential to reveal the background and invisible factors of what is. As a matter of fact, it is seen that these claims do not remain as claims in the majority of the studies carried out by approaching the existing literature in Islamic historiography differently from the classical methods, and that contributions such as revealing different dimensions of the facts and opening new research areas have been made. Islamic historiography has no shortage of resources to apply the prosopographical approach. Since the research process focuses on the common characteristics of individuals, the main sources of this approach are works in the genre of rijāl literature, which is defined as biographical dictionaries in the West. The fact that the information that has been available in these sources for centuries is dealt with by going beyond the usual methods through prosopography brings new insights to Islamic historiography. In Turkey, the approach was generally applied in Ottoman history and followed in a small number of studies on the Republican period. However, prosopographical studies on the Jahiliyyah, the Prophet, the Four Caliphs, the Umayyad, Andalusian and Abbasid periods, which constitute the framework of our article, are not currently available. The fact that it has not yet been applied in Islamic historiography of our country gives rise to the opinion that the approach is not sufficiently recognized. The aim of this article is to introduce the approach through prosopographical studies conducted in the field of Islamic history in the West and to discuss what it can contribute to the field. In order to achieve this goal, the path followed in the article is to first discuss the history of prosopography in Islamic historiography in order to provide a basis of knowledge on prosopography, and to evaluate the existing literature by examining the doctoral dissertations and other qualified academic researches, especially the first and now classic examples. One of the requirements for introducing an approach is to demonstrate what benefits it has the potential to provide to the field. In fulfilling this requirement, our study necessarily focuses on the contributions of prosopographical research in the West. The identification of these contributions has become possible through a detailed study of the relevant works. There is no approach that is completely trouble-free, and prosopography is no exception. Therefore, our study focuses on the drawbacks, problems and possible risk factors of prosopography in terms of Islamic history. In our article, we concluded that prosopography has the potential to reveal different dimensions of the functioning of history, and that this potential should be evaluated in areas such as the political, administrative, military structures of Islamic society, tribal activities, population mobility, the process of Islamization, interest relations in any structure, and the formation characteristics of the ulema class. Based on the quantitative increase in the number of studies, we anticipate that the lack of examples and procedures experienced due to the relative novelty of the approach and the fact that it has not yet been applied in the desired number of studies will be eliminated over time. Considering the successful results obtained from prosopographical studies in the West, we think that prosopographical processes can be followed in researches in accordance with the approach as a new opening in contemporary Islamic historiography in our country.

Article Details

An Inquiry into an Approach in Contemporary Islamic Historiography: Prosopography

Authors:

Feyza Betül Köse

Publisher:

Hitit University

Main Topics:

İslam Tarihi

Journal:

Hitit İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.22 Issue 2, pp.532-548

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001304127

pISSN:

2757-6949

History of Islam

Prosopography

Historiography

Research Methods

Collective Biographyİslâm Tarihi

Prosopografi

Tarih Yazıcılığı

Araştırma Teknikleri

Kolektif Biyografi.

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Feyza Betül Köse

Publisher: Hitit University

Main Topics: İslam Tarihi

Journal: Hitit İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.22 Issue 2, pp.532-548

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 12/2023

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001304127

pISSN: 2757-6949

Issues

Authors:

Feyza Betül Köse

Publisher:

Hitit University

Main Topics:

İslam Tarihi

Journal:

Hitit İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.22 Issue 2, pp.532-548

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001304127

pISSN:

2757-6949