Representations of Ottoman Sultans in Elizabethan Times

Abstract

The thesis examines the representations of Ottoman sultans in texts produced during the Elizabethan period. The study covers Elizabethan travelogues, historical writing, and drama. The analysis shows that diverse factors related to authors, context and the nature of genres influenced the portrayal of the sultans and generated multiple and inconsistent representations of this Eastern figure. The thesis reads English texts alongside Eastern sources; these include letters sent from members of the Ottoman dynasty to Queen Elizabeth I and an Arabic historical work written by the Mamluk historian Shihab al-Din Ibn Iyas. The inclusion of such material in the study allows for the exploration of an Eastern point of view and provides an alternative narrative that contrasts with, and sheds light on, English perspectives. The thesis also explores the textual characteristics of the genres under discussion and considers critical and cultural issues such as authorial subjectivity, Otherness and cross-cultural encounters.