Ідеалізація Османської імперії у політичній публіцистиці Речі Посполитої середини XVI – середини XVII ст.

Abstract

Стаття присвячена недослідженому аспекту антитурецької літератури Речі Посполитої – ідеалізації Османської імперії. Визначається, що польські автори вважали гідним похвали і наслідування у турецькій державі та причини такого ставлення до османів.

Статья посвящена неисследованному аспекту антитурецкой литературы Речи Посполитой – идеализации Османской империи. Определено, что польские авторы считали достойным похвалы и наследования в турецком государстве и проанализировано причины такого отношения к османам.

The period of XVI – XVII centuries was the time ofopposition between Christian Europeand the Islamic Ottoman Empire. In this confrontation the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was assigned the role of the eastern border. Polish diplomats and intellectuals created the concept of «Bulwark of Christianity» (antemurale christianitatis) in which the importance of Poland in the fight against the Turks was strongly praised. Contemporaries have devoted thousands of works to the threat from the Ottoman Empire. In the XVI century there appeared a special branch of anti-Turkish literature in many European countries. Usually the Turks were portrayed negatively, but sometimes in European and Polish anti-Turkish works one can find positive attitude to the Turks and their state. To understand why the authors of XVI-XVII centuries considered the Turks worthy of respect, which was quite common, one should find out who wrote about the Ottoman Empire. Priests and Christian monks saw the Turks as eschatological evil. Instead, geographers, politicians, historians, and military tried to understand the structure of the state, especially the society, law, and public policy. The first aspect of the Turks idealization was their military activities. They seized vast areas and caused significant defeats to Christians. Thus the logical conclusion was that the Turks were better soldiers than Europeans. In Polish literature one can find a comparison of Turkish troops with Roman. Victory of the Turks served Polish authors as the contrast to criticism of its own troops. The authors considered Janissaries an example of military discipline. The social structure of the Ottoman Empire often became the object of the idealized description. Among the positive features of the Ottoman state was the absence of social status which allowed making a career through person’s own ability. The Turkish society was often called just as the guarantor was the Sultan. The supporters of state centralization idealized his strong government. It was considered the foundation of justice as the Sultan was ignorant about the origin and status of the person guilty. Of course, the Turkish world was not the same as described. But the contemporaries wanted to see it as such. This fact indicates problems in European countries.