
Forgotten Experts
Astrologers, Science, and Authority in the Ottoman Empire, 1450-1600
A. Tunc Sen(Author)
Stanford University Press
Published on 20. May 2025
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-5036-4265-2 (ISBN)
Description
Forgotten Experts offers a history of Ottoman court astrologers and traces their shifting authority and prestige over the long sixteenth century. These individuals served the Ottoman court with their expertise in mathematical, astronomical, and astrological sciences, distinguishing themselves from other occult practitioners and esoteric specialists. While both prophecy and prognostication are attempts to map the terrain of the future, the astrologers' work did not claim spiritual weight as a prophecy but relied instead on methods of prediction developed from data and patterns elaborated through technical and scientific writings.
Drawing on extensive manuscript and archival records written in Ottoman Turkish, Persian, and Arabic, A. Tunc Sen writes a history of science, state formation, and bureaucracy within the overarching tale of Ottoman imperial formation and protocols. He invites readers to follow Ottoman court astrologers' fluctuating careers as practitioners of a contentious science and shows how this class of learned individuals constructed its scientific authority despite numerous cultural, societal, and epistemic challenges. In understanding the expertise of court astrologers, we gain insight into the intricate social relations established and maintained between the men of knowledge and the men of rule, between expertise and statecraft, in the early modern Ottoman imperial context.
Drawing on extensive manuscript and archival records written in Ottoman Turkish, Persian, and Arabic, A. Tunc Sen writes a history of science, state formation, and bureaucracy within the overarching tale of Ottoman imperial formation and protocols. He invites readers to follow Ottoman court astrologers' fluctuating careers as practitioners of a contentious science and shows how this class of learned individuals constructed its scientific authority despite numerous cultural, societal, and epistemic challenges. In understanding the expertise of court astrologers, we gain insight into the intricate social relations established and maintained between the men of knowledge and the men of rule, between expertise and statecraft, in the early modern Ottoman imperial context.
Reviews / Votes
"Forgotten Experts offers abrilliant examination of the work of Ottoman courtly scientific experts. A. Tunc Sen sets a new standard for historians of science in Islamic societies to carefully consider the local contexts of 'expertise' and how it was employed by rulers."-Nahyan Fancy, University of Exeter "Written in a clear, accessible style, with meticulous archival research, Forgotten Experts is a major contribution to the burgeoning field of Ottoman science studies. A. Tunc Sen neither devalues nor valorizes the subjects of his study, but gives us a sober and enlightening view of court astrologers."
-F. Jamil Ragep, McGill University "As a third-generation scholar of Ottoman science, A. Tunc Sen draws from extensive scientific literature and research since the 1980s to provide a nuanced analysis of Munajjims, or astral experts. In this pioneering study, Sen explores the complex relationship between the Ottoman Empire's scientific functionaries and courtly decision-makers, showcasing the significant role these experts played in shaping historical decisions. A groundbreaking work."
-Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Honorary President, Turkish Society for History of Science
More details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Palo Alto
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Cloth
Illustrations
14 halftones, 1 map
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
750 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5036-4265-2 (9781503642652)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
05/2025
Stanford University Press
€142.99
Available for download
Person
A. Tunc Sen is Assistant Professor of History at Columbia University.
Content
Illustrations
Note on Transliteration
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Empire of Experts, Experts of Empire
1. Munajjims' Expertise
2. Persianate Foundations
3. Heavenly Patronage
4. Fortunes Turned
5. Occult Rivalries
Conclusion: Istanbul Observatory and the Aftermath
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Note on Transliteration
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Empire of Experts, Experts of Empire
1. Munajjims' Expertise
2. Persianate Foundations
3. Heavenly Patronage
4. Fortunes Turned
5. Occult Rivalries
Conclusion: Istanbul Observatory and the Aftermath
Notes
Bibliography
Index