“When this humble one was captive”: Traces of the Ego-Documents in Hasan Esîrî’s Mi’yârü’d-Düvel

Abstract

Each nation’s perception of “ego” and the way it is expressed is shaped by its own cultural context. As in everything else, the environment in which individuals are born, age, and grow up has a fundamental influence on the way they identify themselves. Hasan Esîrî (d. after 1731-32), who lived in the last half of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century and was raised as a member of the Ottoman society, is one example of a writer whose work allows us to examine this subject. Esîrî is an interesting character both in terms of his life and his work called Mi’yârü’d-Düvel ve Misbârü’l-Milel, which is a general history and geography book he wrote. Besides the information gathered from the sources, he shared what he had encountered and experienced with expressions such as “this humble one” or “this poor one” in this work. Since the work is not an “ego-document” from the beginning to the end, the issues discussed can mostly be noticed between the lines. In this article, based on Hasan Esîrî’s notes about himself, we try to catch clues about his self-narrative in the context of both his character and the people he interviewed.