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Prof. Maciej Kokoszko, Health and culinary art in Antiquity and Byzantium.

Summary

The lecture is to support the hypothesis of existence an actual connection between  culinary art and dietetics in antiquity and Byzantium by means of exemplifying the presence of the dietetic knowledge in the literature of Antiquity and Byzantium.

The existence of this connection has been observed and proved by the author of the lecture in his publications over the past decade but especially in his study in fish and fish products in late Antiquity and early Byzantium (Ryby i ich znaczenie w życiu codziennym ludzi późnego antyku i wczesnego Bizancjum (III–VII w.) [The importance of fish in the everyday life of the people of late Antiquity and early Byzantium [III-VII c.], Łódź 2005) and in the recently composed chapter on Constantinopolitan nutritional patterns (Smaki Konstantynopola [Flavours of Constantinople], [in:] Konstantynopol. Miasto i ludzie w okresie wczesnobizanyńskim [Constantinople. The city and its ihabitants in the early Byzantine period], eds. M. J. Leszka, T. Wolińska, Warszawa 2011, p. 471-575). However, analogous methodological remarks were made (independently and regardless of the applicant’s own research) by Andrew Dalby (Flavours of Byzantium, Blackawton, Totnes, Devon 2003) and recently repeated in his Tastes of Byzantium. The cuisine of a legendary empire,  London–New York 2010.

The first part of the lecture is to single out elements of dietetic knowledge/lore present outside medical literature (first and foremost in Deipnosophists by Athenaeus of Naucratis and Geoponica). The part of the presentation is to help assess popularization of  dietetic doctrines throughout Antiquity and early Byzantium. 

Subsequently, the lecture will analyze select recipes taken from De coquinaria (i.e. the recipes for sauces [oxyporum, oxygarum digesti bile, oenogarum], flavoured salts, sales conditi, spiced wine, conditum paradoxum, honey wine, conditum melizomum viatorum, Roman absinth, absintium Romanum, rose wine, rosatum, vegetable purée, pulmentarium, the soups called tisana vel sucus and tisana barrica, and finally the commentary on nettles) and show their analogies to the doctrines present in medical writings.

Prof. Maciej Kokoszko, Food, health and illness: development of ancient and Byzantine dietetics

Summary

The lecture attempts to show possible connections between the culinary art and the medical science.The link developed naturally as a result of Hippocrates’ interest in food, which was considered by the aforementioned ancient Greek doctor to be the key factor in preserving health of living creatures. Since this medical authority’s approach was widely accepted later on and reflected in the teachings of the Hippocratic school and its followers, it had a considerable impact on the development of  medical research and thereby promoted further discussion on food.The heyday of the ancient research in food occurred in the second part of the II c. A.D. It was Galen, who established the final form of the humoral theory, which was the core of his doctrine.   Galen’s concept even more closely linked the already traditional study in food with the overall medical knowledge, and in this fashion enhancing the interest in proper nutritional practices. Galen’s followers, in turn, tended not to modify his teachings but repeated them continually, thereby promoting the theory in the post-Galenic era, including the whole period of Byzantium (especially Oribasius, Aetius of Amida and Paul of Aegina). As a result, medical wittings present themselves as one of the most informative sources that can be used by a food historian.

Prof. Maciej Kokoszko, Food, health and illness: the idea of the balance of humours in medical science

Summary

The lecture’s main goal is to describes the humoral system worked out by Galen. The system  included four main chymoi, i.e. bodily juices, namely blood, phlegm, bile and black. Each of them was described in terms of four primary element of the material world, archai, of which they consisted, namely air, water, earth and fire, and therefore were characterized by qualities that are immanent in the elements, and which were termed stoicheia, namely humidity, dryness, warmth and coldness. The lecture will present a characterization of the chymoi, describe their role in the body, and present some results of their excess or deficiency, both in the whole body as well as in its particular parts.

Dr Zeynep Dörtok Abacı, Conversion into Islam in the Ottoman Society

Summary

I would like to address my general topic with a rather much debated subtopic: Conversion. Although it means adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion, in ottoman history it meant conversion into Islam.

Religious conversion is a multifaceted phenomenon and also a valuable topic for any historical investigation as it incorporates psychology, sociology, anthropology, history and theology. In this lecture, some conversion cases selected from the Bursa Court records   will be presented to give an idea about being a Muslim or being a convert. I will make use of the review of secondary literature about the Islam in the Balkans.

My lecture will be consist of three parts: 1) Introduction to the sources, 2) Conversion into Islam in Anatolia and in Balkans, 3) Comparison of two region and conclusion.

1) Introduction to the sources:

Conversion into Islam either in Anatolia or in the Balkans can be followed (at least) by two different sources: Court records and kisve bahasi petitions. (The second source group has already been a subject of investigation and there occurred at least a book and some articles). Without delving into the nature of kisve bahasi, I can easily say that those were the petitions of converts appealing to sultans charity. In my lecture I will try to show the general nature of those petitions.

Court records is another source of following conversion into Islam.  Much has been written about the importance of the court records. However this “indisputable” importance has not been proved explicitly by carrying out large-scale historical investigations. Bursa, being the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, can be accepted as an ideal place for understanding of Ottoman society in general and conversion into Islam  in particular because of its heterogeneous population. Once upon a time nearly half of its inhabitants were non-Muslims, even though this percentage gradually decreased over the centuries.

2) Conversion into Islam in Anatolia and in Balkans

I’m aware of the fact that conversion into Islam in the Balkans is sensitive subject for the academicians living in this area. As a result I can clearly understand the justification attempts of them by referring to “aggressive nature” of Islam. Without going into much detail, I will try to summarize the standing of those academicians who insist upon coercion theory.

In the second part of my lecture I will try to explain term of crypto-Christian. Conversion into Islam goes with hand in hand with the crypto-Christian term especially in the Balkans and other out of core areas of the empire. It refers to those whose religious belief and  practices are not in harmony as a result of social, economic and administrative pressure.

3) Comparison of two region and conclusion.

In the last part of my lecture I will try to compare Anatolia with the Balkans. I will be referring to the following terms which had certain impact in different decrees in religious conversion: a) Fear as a motive of conversion. b) imitation, c) Social and economic pressure d) response to a teaching.

Dr Zeynep Dörtok Abacı, Impacts of Ecological Circumstances on Historical Events: Selected Cases from the Ottoman History

Summary

Climatology is among the non-human terms of it’s effect upon history has not been  acknowledged until recently. Ottoman history as a case study is not an exception. Today, any self respecting historian can not deny the impact of climate upon any of his/her research area. However we have yet to see hardly any convincing historical investigation upon this subject.

My lecture under the general theme of “Climate, Society and Geographic Environment” will be based upon the review of rather scattered literature. It is going to consists of three parts: 1) Introduction: Climatology in general, 2) Climate and its effect upon Ottoman empire: Review of literature 3) Conclusion and thoughts about further investigations.

1) Introduction: Climatology in general: The effect of climate upon people such as an increase in the number of disease- causing organisms, human land use,… can be learned not only by looking at archival documents but also by looking at indirect evidences. However we must confess that we are a little bit far away from having an undisputed methodology.

2) Climate and its effect upon Ottoman empire: Review of literature: Although our title clearly indicates the era we concentrate upon, I see it necessary to start with the Byzantine history. It is well known that searching byzantine texts for climatology is quite new. In those studies researches scanned original text for severe weather conditions. As it can easily be guessed, those studies have to base upon narrative and consequently require interpretation. Those sources can be divided into 4 categories: a) Narrative histories, b) Chronologies, c) Church historians and d) Biographies. The main part of my lecture unfortunately is little bit underexplored. Therefore I will be mainly talking about an apparent connection  between celali uprising and the well known “little ice age”.

3) Conclusion and thoughts about further investigations

Prof. Nurcan Abacı, Analysis of Power Networks Between Core and Periphery in the Ottoman Empire - theme for round table discussion

Summary

We can say that the way we enter our fields determines the general quality of our further studies. I ask students coming to the Ottoman language course organized every year in Cunda about how they entered the field. Most of the time, they tell interesting stories. Some wonder about the past of their great grandmother. Others are impressed by a book they see in a library. Still, others enter Ottoman-Turkish studies as a result of an ongoing love story and this determines more or less the way they conduct their investigations. Well, what about those who are “in” the field. We can expect less exciting stories. I’m sure you all have stories which are interesting in themselves. The point I would like to come to is that: After the way you enter the field, the reason(s) why you enter the field and your academic environment determine more or less what you will curious about. There is no problem here, either. You master the terminology more or less and try to contribute to the field by using resources which you are accustomed to.

The subject I’m going to present is a bit out of the line which I have just summarized. Although I do not know exactly how, I somehow found the courage to get out of the field. Please note that I’m saying this not proudly but with some concern. After all, (at least “Eastern stories”) end up with “the one who strays from the herd is captured by a wolf”. Anyway, the matter is related to social network analysis and its application to ottoman turk studies.

The question we should ask before the SNA method is “Well, what is a social network? Also considering the danger of overgeneralization, I think the first thing that we should say is that it is a structure. Basically, it has two parts. 1-Actors, 2- Relationships. In short, relations should hold actors together. Actors may not only be individuals but they may also be institutions, families, religious sects, etc. Actors make up social networks by exchanging one or more resources with one another. Resources may be in the form of information, goods, services, and social or economic aid. Such a resource exchange is described as a social network relationship. In this relationship, individuals have ties. Ties can take different forms ranging from weak to strong. This depends on such variables as the type and number of resources which one exchanges with others and the frequency of exchange. Additionally, social ties can be made up of multiple relationships. For example, in a doctor-patient relationship, the doctor and patient can be friends. Such ties are called multiplex ties. In the round table discussion, I would like to have critics and contributions of those who attend about previously summarized approach.