Silahdar Findiklili Mehmed Aga

The chronicler Mehmed, Mehmed Aga called Silahdar Fındıklılı (* 1658, † 1723) comes from Fındıklı, a suburb of Istanbul. He is an Ottoman historian, his main work is the story of Silahdar.

Life and work

Mehmed had already made a page at sultan's name as a historian. From Sultan Mustafa II, he was commissioned to write a book content should be the reign of the Sultan under the title nusratname (Eng. " Wins Book"). He became the keeper and turban of Sultan Ahmed III. to Silahdar / سلحدار (Arabic سلاح, DMG silah, weapon ', Persian دار - dar, keepers ', ie German " armor-bearer " ) appointed. Therefore, he has since been called simply Silahdar Fındıklılı Mehmed Aga and his important work "The History of Silahdar ".

Going beyond the original framework, compressed, and he commented in this work reports of other chroniclers, he complemented with additives of mostly unnamed sources. But sometimes the unchanged text of which is given, for example, the report of the Grand Ambassador Kara Mehmed Pasha, who at the imperial court in Vienna was in 1665 ( in Volume I of the story). Evliya Çelebi Has this connected in Volume VII of his travel book Seyâhatnâmesi with much more information about the country and people, then the Silahdar limited to the political report of the ambassador.

Also the campaign Kara Mustafa against Vienna, he describes the diary after the master of ceremonies. He has streamlined this book by eliminating him unimportant published authorities, especially the repeated invocations of Allah, asking for victory. The Silahdar is the person Kara Mustafa and his generalship in contrast to the master of ceremonies on the basis of the time interval and the knowledge of the result of the campaign was very critical.