Professor of Middle East History Nabil Al-Tikriti @ AUC’s Oriental Hall

On April 11, 2025 Professor of Middle East History Nabil Al-Tikriti presented a paper titled “Gather a Retinue, Leave a Cultural Legacy: Şehzade Korkud’s (d. 1513) Court Patronage” in Cairo, Egypt.This paper, envisioned as an additional chapter for Dr. Al-Tikriti’s ongoing book profect on Prince Korkud, was presented at the American University in Cairo (AUC)Annual History Seminar, this year concentrating on “Entertainment in Middle East History: The Serious Business of Leisure and Fun.”

Prof. Al-Tikriti’s paper summarized the significance of the contributions Prince Korkud’s court patraonage left to Ottoman imperial culture in the early 16th century. This paper should next be turned into a chapter in the workshop proceedings, due later this year.

Dr. Al-Tikriti’s Presentation

The presentation abstract is as follows:

“Every Ottoman şehzade, at least through the end of the sixteenth century, gathered a miniature court retinue modeled on the padışāh’s court at Topkapı Sarayı. In addition to kapıkulu professionals serving both the imperial bureaucracy and the prince in question, such courts frequently carried on their payroll tutors, boon companions, poets, musicians, cooks, personal doctors, scholars, and anyone else thought to be of value. Just as princes competed with each other over access to state assets, tax revenues, assignments, and talented officials, through their entourage princes constantly tried to outdo one another in cultural patronage to demonstrate their centrality in the dynastic hierarchy.

Court patronage was an important marker of dynastic prestige, a sphere which ultimately served as an expression of political power. The composition of his retinue was one of the spheres where a prince possessed a great deal of personal discretion, judging from the great variation between different retinues in Şehzade Korkud’s (d. 1513) generation alone. For example, Şehzades ‘Abdullāh, Ahmed, and Mahmud each sponsored prominent poets, a standard level of princely involvement. In addition, Şehzade Selimşah, the celebrated Yavuz Selim, was remembered in his own right as a respectable Persian poet in the tez̲kire literature.

Korkud, in addition to patronizing famous poets such as Ġazālī (d. 1534), exceeded minimum expectations for princely court patronage by sponsoring works of poetry, history, military strategy, religious instruction, legal theory, and scientific inquiry. In addition, Korkud was not content to merely finance or provide logistical assistance for artistic and intellectual production. He was an active artist in his own right, producing a dīvān of poetry, musical compositions, and calligraphy, in addition to seven known scholarly treatises.

In my contribution, I will analyze Prince Korkud’s personal contribution to Ottoman arts, the artists whom he patronized and supported within his court, the artistic and cultural legacy of his court, and the role his courtly patronage played within the Ottoman political system of the day.”

Dr. Al-Tikriti wishes to thank the University of Mary Washington Provost and CAS Dean’s Office for their support of this presentation in the international Humanities. While in Cairo, Dr. Al-Tikriti explored potential future institutional cooperation and exchange in international education and study abroad.