Events

Forgotten Experts: Astrologers, Science, and Authority in the Ottoman Empire, 1450–1600

By A. TUNÇ ŞEN

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.

Speakers: Gil Eyal , Mark Mazower , Pamela H. Smith and Justin Stearns 

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