Mikail ACIPINAR

Keywords: Captivity,corsair,Florence,Tunisia,Turkish letter

Abstract

Captivity and related narratives, memoirs and correspondences have always been noticeable issues in terms of literary and historical contexts in many parts of the world. In respect to Turkish history the captivity phenomenon, which occurred as a result of intense MuslimChristian struggles in the Mediterranean basin, has revealed many personal memoirs and captivity narratives. This article focuses on a correspondence that was written between two brothers, one of whom was captive in Florence while the other was resident in Tunisia. For now, this letter seems to be the one of the earliest dated examples in Turkish. Certainly that letter provides important information about the educational level of the Ottoman society, as well as various historical matters of the period.