Christopher Hill's historical perspective and religion as a ground for political economic criticism: A history from below study on 17th century Ottoman society

In intellectual history studies, thoughts of the poor/working/dispossessed take little place. However, states survived with their production, and great changes in history were possible with the participation of these large groups. In historiography, different traditions and historians have developed different methods to understand the thoughts of society. Christopher Hill, one of these historians, presents a method in which there is a dynamic relationship between politics, economics, religion and thought in order to explain the 17th century English Revolution and to deal with the ideas that developed in this process. In Hill's studies, religion appears as both an active variable of social conditions and a ground for generating ideas for the lower classes. In this study, it will be emphasized how Hill's method can guide the studies of history from below in Ottoman historiography, the question of where to search for the history of thought of the Ottoman society will be tried to be answered, and an example of a history from below study will be presented for the intellectual world of the 17th century Ottoman society. By examining Ottoman society's own production of thought and the role of religion here, the relationship between religion and political and economic criticism will be revealed.