Army and the art of war in the medieval Islamic siyâsetnâme tradition

Siyâsetnâmes are books that written to give advice to those in state administration about the art of politics and state administration. The aim of the thesis titled "Army and the Art of War in the Medieval Islamic Siyâsetnâme Tradition" is to determine the knowledge, methods and advices related to the army and the art of war in the siyâsetnâmes written in the mentioned period. In this regard, the siyâsetnâmes books, written during the Medieval Islamic period were examined. Siyâsetnâmes give important recommendations regarding the administration of the state, not only on the internal issues of the country, but also on issues covering the country's foreign relations such as war, jihad, agreements and spoils. At this point, it is possible to say that the information about the army and the art of war, including the foreign relations of the state, in the siyâsetnâme books are mainly shaped in the light of verses, hadiths and the Prophet's practices regarding war. In siyâsetnâmes, war has always been seen as a last resort, even if the army faced the enemy and took battle formations. Even though the war actually started, tricks had to be used first to stop it as much as possible on the battlefield. Finding a solution through thought has been described as a better method than violence, and a more effective method to defeat the enemy than preparing strong, brave and crowded armies. Although the sword was accepted as the last trick to be used, it was also said that one should not refrain from fighting the enemy if there is no other choice but to fight after all the methods have been tried to avoid war