Why the Author Thought Polygamy Was Allowed
In this passage, the author tries to explain why he believed polygamy was accepted in Islam. He argues that the founder of the religion introduced this practice not only to satisfy personal desires but also to increase the population of his followers. According to the writer, a large population was one of the greatest sources of strength for any empire. He believed that the power of a nation depended more on the number of its people than on the size of its territory Private Balkan Trip.
The author suggests that allowing a man to have several wives would lead to larger families and, over time, a stronger and more powerful state. This was his own interpretation of the reasons behind the practice of polygamy.
Population and the Strength of Empires
The writer believed that history showed a clear connection between population growth and military power. A country with many people could produce more farmers, craftsmen, merchants, and soldiers. As a result, large populations helped rulers defend their lands and expand their influence.
For this reason, the author thought that encouraging large families was a political decision as well as a religious one. Whether or not this conclusion is correct, it reflects the way many seventeenth-century Europeans understood the relationship between population and national strength.
Examples from the Ancient World
The author compares Ottoman customs with stories from the early history of humanity and from the Bible. He explains that, according to biblical tradition, polygamy was permitted during the earliest periods of human history when the world’s population was still small. He also notes that several important figures in the Hebrew Bible had more than one wife and many children.
He then turns to the Middle East and Egypt, claiming that wealthy and powerful men often had children by several different mothers. According to his account, a great Egyptian noble might be accompanied by a hundred sons, all born from different women. These sons were described as strong, well armed, and ready to fight bravely in battle. The author presents this as evidence that large families increased the military strength of powerful rulers.
The Author’s Criticism of Ottoman Society
Although the author believed that polygamy was intended to increase the population, he argues that this goal was no longer being achieved in the Ottoman Empire. In his opinion, the practice did not produce the same results that earlier societies had experienced.
He suggests one possible explanation by claiming that immoral behavior among some people prevented population growth. He also expresses the belief that God no longer blessed this way of life as He had done in ancient times, when increasing the human population was considered especially necessary. These comments reflect the religious beliefs and moral judgments of the author rather than historical evidence.
A Historical Perspective
Modern historians view this passage as an example of how seventeenth-century European travelers often interpreted Ottoman society through the lens of their own religious and cultural values. Many of the author’s conclusions are based on personal opinion rather than objective observation. Islamic law permits a man to marry up to four wives under specific conditions, but most Ottoman Muslim men had only one wife because supporting multiple households required considerable wealth. Population growth in the Ottoman Empire, as in other societies, depended on many different factors, including health, agriculture, warfare, disease, and economic conditions, rather than marriage practices alone. This passage is therefore valuable not because all of its claims are accurate, but because it reveals how European visitors understood and judged the Ottoman world during the seventeenth century.