Fellow 2021-2022 SASSON CHAHANOVIC
Sasson Chahanovich holds a PhD in Islamic Intellectual History from Harvard University where he studied under Profs. Khaled El-Rouayheb, Cemal Kafadar, Laura Nasrallah (Yale), and Christian Lange (Utrecht).
Sasson’s thesis presents the first extensive study in English of the eschatological and esoteric apocalypse titled The Tree of Nuʿmān Concerning the Ottoman Empire as an example of the early modern phenomenon of Ottoman eschatological enthusiasm. Sasson’s interests are grounded in the long history of eschatological apocalyptic thought in Islamic history from Muhammad’s revelation, throughout the Early Modern Period, and also in contemporary Islamic militant movements.
In addition, he is interested in the various ‘marketing’ strategies employed that shift and streamline Islamic apocalyptic tradition across time, place, and empire. Sasson is also currently working on a study of Shabbtai Zvi, the 17th century Ottoman Jew from Smyrna who immersed the Jewish world in a messianic frenzy. Herein, the heretofore exclusively Jewish would-be messiah is reinterpreted as a product of an Ottoman world beset with messianic expectations of its own. Prior to joining CAPAS, Sasson spent 3 wonderful years as a guest researcher at Bogazici University’s History Department under the sponsorship of Prof. Edhem Eldem with support from the American Research Institute in Turkey and Harvard University. He also received a competitive 2-year research fellowship from Dumbarton Oaks.