Dimitrie Cantemir’s allegorical novel Hieroglyphic History stands as one of the rare examples of non-Turkish literature within the Ottoman Empire that aligns with a modern concept of literature. Composed in the early 18th century, this baroque roman à clef occupies an exceptional position in a secular literary environment dominated by chronicles and translations. Cantemir’s brief ascent to political power, followed by his defection to Tsar Peter the Great, contributed to the marginalization of this work. While his later writings, such as Descriptio Moldaviae and his History of the Ottoman Empire, were widely recognized across Europe, the Hieroglyphic History remains largely overlooked by international scholarship. As a unique document of literary political culture under Ottoman rule, this work still awaits broader rediscovery and analysis.