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D i m i t r i s L o u p i sPir i Reis ' Book on Navigation (Ki tab- i Bahr iyye)a s a G e ogra phy H a ndbook

Ottoman Ef for t s to Produce an At lasdur ing the Reign of Sul t an Mehmed IV (1648-1687)Abstract

The Ot toman Admira l P i r i Re is (ca . 1470 - 1553 /4) compiled in 1520 /1 h isBook on Navigation (Ki tab- i Bahr iyye) , which was based pa r t ly onBar to lommeo [da l i Sone t t i ] ' s [Isolarlo] (Ven ice ca . 1485) . His pe rsona lobse rva t ions , though , a re o f g rea t s ign if icance . For the f i rs t ha l f o f the 16t hcen tu ry th is book o f nau t ica l ins t ruc t ions and char ts (a so r t o f Isolano o rArte del Navigare) w a s th e b e s t h y d ro g ra p h ic a l w o rk o n th e Me d i t e r ra n e a nSea am ong o the r I ta l ian and S pan ish boo ks of i ts k ind . A la rge r secon dvers ion appe ared in 152 5 /6 and a th i rd , no t f rom Pir i Re is ' ow n h an dthough , dur ing the second ha l f o f 17 t h c e n tu ry . T h i s w o rk h a s a lo n gmanuscr ip t t rad i t ion fo r a pe r iod o f 250 yea rs ( t i l l the end o f 18 t h c e n t u r y ) .More than fo r ty cop ies seem to have su rv ived nowadays. Ki tb- i Bahr iyyewas the f i rs t ca r tograph ica l work in Ot toman language and was used fo r along t ime no t a s a book o f nau t ica l ins t ruc t ions so le ly , bu t a s we l l a s aTurk ish handbook o f geography and an a t la s o f the old world of theMedi te r ranean Sea in Turk ish . I t s la te s t cop ies pay more a t ten t ion to theca r tograph ica l pa r t o f the work and le ss to the tex t . New maps o f la rgesc a le a re a d d e d in th e lu x u r io u s ma n u sc r ip t s w i th th e a im to p ro d u c emo d e rn a t l a se s . T h i s p a p e r c o n s id e r s K i t b - i B a h r iy y e a s a g e o g ra p h yh a n d b o o k a n d a t l a s , a c tu a l ly th e mo re o r ig in a l o n e in O t to ma n -T u rk i shl i t e ra tu re .

The 16 th cen t u r y was f o r a l l peop l es s u r r ound i ng t heMedi ter ranean bas in an era marked by an intense act ivat ion inthe sea and a constant and t ireless effort to depict i t accurately.Those states that could navigate that encircled sea were obsessedwith the idea of perceiving and knowing the area. The I tal ianci ty-s tates , the Iber ian kingdoms and the Ot toman Empire kepton being in t rade and war among each other , regis ter ing thei rown dominion and that of thei r enemies and al l ies , and onmaking thei r presence fel t a l l around the Medi ter ranean Sea.

Ins t i tute for Neohel lenic Research N.H.R.F . Eastern Mediterranean CartographiesTetrad ia Ergasias 25/2 6 (2004 ) p. 35-49


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fig. 1: Euboia Island. Bartolomm eo [dalli Sonetti], "Isolarlo," printed Venice,ca. 1485.

On the part of the Ottomans, who are the latest set t lers inthe Medi ter ranean, a s tate es tabl ishment i s consol idated at theend of the 14 th and the ear ly 15 th century, anyhow, based onnew, more s table grounds af ter the capture of Constant inople.The sul tan, his cour t and the Ot toman scholars and scient is ts ofthis per iod are in close dependence on the learned t radi t ion ofthe Eas t and i t s achievements , even though they are a fewcenturies far from the classical Arabic production. Thus, thef i r s t works on geography, which are produced wi th in theOttoman dominion under the aegis of the sul tan, are l imi tedboth to translat ions and adaptations of the classical Arabic orPer s ian geographies 1 and to t rans lat ions f rom Greek l i terature. 2Byazld 11 (r . 1481-1512) beq ue ath s to his successor, Sleym nthe Lawgiver ( r . 1512-1566) , an organized and competent navy.3During Bayazid's reign, Pr Reis (ca. 1470-1553/4) 4 gr owsmature in the Aegean and Medi ter ranean Seas next to thefamous pirate and corsair , his uncle Keml Re'Is .5 The years that

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f i g . 2 : Chios Island. Piri Reis, "Kitab-i Bahriyye " (1520-1 ), first version copyof the 16 th Ct. Biblioteca Universitaria, Bologna (MS 312).

h e s p e n d s t o g e t h e r w i t h h i s u n c l e a r e a p e r i o d o f a p p r e n t i c e s h i po n t h e a r t o f n a v i g a t i o n a n d t h e a r t o f c o - e x i s t e n c e o fM e d i t e r r a n e a n p e o p l e , a s P i r i R e i s c o m e s i n c l o s e c o n t a c t w i t hs a i l o r s f r o m I t a l y , C a t a l o n i a , S p a i n , F r a n c e a n d N o r t h e r n A f r i c a .I n I 5 2 O / I P i r i R e i s h a s a l r e a d y c o m p l e t e d , a f te r a w o r l d m a p( 1 5 1 3 ) 6 t h a t h a p p e n s t o b e o n e o f t h e o l d e s t m a p s o f A m e r i c a ,h i s isolarlo u n d e r t h e t i t l e o f K i t b - i B a h r i y y e ( B o o k o nN a v i g a t i o n ) . 7 F o l l o w i n g t h e e x a m p l e o f t h e I t a l i a n s C r i s t o f o r oB u o n d e l m o n t i (Liber Insularum Archipelagi, MSS. ca . 1420-30) 8a n d B a r t o l o m m e o [ d a l i S o n e t t i ] (.[Isolarlo], p r i n t e d c a . 1 4 8 5 ) 9P i r i R e is p r o d u c e d a w o r k w i t h n a u t i c a l i n s t r u c t i o n s a n dd e t a i l e d m a p s o n t h e w h o l e M e d i t e r r a n e a n . H i s w o r k i s ac o m b i n a t i o n o f a n isolarlo, a n arte del navigare a n d a v e r yd e t a i l e d portolan-atlas. Pi r i Re i s made use o f t he cha r t s o f t he[Isolarlo] b y B a r t o l o m m e o [ d a l i S o n e t t i ] , h i s w o r k y e t w a sb a s e d o n p e r s o n a l o b s e r v a t i o n a n d m e a s u r e m e n t s a l l o v e r t h e

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Alio l>UA*lfe-j Z&J' jjA^-^r-J.*1 *Jfr*-3- t e i 5 > . e J L ? y J - i r " i * ^ - ^

fig. 3 : Monemvasia Rockand Cythera Island. PiriReis, "Kitab-i Bahriyye"

(1525-6), second versioncopy written in 1574.Sleymaniye Library,

Istanbul (MS Aya Sofya2612).Mediter ranean Sea. Hence, he managed to produce one of themost accurate and complete isolarl i of the 16 th century, get t ingcloser to the real geography of the old sea of the Medi ter ranean.Piri Reis int roduced a second vers ion 1 0 of the Book onNavigation in 1525/6. I ts s ize was increased and i ts quali ty wasimproved. Thi s ver s ion conta ined much more maps . The 131chapters of the nautical instructions and the 105 to 142 chartsof the many f i r s t vers ion copies that have been preserved unt i ltoday (26 copies are known) , turned to 219 chapters and 215-39charts in the second version (ca. 10 copies) . Besides, the poetand corsai r Seyyid Muradi1 1 assisted Pir i Reis to compose anint roduct ion in verse, which was , actual ly, the f i r s t theoret icaltext on the ar t of navigat ion wr i t ten in the Ot toman language.I t includes informat ion on the winds , the or ientat ion, the use ofthe compass and the map, as wel l as as t ronomical and

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g e o g r a p h i c a l k n o w l e d g e f o r t h e w h o l e k n o w n g e o g r a p h y o f t h et i m e . F u r t h e r m o r e , i t p r o v i d e s i n f o r m a t i o n o n a l l s e a s o f t h ee a r t h , a f t e r t h e d i s c o v e r y o f n e w l a n d s a n d s e a r o u t e s . T h e r e a r ec h a p t e r s o n t h e I n d i a n O c e a n , A b y s s i n i a , t h e A t l a n t i c O c e a n a n di t s c u r i o s i t i e s , t h e e x p a n s i o n o f t h e P o r t u g u e s e E m p i r e , t h eC h i n e s e S e a , t h e P e r s i a n Gulf, t he ea s t e rn shore s o f Af r i ca , t heC a m o r e I s l a n d s . T h e e p i l o g u e o f t h e s e c o n d v e r s i o n i s a l s o i nv e r s e . I t e x p l a i n s t h e r e a s o n f o r t h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f t h e f i r s tv e r s i o n a n d d e s c r i b e s i t s p r o c e s s . F i n a l l y , P i r i R e i s s e t s t h e w o r ka t t h e d i s p o s a l o f G o d , t h e s o v e r e i g n , t h e s c h o l a r s , a n d t h ep e o p l e o f t h e f u t u r e .A c e n t u r y a ft e r t h e h y d r o g r a p h e r ' s d e a t h a n d d u r i n g th e s e c o n dhal f of the 17 t h c e n t u r y t h e r e is a p r o d u c t i o n o f c o p i e s f r o m t h eBook on Navigation i n a t h i r d v e r s i o n , w h i c h , n e v e r t h e l e s s , l e t st h e t e x t o f t h e s e c o n d v e r s i o n u n a f f e c t e d , w h i l e e n r i c h e s t h ec a r t o g r a p h i c a l p a r t o f t h e m a n u s c r i p t s . T h e s e t h i r d v e r s i o nc o p i e s a r e n o t p r o d u c e d b y P i r i R e i s ' s o w n h a n d , o f c o u r s e . T h u s ,t h e y h a v e b e e n s u s c e p t i b l e o f a d d i t i o n a l n e w l a r g e - s c a l e m a p s . 1 2T h e s e m a p s d e p i c t t h e B l a c k S e a , w h i c h i s n o t c o m p r i s e d i n t h eor ig ina l , as wel l as par t s of the Aegean Sea , the Adr ia t i c Sea , theT y r r h e n i a n S e a , a n d t h e C e n t r a l M e d i t e r r a n e a n . C i r c u l a r a n d o v a lw o r l d m a p s , normal portolanos ( a c c o r d i n g t o N o r d e n s k i l d ) ,d e p i c t i o n s o f I s t a n b u l a n d C a n d i a 1 3 a r e a l s o i n c l u d e d .T h e s e m a n u s c r i p t s h a v e s o m e f e a t u r e s i n c o m m o n . T h e y a r el u x u r i o u s p r e s e n t a t i o n c o p i e s . T h e i r b a c k g r o u n d m a t e r i a l , i n k s ,de s i gn , co l o r s and b i nd i ng a r e o f exce l l en t qua l i t y . They bea rne i t he r copy i s t s ' name , no r da t e o f p roduc t i on . The copy i s t s seemto give pr ior i ty to the car tographica l par t and not to the naut i ca l -i ns t ruc t i ons t ex t , wh i ch t u rns ou t t o be o f seconda ry i mpor t ance .The Ot t oman a r t o f m i n i a t u r e pa i n t i ng i s he r e p r eva l en t . Th i s f ac tr evea l s t ha t t he second and t h i rd ve r s i ons o f t he Book onNavigation were no t p roduced t o se rve t he sa i l o r s ' needs on boa rd ,bu t t he scho l a r l y ques t s o f t he Ot t oman su l t an , h i s cour t and t hehigh func t ionar ies of the empi re . In a few copies there i s a l i s t ofcon t en t s (maps ) , whe rea s i n o t he r s t he t ex t ha s been omi t t ed .These copies bear only the char t s , so they t ake the form of an a t l asand t i t l es such as : por to lani keb r grea t por tu lan, 1 4 deniz k i t abi

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\ l \ '


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Second Subgroup ( n o t e x t )4. B e r l i n , D e u t s c h e S t a a t s b i b l i o t h e k - P r e u s s i s c h e rK u l t u r b e s i t z [German State Li brary], MS. Di ez A . Fo l i an t5 7 ( 1 9 5 m a p s ) .5 . B o l o g n a , B i b l i o t e c a U n i v e r s i t a r i a [University Library], M S.3 6 0 9 ( 2 0 4 m a p s ) . 1 86 . I s t an bu l , T op ka p i Sa r ay i Mi i zes i K t ph . [Topkapi PalaceMuseum Library], M S . B . 3 3 8 ( 1 8 9 m a p s ) .7 . London , Nasse r D . Kha l i l i Co l l ec t i on o f I s l ami c Ar t s , MS .7 1 8 ( 1 1 9 m a p s ) .

I t i s l i k e l y t h a t t h e c o p i e s o f e a c h s u b g r o u p w e r e p r o d u c e di n t he same a t e l i e r , e i t he r t ha t f o r t he pa l ace o r t he mapw o r k s h o p s i n G a la ta , a s m e n t i o n e d b y t h e t r a v e l e r E v l iy e l e b i . 1 9 C o p y N o . 5 i s s u p p o s e d t o h a v e b e e n m a d e b y a S e y y i dN h , w h o i s c o n s i d e r e d t o b e a f i c t i t i o u s p e r s o n b y s o m es c h o l a r s . 2 0 T h e s u p p o s e d l y l o s t d u r i n g t h e S e c o n d W o r l d W a rcopy o f Be r l i n (No . 4 ) f l i r t s w i t h t he t ex t o f t he f i r s t ve r s i on ,w h i c h s u r r o u n d s t h e m a p s i n f o r m o f l o n g m a r g i n a li n s c r i p t i o n s .E v e n i f t h e o r i g i n a l c o r p u s o f t h e m a p s i n t h e Book onNavigation i s o f g r e a t o r i g i n a l i t y , t h e s u p p l e m e n t a r y m a p s a r ec o p i e s o f I t a l i a n a n d D u t c h w o r k s . T h e i r s o u r c e s a r e t h enumerous a t l a se s o f t he Ba t t i s t a Agnese a t e l i e r ( f i . 1535-64) , 2 1t h e O t t o m a n a t l a s e s o f t h e p e r i o d 1 5 5 0 - 7 5 , 2 2 and f i na l l y , t he ova lw o r l d m a p s b y J a c o p o G a s t a ld i d a t e d i n 1 5 4 6 a n d 1 5 6 0 a n d t h a tb y A b r a h a m O r t e l i u s f r o m h i s Theatrum Orbis Terrarum( A n t w e r p e n 1 5 7 9 - ) .

I t s eems t ha t t he Ot t oman soc i e t y o f t he e r a o f Mehmed IV (1648-87) , unde r t he g r and v i z i e r a t e o f t he Kpr l s , kep t seek i ng a f t e ra g e o g r a p h y h a n d b o o k o f i t s w o r l d . T h e e m p i r e w a s a l r e a d y i nt e r r i t o r i a l s t agna t i on s i nce t he l a t e 16 t h cen t u ry and had s t a r t edgo i ng t he way o f a s l ow, l ong i n t rove r s i on . Neve r t he l e s s , a sM e h m e d IV n e v e r g av e u p h u n t i n g , e v e n d u r i n g h i s c a m p a i g n s ,t he Ot t omans d i d no t s t op be i ng ac t i ve . The conques t o f C re t e i nI669 and t he second s i ege o f Vi enna i n 1683 r evea l ed t he4 1


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fly \ A * " Vw A .M V s

JFV, ~5$ ^^/?- ^* W ^ ^ f T /r*^ 'rtj. I. . : V

*ff ' J*&-U ' l ^M: #

/fig. 5: Sardinia Island. Piri Reis, "Kitab-i Bahriyye" (1525-6), third version copy

written in the mid-U11' Ct. Attributed to Seyyid Nu li. BibliotecaUniversitaria, Bologna (MS 3609).

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empi r e ' s u l t i ma t e e f fo r t t o r ev i ve t he t i me o f t he conques t s (1 5 t h -16 t h c e n t u r i e s ) . T h e e m p i r e ' s w o r l d , h o w e v e r , a n d i t s p o t e n t i a l i t yw e r e l i m i t e d w i t h i n t h e e n c i r c l e d s e a o f t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n a n di t s s u r r o u n d i n g s . I n t h e v a r i o u s c o p i e s o n l y v e r y l a r g e - s c a l e w o r l dm a p s c a n b e f o u n d . T h e y d e p i c t a r e m o t e w o r l d , w h i c h o n c ec o u l d b e c o n q u e r e d . I t c o u l d h a v e b e e n c o n q u e r e d , h o w e v e r ,when t he v i v i d and l i ve l y wor l d map (1513) by P i r i Re i s wasd i sp l ayed on t he ba t t l e boa rd , i f i t eve r was . No t any l onge r . Theempi r e was sou l - sea r ch i ng . I t cou l d no t have i t s own f r e sh mapp r o d u c t i o n o f t h e e n l a r g e d w o r l d . T r y i n g t o r e v i v e t h e 1 6 t hc e n t u r y c o n q u e s t s , t h e e m p i r e d i s c o v e r e d a g a i n P i r i R e i s ,r e n o v a t e d h i s w o r k a n d t r i e d t o u p d a t e i t . T h e r e n e w e d Book onNavigation, h o w e v e r , w a s s t i l l l i m i t e d i n t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n a n dt he B l ack Sea , even t hough i n one o f t he new cop i e s t he r e i s aC a s p i a n S e a 2 3 m a p . T h e i r i n c l i n a t i o n t o a c o n t e m p o r a r yknowl edge o f t he space found she l t e r i n P i r i Re i s ' work , pa ss i ngove r t r ans l a t i ons o r i mpe r f ec t adap t a t i ons o f c l a s s i ca l Arab i c andP e r s i a n g e o g r a p h i e s a n d c o s m o g r a p h i e s , p r o d u c e d f r o m t h e 9 t h t ot he 14 t h c e n t u r y . W h a t m a d e t h e Book on Navigation t h e m o s tp r e f e r r e d g e o g r a p h y h a n d b o o k w a s th a t it w a s a p i o n e e r i n g w o r kfo r it s epo ch an d Tu rk i sh , above a l l. I t w as a w o rk co m po sed byan Ot t oman sub j ec t and sa t i s f i ed t he Ot t oman s t a t e needs . Wha tt h e O t t o m a n s o c i e t y n e e d e d w a s a T u r k i s h - s p e a k i n g , o f T u r k i s ho r i g i n , g e o g r a p h y h a n d b o o k a n d a d e t a i l e d a t la s o f i tsM e d i t e r r a n e a n w o r l d .T h e d i s a d v a n t a g e s o f t h i s c h o i c e l e d t o a q u i t e n o tsa t i s f ac t o ry r e su l t . The Book on Navigation r e m a i n e d a t e x t o fn a u t i c a l i n s t r u c t i o n s . I t s d e p i c t i o n s w e r e o f g o o d q u a l i t y , b u tr e p r e s e n t e d t h e p r e v i o u s c e n t u r y w o r l d ' s i m a g e . T h e O t t o m a nsoc i e t y o f t he second ha l f o f t he 17 t h c e n t u r y c o u l d n o t i g n o r et h e p r o g r e s s o f g e o g r a p h y a n d c a r t o g r a p h y t h a t w a s t a k i n g p l a c ei n I t a l y a n d t h e n i n C e n t r a l E u r o p e . T h e O t t o m a n s w e r e i n n op o s i t i o n t o h a v e a p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e i r o w n - a P i r i R e i s o f t h e1 7 t h c e n t u r y d i d n o t e x i s t - a n d w e r e n e c e s s a r i l y s w i t c h e d t ot r a n s l a t i o n s .

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fig. 6: New World. Katib elebi, "Cihann ima" (1 48-154 ). Man uscript copiedearly 18 th Ct. Private collection.

K t i b e l e b i , 2 4 t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t O t t o m a n s c h o l a r o f h i s e r a ,t r a n s l a t e d t h e Atlas Minor b y M e r c a t o r a n d H o n d i u s ( p r i n t e dA r n h e i m 1 6 2 1 ) u n d e r t h e t i t l e Rays of light in the darkness -Atlas Minor ( L a v m c i : ' n -nr f i zu l m t - A t l a s M i no r ) i n 1 653 .T h e s a m e a u t h o r w r o t e h i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t w o r k o n g e o g r a p h y ,t h e Panorama of the World ( C i h n n m ) , 2 5 f r o m 1 6 4 8 u p to h i sd e a t h i n 1 6 5 7 . I t w o u l d b e a g r e a t c o s m o g r a p h y , b u t w a s l ef ti n c o m p l e t e . M a k i n g u s e o f M e r c a t o r ' s a t l a s e s h e a d d e d h i s o w nu p - t o - d a t e i n f o r m a t i o n e s p e c i a l l y o n m a p s o f t h e O t t o m a nd o m i n i o n . T h e n u m e r o u s c o p i e s f o u n d t o d a y i n s e v e r a l l i b r a r i e si n d i c a t e h o w f a m o u s t h i s w o r k h a d b e e n . H o w e v e r , K a t i b e l e b iw a s a s c h o l a r c a r t o g r a p h e r , w h o t r a n s l a t e d a n d a d a p t e d i n t h eO t t o m a n l a n g u a g e . H e n e i t h e r t o o k s o u n d i n g s , n o r m a d e a n yi n v e s t i g a t i o n o n t h e s p o t , a s P i r i R e i s h a d d o n e e a r l i e r .T h e t r a n s l a t i o n s m a d e b y K a t i b e l e b i a n d t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h ef i r s t I s l a m i c a t l a s o f M e r c a t o r i a n a n d C o p e r n i c a n c o n c e p t i o n

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f i g . 7 : Two-Hemisphere World. Ebub ekir el-Behram ed-Dim iski, "Nusretii'l-tslam(1675-1685). Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul (MS B. 325).

g a v e f r e s h i m p e t u s t o t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f w o r k s , s u c h a s t h eO t t o m a n v e r s i o n o f t h e v o l u m i n o u s Atlas Major sivecosmographia Blauiana qua solum, salum, coelum, accuratissimedescribuntur ( A m s t e r d a m 1 6 6 2 ) b y t h e D u t c h J a n s z o o n B l ae u .T h e s e w o r k s m a r k e d a t u r n i n g p o i n t f o r t h e O t t o m a nc a r t o g r a p h y a s , h e n c e f o r t h , i t w a s n e c e s s a r y fo r t h e l a tt e r t of o l l o w c l o s e l y t h e E u r o p e a n m a p p r o d u c t i o n . 2 6 B l a e u ' s w o r k w a sp r e s e n t e d t o t h e O t t o m a n s u l t a n M e h m e d I V b y t h e D u t c ha m b a s s a d o r J u s t i n u s C o l j e r o n t h e 1 4 t h Augus t o f 1668 . Thes u l t a n c o m m i s s i o n e d A l e x a n d r o s M a v r o c o r d a t o s , a d r a g o m a n t ot h e P o r t e , t o t r a n s l a t e i t i n t o t h e O t t o m a n l a n g u a g e , b u t t h e t a s kw a s t o b e c o m p l e t e d b y E b b e k i r e l - B e h r m e d - D i m i s k i , w h os t a r t e d i n 1 6 7 5 a n d f i n i s h e d h i s w o r k t e n y e a r s l a t e r . I t c o n s i s t so f n i n e v o l u m e s a n d h a s t h e s o n o r o u s t i t l e o f N u s r e t D l - i s l mv e D l - s r r f t ah r r - i A t l a s Mayor (The Tr i umph o f I s l am and t heJ oy i n t he Wr i t i ng o f At l a s Ma j o r ) . 2 7

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The aforement ioned product ion exis ts due to the incl inat ion ofthe Ot tomans to acquire, dur ing the second hal f of the 17 thcentury, a geography handbook, and mainly an at las in thei rown language. The Book on Navigation was called out to satisfyf i rs t of al l that cer tain demand, before the Ot tomans proceed tot rans lat ions of European works . This paper makes an ef for t tolook on the later luxurious copies of the Book on Navigationunder this l ight .

Dimit r is LoupisBilkent University

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NOTES

This paper was presented at the 18th International Conference on theHistory of Cartography (Athens, 11-16 July 1999), won the 2001 Walter W.Ristow Prize for Cartographic History and Librarianship awarded by TheWashington Map Society, Washington, D. C, and was published in ThePortolan. Journal of the Washington Map Society 52 (2001-2002): 11-7. Itis reprinted here with some minor corrections.

1. In 857 [1453] the earliest Ottoman geographer Yaziciogli Ahmed Blcnintroduced the 'Acib-mahlkt (Strange Creatures), which is anabridgement of the famous work by the Arab geographer Qazwn under thesame title. The cosmographical works Drr-i Meknn (Hidden Pearl) andMiratili-'avlim (Mirror of the World) belong to the same author. See FRANZTAESCHNER, "Die geographische Literatur der Osmanen," Zeitschrift derDeutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft 50 (1923): 36-8. If those works arenot just simply translations, the translators' personal intervention is littleproductive, although Mehmed el-cAsik and his Menzir'l-'avlim (Panoramaof the World), which was completed in 1006/1598, had to be excluded.Beyond that it is a cosmographical work as well, that follows Qazwlnl,Dimashqi and Abu al-Fid3, it also contains contemporary geographical dataon Roumelia (Balkan peninsula), something that is not to be found in the restIslamic geographies. Its list of the cities according to the system of the sevenclimates by Ptolemaeus is also significant (TAESCHNER, loc. cit., 48-55).

2. Mehmed the Conqueror asked the Byzantine scholar GeorgiosAmoiroutzes and his Arabic-speaking son to translate the - ( C o s m o g r a p h i a ) of Claudius Pt ol e mae us int o Arabic. Two G r e e km a n u s c r i p t s of the 13-l4th Ct. (G 27 and 57) that preserve the PtolemaicGeographia, can still be found in the Topkapi Museum Library, while in theAya Sofya Library (today part of the Sleymaniye Library) two copies of theArabic translat ion can be found [No. 2596 (without maps) and 2610]. SeeADOLF D. DEISSMANN, Forschungen und Funde im Serai; Mit einem Verzeichnisder nichtislamischen Handschriften im Topkapu Serai zu Istanbul (Berlin &Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter, 1933), 68-9 & 89-93; JULIAN RABY, "Mehmed theConqueror's scriptorium," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 37 (1983): 24.

3. For the navy of Bayazid IF see HANS-JOACHIM KISSLING, "Betrachtungenber die Flottenpolitik Sultan Bayezids II, 1481-1512," Saeculum 20 (1969):35- 43 , and S. N. FISHER, The foreign relations of Turkey 1481-1512 (Urbana:University of Illinois Press, 1948). For the navy of Sleyman the Lawgiversee COLIN H. IMBER, "The navy of Sleyman the Magnificent," ArchivumOttomanicum 6 (1980): 221-82. For the Ottoman navy in general see SMAILH. UZUNCARSILI, Osmanli devletinin merkez ve bahriye teskilti (Ankara:Turk Tarih Kurumu, 1948).

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4 . See SVAT SOUCEK, Piri Re'is, Encyclopaedia of Is lam 2 [abbr. EI2] , andFUAT EZGO, Piri Re'is, Islam Ansiklopedisi [abbr. A].

5. See HANS-ALBRECHT von BURSKI, Kemal Re'is: Ein Beitrag zurGeschichte der trkischen Flotte (Bonn : Bonne r Univer s i t t s buchdruckerei gebr. Scheur, 1928).

6. Themost recent andnotable study is by GREGORY C. MCI NT OS H, ThePiri Reis Map of 1513 (Athens, Georgia: TheUniversity of Georgia Press,2000) . See, also, ID., "Chris topher Columbus and the Piri Reis map of1513," Neptune 53-4 (1993): 280-94.

7 . See SVAT SOUCEK, "Islamic charting in the Medi te r ranean ," in TheHistory of Cartography, edi ted by J. B. Harley and David Woodward , vol.2 , Cartography in the traditional Islamic and South Asian societies (Chicago& London: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 272-9 [abbr. HoC-2]. Seealso, DIMITRIS LOUPIS, ' (1465-1553) . [Piri Reis (1465-1553) andAegean Charting. Ottoman Cartography and the Aegean Lake] ( A t h e n s :T r o c h a l i a , 1999), wh er e the p a r t of the wo rk refer r ing to the Aegean seai s publ i shed in G r e e k , a c c o m p a n i e d w i t h a d e t a i l e d i n t r o d u c t i o n and ap r e l i m i n a r y h i s t o r y of the O t t o m a n n a u t i c a l c h a r t i n g d ur i n g the l 6 - 1 7 t hc e n t u r i e s .

8. T h i s w o r k is p u b l i s h e d in Christophori Bondelmontii FlorentiniLibrum Insularum Archipelagi, e d i t e d by G . R . L . de S i n n e r (Lipsiae etB e r o l i n i : G. R e i m e r , 1824).

9. R e p r o d u c e d in B A R T O L O M M E O D A L L I S O N E T T I , Isolano, Venice 1485,intro. F.R. G o f f ( A m s t e r d a m : T h e a t r u m O r b i s T e r r a r u m , 1972).

1 0 . The first ve rsio n is publ i shed i n c o m p l e t e l y in P A U L K A H L E , Piri Re'isBahrije. Das trkische Segelhandbuch fr dasMittellndische Meer vom Jahre1521, vol. la (Text, Chapters 1-28), lb (Text, Chapters 29-60), IIa (Translation,Chapters 1-28), (Berlin-Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter, 1926-7). A copy (Istanbul,Sleymaniye-Aya Sofya 2612) of the second version is reproduced in: PRRE'IS, Kitab-i Bahriye, intr. by Haydar Alpagot & Fevzi Kurdoglu (Istanbul:Turk Tarihi Arastirma Kurumu Yayinlan - Devlet Basimevi, 1935), and PRRE'IS, Kitab-i Bahriye, ed. .. kte, 4 vols (Ankara: The Historical ResearchFoundation - Istanbul Research Center, 1988).

1 1 . See HSEYIN YURDAYDIN, "Kitb-i Bahriyye'nin telifi meselesi," Ankaraniversitesi Dil ve Tarih - Cografya Fakltesi Dergisi 10 (1952): 143-6.

12 . See THOMAS GOODRICH, "Supplemental maps in theKitab-i Bahriye ofPiri Reis," Archivum Ottomanicum 13 (1993 /4 ) : 1 1 7 - 4 1 .

13- In the copy London, Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Arts,MS. 718. This copy is published in SVAT SOUCEK, Piri Reis and Turkishmapmaking after Columbus. The Khalili Portolan Atlas (London: The NourFoundation - Azimouth Editions - Oxford University Press, 1992, 1996 2) .

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14. Copy of Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (MS. W. 658).15 . Copy of Biblioteca Universitaria, Bologna (MS. 3609).16. Copy of Topkapi Sarayi Mzesi Ktph., Istanbul (MS. B. 338).17. A few charts of this copy are reproduced in KEMAL ZDEMIR, Piri Reis(Istanbul: Baskent Ofset Kultur Yayinlan, 1994).18. Reproduced in HANS-JOACHIM KISSLING, Der See-Atlas des Sejjid Nh(Mnchen: Rudolf Trofenik, 1966).19. See EVLIY ELEBI Seyhatnmesi, vol. I (Dersacadet: ikdam, 1314[I896/7]), 548; EVLIY ELEBI Seyhatnmesi, Topkapi Sarayi Bagdat 304

yazmasinm transkripsiyonu - Dizini, 1. kitap, d. by Orhan S. Gkyay(Istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlan, 1996), 236.20. See S. SOUCEK, "Islamic Charting in the Mediterranean," in HoC-2,

276-7.21. See H.R. WAGNER, "The manuscript Atlases of B. Agnese," Papers of

the Bibliographical Society of America 25 (1931): 1-109-22. See S. SOUCEK, "Islamic Charting in the Mediterranean," in HoC-2,279-84.23 . Copy of Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (MS. W. 658).24. See ORHAN S. GKYAY, Katib elebi, EI2; ID., Ktib eleb, , and

ID . et alii, Ktip elebi - Hayati ve eserleri hakkinda incelemeler (Ankara:Turk Tarih Kurumu, 1957).25 . For its fragmentary translation in Latin see HAGGI HALIFA (Ktibelebi), Gihn-Num Geographia Orientalis (pars secunda) ex Turcico inLatinum versa a M. Norberg, 2 vols (Londoni Gothorum, 1818; reprintedOsnabrck : Biblio Verlag, 1973 ) The greater par t of the first section(Europe) was translated in German by JOSEPH von HAMMER, see Rumeli und

Bosna, geographisch beschrieben von Mustafa Ben Abdalla Hadschi Haifa,aus dem Trkischen bersetzt von J. von Hammer (Wien: Kunst- undIndustrie-Comptoir, 1812).26 . See C. KOEMAN, "Turkse transkripties van de 17 eeuwse Nederlandseatlassen," in Kartengeschichte und Kartenbearbeitung. Festschrift zum 80.

Geburtstag von W. Bonacker, herausgegeben durch Karl-Heinz Meine (BadGodesber: Kirschbaum Verlag, I968), 71-6.27 . See XIV-XVIII yzyil portolan ve deniz haritalari, Istanbul Topkapi

Mzesi ve Venedik Correr Mzesi kolleksiyonlanndan/Portolani e cartenautiche XIV-XVIII secolo dalle collezioni del Museo Correr Venezia,Museo del Topkapi-lstanbul (Istanbul: Istituto Italiano di Cultura diIstanbul, 1994), 146-55.

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