A Jewel of Ottoman Naval History: The Book of Kâtib Çelebi on Naval Campaigns
by Salim Ayduz, Ruveyda Ozturk Published on: 24th January 2009
This is a review of the book prepared by Prof. Dr. Idris Bostan for the Turkish Undersecretariat of Navigation in order to provide a useful and important scientific resource on the naval history of the…
An Ottoman Cosmography: Translation of Katib Celebi’s Cihannuma
by Media Desk Published on: 31st December 2021
Cihānnümā is the summa of Ottoman geography and one of the axial texts of Islamic intellectual history. Kātib Çelebi (d. 1657) sought to combine the Islamic geographical tradition with the new European discoveries, atlases and…
Piri Reis and his Place in Ottoman Maritime History
by Salah Zaimeche Published on: 1st June 2002
When dealing with Turkish history, whether during the Ottoman period or after, one comes across horrendous claims and errors by countless historians which utterly distort the subject. To try and write correctly Turkish history is…
The Development and Decline of Ottoman Madrasas
by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Published on: 21st April 2004
The development of madrasas was greatly influenced by the impact of a strengthened central state authority and the resulting political stability and economic well-being it brought to the society. Toward the end of the sixteenth…
Ranking of the Ottoman Madrasas
by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Published on: 21st April 2004
Following the conquest of Istanbul, Mehmed the Conqueror initiated a campaign of construction. A new era in Ottoman education began with the establishment of the Fatih madrasas and the hierarchical structure of the madrasas was…
Celebrating an Ottoman Intellectual: 2009 Year of Kâtip Çelebi
by The Editorial Team Published on: 1st July 2009
Kâtip Çelebi was arguably the most important Ottoman intellectual figure of the 17th century. Being the author of many works in the fields of bio-bibliography, geography, history and economics, he held reformist opinions and cultivated…
Piri Reis: A Genius 16th-Century Ottoman Cartographer and Navigator
by Salah Zaimeche Published on: 13th February 2010
Piri Reis is a well known Ottoman-Turkish admiral, geographer and cartographer from the 16th century. His famous world map compiled in 1513 and discovered in 1929 at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul is the oldest known…
Muslim Contributions to Modern Civilisation
by Published on: 19th February 2010
Dr Salim Ayduz, researcher at FSTC, presented on Tuesday 9 February 2010 a conference on the Muslim contributions to modern civilisation in the "Islam Awareness Week 2010" organised by Lancaster University's Islamic Society. We present…
Manuscripts and printing in the spread of Muslim science
by Geoffrey Roper Published on: 15th July 2010
[Proceedings of the conference 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World organised by FSTC, London, 25-26 May 2010]. The following article presents a brief status about the transmission of Muslim scientific texts, and how the…
Ibn Yunus and The Pendulum: A History of Errors
by David A King Published on: 29th April 2015
In this article, Professor David A. King explores the authenticity of the statement that tenth-century Egyptian astronomer Ibn Yūnus was the first person to use a pendulum to measure time. After examining evidence originating from…
When the World was Upside Down: Maps from Muslim Civilisation
by Cem Nizamoglu, Khaleel Shaikh Published on: 15th December 2017
Great scholars from Muslim Civilisation, indeed, turned the world upside down with their maps; not just metaphorically but world maps once were literally upside down (with south dipicted at the top).
Development of Astronomy in Ottomans
by Yavuz Unat Published on: 28th September 2019
Generally, it is possible to study the development of astronomy in the Ottomans in three periods; The astronomy from the establishment of Ottomans to Ali Qushji’s arrival in the Ottomans (1299-1472); The astronomy from Ali…
The Horizon of Katip Celebi’s Thought
by Bekir Karliga Published on: 16th June 2009
The article of Professor Dr. Bekir Karliga on the horizon of Katip Çelebi's thought is a tremendous analysis of the reformist efforts deployed by the renowned 17th-century Ottoman scholar Katip Çelebi Mustafa bin Abdallah, known…
The Armillary Sphere: A Concentrate of Knowledge in Islamic Astronomy
by Samia Khan Published on: 1st December 2007
The armillary sphere is an ancient astronomical instrument reproducing a model of the celestial sphere. In its simplest form, it was known since the antiquity. The article presents the principle of its drawing and use,…
The Origins of Islamic Science
by Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Beg Published on: 30th August 2010
In the following well documented article Dr Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Beg surveys the origins of Islamic science, with a special focus on its interaction with the previous intellectual traditions of the ancient world as well…