Series | Eurasian Studies
Edited book | Riflessi e ombre nel Mar Bianco
Chapter | Leggere Ruscelli a Istanbul
Leggere Ruscelli a Istanbul
L’incontro di un müderris ottomano con un’opera di cartografia rinascimentale
Abstract
This essay reconstructs a largely forgotten project by a group of late sixteenth‑century Ottoman intellectuals to challenge traditional cosmographic knowledge, and to introduce the principles of modern mathematical cartography, through the systematic engagement with material from recently published Italian printed texts. It does so by comparing three different manuscript versions of Sipahizade Mehmed’s Kitāb‑ı Evẓaḥ al‑Mesālik ilā Maʿrifeti’l‑Buldān ve’l‑Memālik (The Conspicuous Pathways to Knowledge of Kingdoms and Countries), an encyclopaedia of world geography that the author progressively developed and rewrote over the course of nearly two decades, between the early 1560s and the 1580s. The final of these versions, containing the most radically new ideas on world geography, exists today in a single, incomplete copy from the eighteenth century – possibly an indication that its content was considered politically unpalatable by Sipahizade’s most influential colleagues.
Submitted: June 26, 2023 | Accepted: Sept. 7, 2023 | Published Feb. 21, 2024 | Language: it
Keywords Ottoman geography • Ottoman cartography • Sipahizade Mehmed • Ottoman cartography • Science • Islam • Girolamo Ruscelli
Copyright © 2024 Giancarlo Casale. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-794-4/003
