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Kâtip Çelebi (), or Ḥājjī Khalīfa ()), Muṣṭafa Ben Hājī Khalīfah, Haji Khalifa, Hajji Khalifeh, Hazi Halife, Hadschi Chalfa, Khalfa, Kalfa, etc. (*1017 AH/1609 AD – d. 1068 AH/1657 AD); was a Turkish polymath and author of the 17th-century
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
. He compiled a vast universal encyclopaedia, the ''
Kaşf az-Zunūn Kashf al-Zunun 'an Asami al-Kutub wa al-Funun (''The Removal of Doubt from the Names of Books and the Arts'') is a bibliographic encyclopedia of books and sciences compiled by Turkish polymath Kâtip Çelebi. It was written in Arabic and was based ...
'', and wrote many treatises and essays. “A deliberate and impartial historian… of extensive learning”,
Franz Babinger Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published as ''Me ...
hailed him "the greatest encyclopaedist among the Ottomans." Writing with equal facility in ''Alsina-i Thalātha''the three languages of Ottoman imperial administration, Arabic, Turkish and Persian – principally in Arabic and then in Turkish, his native tongue he also collaborated on translations from French and Latin. The German orientalist
Gustav Flügel Carl Gustav Flügel (2 July 1812 – 15 August 1900) was a German composer. Life and work Ancestors and childhood Flügel was born on 2 July 1812 in Nienburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Nienburg an der Saale as the son of the ducal ferryman Johann Karl ...
published ''Kaşf az-Zunūn'' in the original
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
with parallel
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
translation, entitled ''Lexicon Bibliographicum et Encyclopaedicum'' (7 vols.).. The orientalist
Barthélemy d'Herbelot Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville (14 December 16258 December 1695) was a French Orientalist. Bibliography Born in Paris, he was educated at the University of Paris, and devoted himself to the study of oriental languages, going to Italy to pe ...
produced a French edition of the ''Kaşf az-Zunūn'' principally with additional material, in the great compendium, ''Bibliothèque Orientale''.


Life

His was born Muṣṭafa ibn 'Abd Allāh () in Istanbul in February 1609 (Dhu’l-Qa‘da 1017 AH). His father was a ''
sipahi ''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial '' timarli sipahi'', which constituted ...
'' (cavalrist) and ''silāhdār'' (sword bearer) of the
Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The name ...
and secretary in the ''Anadolı muhasebesi'' (financial administration) in Istanbul. His mother came from a wealthy Istanbul family. From age five or six he began learning the Qur’ān,
Arabic grammar Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities wi ...
and
calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...
, and at the age of fourteen his father found him a clerical position in the imperial financial bureaucracy. He excelled in penmanship, accountancy and ''siyāqat'' ("Treasury cipher"). As the accountant of the commissariat department of the
Ottoman army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
in
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, he fought alongside his father on the Terjan campaign (1624), and in the failed expedition to recapture Baghdād from Persian control (1625). On the return home his father died at
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
, and his uncle died a month later. In 1626–1627 he was at the siege of
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
. Çelebi had a love of learning from his father, and on his return to Istanbul in 1628 he attended the sermons of the charismatic preacher Qādīzāde, who inspired him to resume his studies. He continued for thirty-years, interrupted only for military service on campaigns to Baghdād (1629) and
Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...
(1630). In 1633 he left his corps' winter quarters in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
to make the
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
, earning the title ''Hajji''. Rejoining the imperial army at Diyarbakr, where he associated with scholars. He took part in the recapture of
Erivan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and ...
by Sultan Murad IV, and expedition to
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
, and Baghdād (1629-1631). On his return in 1635 to Istanbul, Mehmed Kalfa, an old associate of his father's, secured him an apprentice position as ''Khalifa'' (second clerk), in the Audit Office of the Cavalry. He later obtained a post in the head office of the Commissariat Department. In 1645 a legacy left to him by a wealthy relative enabled him to dedicate himself fulltime to scholarship and acquire books. With his master and friend A'rej Mustafa Efendi, he studied the commentary of al-Baydawi, ''The Roots of Law'', commentaries on ''Ashkāl al-ta’sīs'' (Ideal Forms), ''al-Mulakhkhas'' (Summary) of Chaghmīnī, '' ‘arūd'' ( prosody) of Andalusī, and
Ulugh Beg Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh ( chg, میرزا محمد طارق بن شاہ رخ, fa, میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاہ رخ), better known as Ulugh Beg () (22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as ...
’s '' Zīj'' (
Almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...
). He also attended the '' ders-i 'amm'' (lecturers),
Kurd ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
'Abd Allāh Efendi at Ayia Sophia and Kechi Mehmed Efendi at the Suleymānīye. In 1642 in order to carry on the chain of oral teaching he attended Veli Efendi's lectures on the ''Nukhba'', the ''Alfiya'', and ''The Principles of Tradition''. He also studied the ''Tawdīh'', Isfahānī, Qādī-Mīr, ''al-Maqāsid'' (Object of Search), th
Ādāb al-bahth (Rules of Disputation)
Fanārī, the Tahdhīb and the ''Shamsiya''. He taught medicine, geography, geometry, the ''Sí fasl'' ('Thirty Sections') and the ''Bīst bāb'' ('Twenty Chapters') on the
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
, ''Elements of Accidence'', ''al-Fanārī'', the ''Shamsīya'' on
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...
, ''Jāmī'', ''
Mukhtasar Mukhtaṣar ( ar, المختصر), in Islamic law, refers to a concise handbook of legal treatises, characterized by neatness and clarity. ''Mukhtasar''s originated during the Abbasid caliphate and were created as a method to facilitate the quick ...
'', '' Farā’id'', '' Multaqā'', ''Durar'', and Ali Qushji's treatises titled ''al-Muhammadiya'' on
arithmetic Arithmetic () is an elementary part of mathematics that consists of the study of the properties of the traditional operations on numbers— addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extraction of roots. In the 19th ...
and ''al-Fathīya'' on
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
. He wrote his teaching method was “to enter every plurality by way of unity, and to master first principles by comprehending universals.” The astronomer Mevlana Mehmed ibn Ahmed Rumi al-Aqhisar was among those who attended his lectures. His research ranged across
lexicology Lexicology is the branch of linguistics that analyzes the lexicon of a specific language. A word is the smallest meaningful unit of a language that can stand on its own, and is made up of small components called morphemes and even smaller eleme ...
, ''
fiqh ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
'' (jurisprudence),
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...
,
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...
, ''
tafsīr Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
'' (Qur’ānic exegesis) and '' hadīth'' (Qur’ānic tradition), mathematics, medicine, mysteries of religion, astronomy, genealogy, history and chronicling. Among his academic circle he acquired the sobriquet “''Kâtip Çelebi''” (Learned Scribe). "Khatib" refers to a government clerk and "Chelebi" was used either for Ottoman princes or for scholars not part of the official hierarchy. His theology is described as Islamic orthodoxy combined with adherence to ''Ishrāqī'' ( Illuminationist philosophy). The politician Köprülü Mehmed Paşa was a friend. It seems his tireless dedication to an arduous study regime, may have contributed to ill health and premature death in 1657 from a heart-attack, aged just 49. On his death Kâtip Çelebi left unfinished works. His only son died young and in 1659, after his widow was deceased, his library was partly acquired by Levinus Warner for
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...
(Legatum Warnerianum). Çelebi’s taste for book acquisition had begun in
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
, and he would later expend a substantial part of his inheritance building his famous library, which came to be the largest in Istanbul in its day.


Works

Kâtip Çelebi was most productive in the decade up to his death in 1657. He authored at least 23 books, in addition to shorter essays and treatises: * ''Fadhlakat al-Tawārīkh'' ('Compendium History') (1639); summary account of 150 dynasties. ''Fadhlakat''; i) Arabic edition from
Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...
to c. 1639. ''Fezliké''; ii) Turkish edition from 1000 AH to c. 1655. Index of 1,300 sources from original manuscript is lost. * ''Taqwīm at-Tawārikh'' (), ('Calendar of Histories' or ‘Chronological Tables’) (1648); Universal history from Creation of Adam until the year 1648. Written as an index to ''Fadhlaka'' partly in Turkish and partly in Persian. In 1697 Gio. Rinaldo Carli’s Italian translation was published titled ''Cronologia Historica''. * ''Cihânnümâ'', (var., ''Djihān-numā'', ''Jihannuma'' ) () (‘View of the World’); Two-part geographic dictionary begun in 1648: part I - seas, their configuration and islands; part II - countries, rivers, mountains, roads and lands newly discovered since the 15th century (i.e. America). Çelebi based the work on ''Lawāmi’ al-Nūr'' (‘Flashes of Light’) a translation by Mehmed Ikhlāsī’ from the Latin work ''Atlas Minor'' by
Gerardus Mercator Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented ...
(in the version published by
Jodocus Hondius Jodocus Hondius (Latinized version of his Dutch name: ''Joost de Hondt'') (17 October 1563 – 12 February 1612) was a Flemish and Dutch engraver and cartographer. He is sometimes called Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from hi ...
in Arnhem in 1621) ; the first use of European atlases and sources in Ottoman literature. * '' Kashf aẓ-Ẓunūn ‘an 'asāmī ‘l-Kutub wa'l-funūn'' () (‘Opinion’s Scrutiny of the Names of Books and the Sciences’). Begun in Aleppo in 1042 AH/1632 AD and completed in about 1062 AH/1652 AD, it is a vast bibliographic-
biographical dictionary A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in ''Who's Who'', or deceased people onl ...
in Arabic, and a research-tool for scholars. Its list, approx. 15,000 Arabic, Persian and Turkish titles, 9500 authors and 300 arts and sciences, comprises the most extensive bibliographical dictionary of Islamic literature. It was published as ''Lexicon Bibliographicum et Encyclopaedicum'' in Latin in 7 vols. * ''Düstûr ül-Amel fî Islâh il-Halel'' / ''Dustūr al-amal li islāh al-khalal'' () ('Code of Practice for the Rectification of Defects', or 'Instructions for the Reform of Abuses') (1653); This essay on the conduct of the State was published within a couple of years of
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...
’s Leviathan, and contains some interesting parallels. * ''Qānūnnāme-i tashrīfāt'' (‘Code of Ceremonies') (1653) * ''Rajm al-rajīm bi’l-sīn wa’l-jīm'' (‘The Stoning of the Accursed with ''Sīn'' and ''Jīm''’); a collection of
fatwas A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
(legal rulings). * '' Mīzān al-ḥaqq fī iḫtiyār al-aḥaqq'' ( ar, ميزان الحق في التصوف) (1656); ('Scales of Truth in the Choice of the Righteous One', or 'True Scales for the Detection of Truth'); “The Balance of Truth”; English translation and notes by Geoffrey L. Lewis (1957). * ''Tarih-i Frengi'' - Translation of the ''Chronique de Jean Carrion'' (Paris, 1548) * ''Rawnaq al-Sultāna'' – ('Splendour of the Sultanate'); translation of the ''Historia rerum in Oriente gestarum'' (Frankfurt, 1587). A history of Constantinople. * ''Tuḥfat al-kibār fī asfār al-Bihār'' () ('A Gift to the Great concerning Naval Expeditions') (1656) –''The History of the Maritime Wars of the Turks'' (1831) English translation by James Mitchell. * ''Sullam al-Wuṣūl ilā Ṭabaqāt al-Fuḥūl'' () ('Ladder Leading to the Strata of the Eminent') (1651/2) Biographical dictionary of 8561 scholars, ancient and modern, to the letter ''
Ṯāʾ () is one of the six letters the Arabic alphabet added to the twenty-two from the Phoenician alphabet (the others being , , , , ). In Modern Standard Arabic it represents the voiceless dental fricative , also found in English as the " th" in ...
'', counterpart to ''Kashf al-Ẓunūn''. Critical edition 2009. * ''Tuḥfat al-Akhyār fī’l-Hukam wa-l’Amthāl wa-l’Asha’ār'' () (‘The Precious Gift of the Elect, on Maxims, Proverbs, and Poems’) (1653); completed to the letter '' Jīm''. * ''Rumeli und Bosna'', geographical treatise (tr. German)


Legacy

The İzmir Kâtip Çelebi University in
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
is named after him, and The Newton-Katip Çelebi Fund operates an exchange program for science and innovation between Turkey and the UK.


See also

*
Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * '' Encyclopædia of Islam'' (Leiden, 1954) vol. 4, s.v
Ḥād̲j̲d̲j̲ī K̲h̲alīfai
* * * * *
(Vol.,2; Leipzig, 1837)(Vol.,3; London, 1842)(Vol.,4; London, 1845)(Vol.,5; London, 1850)(Vol.,6; London, 1852)
* * * * * * * * * ; Attribution *


External links

* *
"Kâtip Çelebi"
at the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Celebi, Katip 1609 births 1657 deaths 17th-century biographers 17th-century historians from the Ottoman Empire Arabic-language writers from the Ottoman Empire Bibliographers Chroniclers Geographers from the Ottoman Empire Hanafis Maturidis Encyclopedists from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars Writers from Istanbul Turkish biographers Turkish economists Turkish essayists Turks from the Ottoman Empire Scholars of the Ottoman Empire Muslim historians of Islam