Hoxhë Hasan Tahsini or simply Hoxha Tahsim (7 April 1811 – 3 July 1881) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

alim, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He was the first rector of

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

and one of the founders of the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights. Tahsini is regarded as one of the most prominent scholars of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

of the 19th century.

Early life

Hasan Tahsini was born in 1811 in the village of Ninat, Konispol, then part of the

. His father Osman

Efendi Effendi or effendy ( ; ; originally from ) is a title of nobility meaning ''sir'', ''lord'' or ''master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title itself and its other forms are originally derived from Medieval Greek ...

Rushiti was a member of the

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

. When he was young he worked as tutor to the sons of Hayrullah Efendi, Minister of Education of the

. Hayrullah Efendi later appointed Tahsini to the staff of the Ottoman school of Paris, where Tahsini taught Turkish and religious sciences, while also being the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of the Ottoman embassy and a student of mathematics and natural sciences at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He studied in Paris for twelve years after being sent there by Resid Pasha, who was trying to create a Westernized

elite. In 1869 Tahsini returned in the

to accompany the body of

Fuad Pasha Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1814 – February 12, 1869), sometimes known as Keçecizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha and commonly known as Fuad Pasha, was an Ottoman administrator and statesman, who is known for his prominent role in the Tanzimat reforms of the m ...

who had died in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionBilal Xhaferi.

Istanbul University

In 1870 he became the first rector of the newly established

, where he gave lectures on physics, astronomy and psychology. The government appointed Tahsini as rector as it was believed that he could establish a balance between western European and Islamic methods and ideologies. However, at that time Tahsini's scientific research and unreserved liberalism led to him being frequently attacked by conservative

circles The attacks against Tahsini began when he conducted experiments in order to illustrate the notion of

vacuum A vacuum (: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective (neuter ) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressur ...

to his students. Tahsini placed a pigeon underneath a glass bell, emptied the receptacle and the pigeon eventually suffocated proving Tahsini's theory. The conservative circles considered Tahsini's experiment as evidence of witchcraft and performance of magic. After the experiment he was declared a heretic through a

fatwa A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

, dismissed from the university, and disallowed to give lectures. The university was also closed for a period because Jamal-al-Din Afghani, another professor influenced by Tahsini, supported his theories.

Works

Tahsini wrote the first Turkish language treatise on psychology titled ''Psychology or the Science of Soul'', a work influenced by modernism and the first book whose title contained the word ''psychology''. He also wrote the first Turkish-language book on modern astronomy being also the first

popular science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

book in Turkish. Other works of Tahsini in the Turkish language include a translation of

Constantin François de Chassebœuf Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konstant ...

's ''Loi Naturelle''. Tahsini was a prominent member of the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights established in Istanbul, 1877. The Committee for Defending Albanian Rights appointed Tahsini along with Sami Frashëri, Pashko Vasa and Jani Vreto to create an Albanian alphabet which by 19 March 1879 the group approved Frashëri's 36 letter alphabet consisting mostly of Latin characters. Tahsini during the process had worked with Sami Frasheri, one of the most important figures of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

to develop a unique alphabet of the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

. According to Tahsini the alphabet was developed in such way that each letter required the least hand movements to be written.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahsini, Hasan 1811 births 1881 deaths Albanian writers Albanian mathematicians People from Konispol 19th-century Albanian educators French–Turkish translators Activists of the Albanian National Awakening 19th-century scientists from the Ottoman Empire Educators from the Ottoman Empire University of Paris alumni Cham Albanian people Albanian imams Albanian astronomers