III. Selim
CKM 2019-20 / Aziz Yardımlı

 

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III. Selim



  Selim III 1761-1808 1789-1807
“Valide (Yeni) Mosque & The Port of İstanbul,” Jean-Baptiste Hilair, 1789. (W)
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DESCRIPTION

Yeni Camii and The Port of İstanbul

Jean-Baptiste Hilair [Hilaire]

Watercolor on paper, 40.5 x 57.5 cm
1789

A student of Jean-Baptiste Leprince, French artist Jean-Baptiste Hilair(1753, Audun-le-Tiche – after 1822, Paris) painted landscapes with figures, portraits, depictions of local figures and genre scenes. Recognized mostly for his drawings and watercolors, Hilaire’s works clearly manifest the influence of his teacher. Hilaire accompanied the French Ambassador Comte (Count) Choiseul-Gouffier on his trip to the Aegean in 1776. In Voyagé Pittoresque de la Gréce, the first edition of which was released in 1782 after this extensive journey, the majority of the engravings are reproduced from Hilaire’s paintings. When Choiseul- Gouffier was appointed as ambassador to İstanbul, Hilaire accompanied him to the city. Many of the engravings in Tableau Général de l'Empire Othoman by Ignatius Mouradja d’Ohsson, the dragoman of the Swedish Embassy and private secretary of King Gustav III, are also based on Hilaire’s work. The artist participated Salon de la Jeunesse in 1780 and Salon de la Correspondance in 1782 with his landscape depicting eastern figures among architectural ruins.

As one might conclude from the note the artist inscribed in the lower section of the painting, this work reveals the loading of the antiques collected by French Ambassador Choiseul-Gouffier on boat, to be shipped to France. Choiseul-Gouffier, who, together with Hilair, arrived in the Ottoman Empire for the first time in 1776 to map the Aegean, extensively used Hilair’s paintings in his book, Voyagé Pittoresque de la Gréce. This collaboration between artist and the diplomat, who had a penchant for Antiquity, persevered after Choiseul-Gouffier was appointed as ambassador to İstanbul in 1784.

In the lower left section of the painting, one can see the antiques being transported to caiques. Despite the fact that the painting is the depiction of a particular event, the view of the Port before the city silhouette defined by monumental buildings, as well as the routine of daily life also come to the fore. The views of the Golden Horn and the Port, which include local figures smoking pipes, chatting, waiting to embark the boat, are compositions that frequently appear in Hilair’s paintings of İstanbul.

 




Selim III (W)

Selim III 1761-1808 1789-1807 (W)


Selim III
Born: 24 December 1761 Died: 28 July 1808
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Abdul Hamid I
Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
7 April 1789 - 29 May 1807
Succeeded by
Mustafa IV
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by
Abdul Hamid I
Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate
7 April 1789 - 29 May 1807
Succeeded by
Mustafa IV

📂 DATA

28th Ottoman Sultan (Emperor)
Reign 7 April 1789 - 29 May 1807
Predecessor Abdul Hamid I
Successor Mustafa IV
 
Born 24 December 1761
Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Died 28 July 1808 (aged 46)
Topkapı Palace, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Burial
Consorts Safizar Kadın
Aynısafa Kadın
Zibifer Kadın
Tabısafa Kadın
Refet Kadın
Nurușems Kadın
Hüsnümah Kadın
Full name
Selim bin Mustafa
Dynasty Ottoman
Father Mustafa III
Mother Mihrişah Sultan
Religion Sunni Islam

 



Family

Family (W)

Consorts

Selim had seven wives:

  • Safizar Kadın (died at Topkapı Palace, 29 May 1792, buried in Mustafa III Mausoleum, Laleli Mosque, Istanbul), Senior Consort;
  • Aynısafa Kadın;
  • Zibifer Kadın (died at Beylerbeyi Palace, 30 January 1817 , buried in Selimiye Mosque, Üsküdar, Istanbul), Second Consort;
  • Tabısafa Kadın (died at Fındıklı Palace, 15 March 1855, buried in Mustafa III Mausoleum, Laleli Mosque, Istanbul), Third Consort;
  • Refet Kadın (died at Beșiktaș Palace, 22 October 1867, buried in Mihrişah Sultan Mausoleum, Eyüp Cemetery, Istanbul), Fourth Consort;
  • Nuruşems Kadın (died at Kuruçeșme Palace, May 1826, buried in Mustafa III Mausoleum, Laleli Mosque, Istanbul), Fifth Consort;
  • Hüsnümah Kadın (died 1814, buried in Mustafa III Mausoleum, Laleli Mosque, Istanbul), Sixth Consort;

 




 
   

Selim III (Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثالث Selīm-i sālis) (24 December 1761 - 28 July 1808) was the reform-minded Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. The Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV. Selim was subsequently killed by a group of assassins.

Selim III was the son of Sultan Mustafa III and his wife Mihrişah Sultan. His mother Mihrişah Sultan originated in Georgia, and when she became the Valide Sultan, she participated in reforming the government schools and establishing political corporations. His father Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III was very well educated and believed in the necessity of reforms. Mustafa III attempted to create a powerful army during the peacetime with professional, well-educated soldiers. This was primarily motivated by his fear of a Russian invasion. During the Russo-Turkish War, he fell ill and died of a heart attack in 1774. Sultan Mustafa was aware of the fact that a military reform was necessary. He declared new military regulations and opened maritime and artillery academies.

Sultan Mustafa was very influenced by mysticism. Oracles predicted his son Selim would be a world-conqueror, so he organized a joyous feast lasting seven days. Selim was very well educated in the palace. Sultan Mustafa III bequeathed his son as his successor; however, Selim's uncle Abdul Hamid I ascended the throne after Mustafa's death. Sultan Abdul Hamid I took care of Selim and put great emphasis on his education.

After Abdul Hamid's death, Selim succeeded him on 7 April 1789, not yet 27 years old. Sultan Selim III was very fond of literature and calligraphy; many of his works were put on the walls of mosques and convents. He wrote many poems, especially about Crimea's occupation by Russia. He spoke Arabic and Persian fluently. Selim III was very religious, and very patriotic. He was a poet, a musician and very fond of fine arts.

Selim was a very modern man and a reformist ruler.


Selim III receiving dignitaries at an audience at the Gate of Felicity, Topkapı Palace.

 

 
Reign

Plans of reforms

Plans of reforms (W)

The talents and energy with which Selim III was endowed had endeared him to the people, and great hopes were founded on his accession. He had associated much with foreigners, and was thoroughly persuaded of the necessity of reforming his state.

However, Austria and Russia gave him no time for anything but defense, and it was not until the Peace of Iaşi (1792) that a breathing space was allowed him in Europe, while Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt and Syria soon called for the empire’s strongest efforts.

Selim III profited by the respite to abolish the military tenure of fiefs; he introduced salutary reforms into the administration, especially in the fiscal department, sought by well-considered plans to extend the spread of education, and engaged foreign officers as instructors, by whom a small corps of new troops called nizam-i-jedid were collected and drilled in 1797. This unit was composed of Turkish peasant youths from Anatolia and supplied with modern weaponry.

These troops were able to hold their own against rebellious Janissaries in the Balkan provinces such as the Sanjak of Smederevo against its appointed Vizier Hadži Mustafa Pasha, where disaffected governors made no scruple of attempting to make use of them against the reforming sultan.

Emboldened by this success, Selim III issued an order that in future picked men should be taken annually from the Janissaries to serve in the nizam-i-jedid. Selim III was unable to integrate the nizam-i jedid with the rest of the army which overall limited its role in the defense of the state.

 



Foreign relations

Foreign relations (W)

 

Selim III ascended the throne only to find that the Ottoman Empire of old had been considerably reduced due to conflicts outside the realm. From the north Russia had taken the Black Sea through the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774. Selim realized the importance of diplomatic relations with other nations, and pushed for permanent embassies in the courts of all the great nations of Europe, a hard task because of religious prejudice towards Muslims. Even with the religious obstacles, resident embassies were established in Britain, France, Prussia and Austria. Selim, a cultured poet and musician, carried on an extended correspondence with Louis XVI. Although distressed by the establishment of the republic in France, Ottoman government was soothed by French representatives in Constantinople who maintained the goodwill of various influential personages.

On 1 July 1798, however, French forces landed in Egypt, and Selim declared war on France. In alliance with Russia and Britain, the Turks were in periodic conflict with the French on both land and sea until March 1801. Peace came in June 1802, The following year brought trouble in the Balkans. For decades a sultan's word had had no power in outlying provinces, prompting Selim's reforms of the military in order to reimpose central control. This desire was not fulfilled. One rebellious leader was Austrian-backed Osman Pazvantoğlu, whose invasion of Wallachia in 1801 inspired Russian intervention, resulting in greater autonomy for the Dunubian provinces. Serbian conditions also deteriorated. They took a fateful turn with the return of the hated Janissaries, ousted 8 years before. These forces murdered Selim's enlightened governor, ending the best rule this province had had in the last 100 years. Neither arms nor diplomacy could restore Ottoman authority.

French influence with the Sublime Porte (the European diplomatic designation of the Ottoman state) did not revive but it then led the Sultan into defying both St. Petersburg and London, and Turkey joined Napoleon’s Continental System. War was declared on Russia on 27 December and on Britain in March 1807.

 

Ottoman troops desperately attempt to halt advancing Russians during the Siege of Ochakov (1788).
 

📥 French campaign in Egypt and Syria (W)

 




 



Janissary revolt

Janissary revolt (W)

 

The Sultan's most ambitious military project was the creation of an entirely new infantry corps fully trained and equipped according to the latest European standards. This unit, called the nizam-i jedid (the new order), was formed in 1797 and adopted a pattern of recruitment that was uncommon for the imperial forces; it was composed of Turkish peasant youths from Anatolia, a clear indication that the devshirme system was no longer functional. Officered and trained by Europeans, the nizam-i jedid was outfitted with modern weapons and French-style uniforms. By 1806 the new army numbered around 23,000 troops, including a modern artillery corps, and its units performed effectively in minor actions. But Selim III's inability to integrate the force with the regular army and his reluctance to deploy it against his domestic opponents limited its role in defending the state it was created to preserve.

From the start of Selim's reign, the Janissaries had viewed this entire program of military reform as a threat to their independence, and they refused to serve alongside the new army in the field. The powerful derebeys were alarmed by the way in which the sultan financed his new forces — he confiscated timars and directed the other revenue toward the nizam-i jedid. Further opposition came from the ulama and other members of the ruling elite who objected to the European models on which Selim based his military reforms.

Led by the rebellious Janissaries, these forces came together in 1806, deposed Selim III, and selected a successor, Mustafa IV, who pledged not to interfere with their privileges. The decree of deposition accused Selim III of failing to respect the religion of Islam and the tradition of the Ottomans. Over the course of the next year, the embassies in Europe were dismantled, the nizam-i jedid troops were dispersed, and the deposed sultan, whose cautious military reforms were intended to do no more than preserve the tradition of the Ottomans, was murdered.

 



Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791)

Austro-Turkish War (1787-1791) (W)

The Austro-Turkish War of 1787 was an inconclusive struggle between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. It took place concomitantly with the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792 during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim III.

 

📥 Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791) (W)

 




 



Russo-Turkish war

Russo-Turkish war (W)

The first major Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) began after Turkey demanded that Russia’s ruler, Catherine II the Great, abstain from interfering in Poland’s internal affairs. The Russians went on to win impressive victories over the Turks. They captured Azov, the Crimea, and Bessarabia, and under Field Marshal Pyotr Rumyantsev they overran Moldavia and also defeated the Turks in Bulgaria. The Turks were compelled to seek peace, which was concluded in the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. This treaty made the Crimean khanate independent of the Turkish sultan advanced the Russian frontier. Russia was now in a much stronger position to expand, and in 1783 Catherine annexed the Crimean Peninsula outright.

War broke out in 1787, with Austria again on the side of Russia. Under General Alexander Suvorov, the Russians won several victories that gave them control of the lower Dniester and Danube rivers, and further Russian successes compelled the Turks to sign the Treaty of Jassy on 9 Jan. 1792. By this treaty Turkey ceded the entire western Ukrainian Black Sea coast to Russia. When Turkey deposed the Russophile governors of Moldavia and Walachia in 1806, war broke out again, though in a desultory fashion, since Russia was reluctant to concentrate large forces against Turkey while its relations with Napoleonic France were so uncertain. But in 1811, with the prospect of a war between France and Russia in sight, the latter sought a quick decision on its southern frontier. The Russian field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov’s victorious campaign of 1811-12 forced the Turks to sign the Treaty of Bucharest on 18 May 1812. Ending the war that had begun in 1806, this peace agreement established the Ottoman cession of Bessarabia to Russia.

The Russians also secured amnesty and a promise of autonomy for the Serbs, who had been rebelling against Turkish rule, but Turkish garrisons were given control of the Serbian fortresses. Implementation of the treaty was forestalled by a number of disputes, and Turkish troops invaded Serbia again the following year.

 

📥 Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) (W)

 




 

📥 Russo-Turkish War (1787-1792) (W)

 




 



Relations with Tipu Sultan

Relations with Tipu Sultan (W)

Tipu Sultan was an independent ruler of the Sultanate of Mysore, with high regards of loyalty to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. He had urgently requested Ottoman assistance during the Third Anglo-Mysore War, in which he had suffered an irreversible defeat. Tipu Sultan then began to consolidate his relations with France. In an attempt to junction with Tipu Sultan, Napoleon invaded Ottoman Egypt in the year 1798, causing a furor in Constantinople.

The British then appealed to Selim III to send a letter to Tipu Sultan requesting the Sultanate of Mysore to halt its state of war against the British East India Company. Selim III then wrote a letter to Tipu Sultan criticizing the French, and also informed Tipu Sultan that the Ottomans would act as intermediary between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British. Tipu Sultan wrote twice to Selim III, rejecting the advice of the Ottomans, unfortunately before most of his letters could arrive in Constantinople, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out and Tipu Sultan was killed during the Siege of Seringapatam (1799).

 

📥 Kingdom of Mysore (W)

 




 

📥 Third Anglo-Mysore War (W)

 




 



 
The 1806 Edirne Incident

The 1806 Edirne Incident

The 1806 Edirne Incident (W)

The 1806 Edirne Incident was an armed confrontation between the New Order Troops (Nizam-i Djedit) of Ottoman Sultan Selim III and a coalition of Balkan magnates, ayans, and the region's Janissary garrisons that occurred in Thrace throughout the summer of 1806. The cause of the incident was Selim III's attempt to expand the New Order's permanent presence into Rumelia through the establishment of New Order barracks in the region's cities. The ultimate outcome of the confrontation was the retreat of imperial forces back to Istanbul and to Anatolia, constituting a deathblow to Selim III's ambitions of expanding his reformed army, as well as a major blow to his legitimacy. This deteriorated image would result in his deposition the following May.

 



 
Downfall and assassination

Downfall and assassination

Downfall and assassination (W)

Selim III was, however, thoroughly under the influence of French ambassador to the Porte Horace Sébastiani, and the fleet was compelled to retire without effecting its purpose. But the anarchy, manifest or latent, existing throughout the provinces proved too great for Selim III to cope with. The Janissaries rose once more in revolt, induced the Sheikh ul-Islam to grant a fetva against the reforms, dethroned and imprisoned Selim III, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne, as Mustafa IV (1807-08), on May 29, 1807

The ayan of Rustchuk, Alemdar Mustafa, a strong partisan of the reforms, collected an army of 40,000 men and marched on Constantinople with the purpose of reinstating Selim III, but he came too late. The ill-fated reforming Sultan had been stabbed in the seraglio by the Chief Black Eunuch and his men. Upon his arrival in the capital, Bairakdar's only resource was to wreak his vengeance on Mustafa IV and to place on the throne Mahmud II (1808-1839), the sole surviving member of the house of Osman.

Another version about his murder states that at the time of his deposition, Selim was staying at the Harem. The night of Thursday, 28 July 1808, he was with his favourite wife, Re'fet Kadın, and a lady-in-waiting Pakize Hanım in attendance. Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, a loyalist of Selim, was approaching the city with his army to reinstate Selim. Therefore, Mustafa IV gave orders to murder him and his brother Prince Mahmud.

The assassins were apparently a group of men, including the Master of the Wardrobe called Fettah the Georgian, the Treasury steward Ebe Selim, and black eunuch named Nezir Ağa. Selim apparently knew his end was coming when he saw their swords drawn. Pakize Hanım threw herself between them and her lord, she was cut in her hand. Re’fet Kadın started screaming in terror, another slave girl who rushed in fainted when she saw what was about to happen. A struggle ensued and the former sultan was cut down and murdered, his last words apparently being "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").

Re'fet Kadın threw herself on the body but was dragged away. The body was quickly wrapped in a quilt. The assassins moved on to find Prince Mahmud and attempt to murder him too. He was more fortunate though and later ordered the assassins to be executed. Selim III would be the only Ottoman sultan to be killed by the sword. He was buried in Laleli Mosque near his father's tomb.

 



 
Interest in poetry and arts

Interest in poetry and arts

Interest in poetry and arts (W)

A great lover of music, Sultan Selim III was a composer and performer of significant talent. He created fourteen makam-s (melodic types), three of which are in current use today. Sixty-four compositions by Selim III are known today, some of which are part of the regular repertory of Turkish classical music performerance. Aside from composing music, Selim III also performed on the ney (reed flute) and tanbur (long-necked, fretted lute).

Selim III's interest in music started in his days as a prince (shahzade) when he studied under Kırımlı Ahmet Kamil Efendi and Tanburi İzak Efendi. He was especially respectful of Tanburi İzak Efendi, and it is recounted that the Sultan rose in respect when Tanburi İzak Efendi entered the court.

As a patron of the arts, Selim III encouraged musicians of his day, including Dede Efendi and Baba Hamparsum. The Hamparsum notation system that Selim commissioned became the dominant notation for Turkish and Armenian music. His name is associated with a school in Classical Turkish Music due to the revival and rebirth of music at his court. Selim III was also interested in western music and in 1797 invited an opera troupe for the first opera performance in the Ottoman Empire.

Writing under the nom de plume ″İlhami″, Selim's poetry is collected in a divan. Among regular attendees of his court were Şeyh Galib, considered one of the four greatest Ottoman poets. Galib is now considered to have been not only an intimate friend of the Sultan, as they were both quite close in age, but through Galib's poetry you find an overwhelming support for his new military reforms.

Selim III was a member of the Mevlevi Order of Sufi Whirling Dervishes, and entered into the order at the Galata Mevlevihanesi under the name ″Selim Dede". He was a renowned composer, creating many musical compositions, including a Mevlevi ayin, a long and complex liturgical form performed during the semâ (religious ceremonies) of the Mevlana (Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi) Tariqah of Sufi Whirling Mystics, in makam Suzidilara.

He extended his patronage to Antoine Ignace Melling, whom he appointed as the court architect in 1795. Melling constructed a number of palaces and other buildings for the Sultan and created engravings of contemporary Constantinople.

 



 
Ancestry

Ancestry

Ancestry (W)

 



 
Bibliography

Bibliography

Bibliography (W)

  • Basaran, Betul, Selim III, Social Control and Policing in Istanbul at the End of the Eighteenth Century: Between Crisis and Order, Leiden: Brill, 2014
  • Malecka, Anna. "The mystery of the Nur al-Ayn diamond", in: Gems and Jewellery, August/September 2014, pp. 20-22.
  • Stanford, Shaw. "The Origins of Ottoman Military Reform: The Nizam-I Cedid Army of Sultan Selim III". The Journal of Modern History. 37: 291. doi:10.1086/600691. JSTOR 1875404.
  • Shaw, Stanford Jay. Between old and new: the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim III, 1789-1807 (Harvard University Press, 1971)
  • Tuncay Zorlu, Sultan Selim III and the Modernisation of the Ottoman Navy (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011).

 



 




The Grand Vizier’s Tent. (L)
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📂 Subject


 



 
   

Selim III — OTTOMAN SULTAN (B)

Selim III — OTTOMAN SULTAN (B)

Selim III, (born Dec. 24, 1761, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey] — died July 29, 1808, Constantinople), Ottoman sultan from 1789 to 1807, who undertook a program of Westernization and whose reign felt the intellectual and political ferment created by the French Revolution.

A poet and an accomplished composer of Ottoman classical music, Selim had enjoyed greater freedom prior to his accession than the Ottoman princes before him. Influenced by his father, Mustafa III (reigned 1757-74), Selim had acquired a zeal for reform.

When Selim succeeded his uncle Abdülhamid I (April 7, 1789), he attempted to end the social, economic, and administrative chaos facing the empire. He set up a committee of reformers (1792-93) and promulgated a series of new regulations collectively known as the nizam-ı cedid (“new order”). These included reforms of provincial governorships, taxation, and land tenure. More significant were his military reforms: in addition to new military and naval schools, he founded new corps of infantry trained and equipped along European lines and financed by revenues from forfeited and escheated fiefs and by taxes on liquor, tobacco, and coffee. Finally, to provide for direct contact with the West, Ottoman embassies were opened in the major European capitals.

Selim, who came to the throne during a war (1787-92) with Austria and Russia, was compelled to conclude the treaties of Sistova (Svishtov; 1791) with Austria and of Jassy (1792) with Russia. In 1798 Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt drove Selim into alliance with Great Britain and Russia. After the French evacuated Egypt (1801), Selim, dazzled by Napoleon’s successes in Europe, not only recognized him as emperor (1804) but also, under the influence of General Sébastiani, Napoleon’s ambassador in Constantinople, declared war (1806) on Russia and Great Britain.

Selim’s reorganizations and the increasing influence of France evoked a strong reaction from the conservative coalition of the Janissaries, the ulama (men of religious learning), and others adversely affected by the reforms. Selim, on the other hand, lacked the determination to enforce the measures. In 1805, when he ordered the reorganization of troops in the Balkan provinces, the Janissaries mutinied in Edirne (in Thracian Turkey) and were joined by the ayan (local notables), who hitherto had supported the sultan. Selim halted the reorganization and dismissed his reformist advisers. Finally, in 1807, a mutiny of the yamaks (auxiliary levies) compelled Selim to abolish the nizam-ı cedid reforms and culminated in his imprisonment. In the ensuing months of confusion, the reformists rallied around Bayrakdar Mustafa, pasha of Rusçuk (now Ruse, Bulg.), who marched to Constantinople to restore Selim. Bayrakdar took the city, but in the meantime Selim had been strangled on orders from his successor, Mustafa IV.

 

 








  Nizam-ı Cedid

Nizam-ı Cedid (W)

Nizam-ı Cedid (W)

 
   

The Nizam-i Djedid (Ottoman Turkish: نظام جديد, Niẓām-ı Cedīd; "New Order") was a series of reforms carried out by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in a drive to catch up militarily and politically with the Western Powers. The New Order regime was launched by Selim III and a coalition of reformers. The central objective was the creation of a professional army along European lines and a private treasury to finance military spending, as well as other administrative reforms. The age of the New Order can be generally said to have lasted from 1789 to 1807, ending with the deposition of Selim III by a Janissary coup.

While the term “New Order” eventually came to encompass all of Selim III’s reforms, the name was used contemporaneously to refer only to the reform’s central innovation: the New Order Army. While that army was largely a failure in its own time, it reflects an important step in the stages of Ottoman attempts at reform in the Modern period. Selim III’s desire for an army necessitated far-reaching changes in the bureaucracy and structure of the Ottoman Empire, and profoundly reorganized contemporary Ottoman politics.

The New Order, writes historian Stanford Shaw, reflects a profound shift in Ottoman thinking on how to confront the West; where hitherto Ottomans had conceived of beating the West by returning to the glory days of the 16th century, the Nizam-i Djedid reforms were premised on the idea that Western ideas and processes had to be adopted in order to restore Ottoman global prestige.

 
Etimology

Etimology

Etimology (W)

Nizam and cedid are loanwords from Arabic in Turkish. The equivalent phrase in Arabic would be النظام الجدید, An-Niẓām Al-Jadīd, meaning "new order". Instead, the adjective phrase is constructed using Persian rules, as is common in Ottoman Turkish.

Selim III’s forces were designed to be a new force to counterbalance the Janissaries, which were regularly accused of being both ineffectual and of holding too much political power. The irony, however, was that yenicheri, the Turkish word for Janissaries, also means “new army” - thus leading to the designation of Nizam-i Cedid, “New Order,” forces instead.

 



 
Origins

Origins

Origins (W)

The mid-to-late 18th century witnessed increasing great power competition as new empires — most notably Britain and France — arose and consolidated their respective dominions. The Ottoman Empire increasingly seemed to be falling behind their rivals — especially Russia and Austria, who had each dealt the Ottoman regime several defeats since the 1760s.

The most notable of these was the 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which resulted in the loss of the Crimea to Russia. Russia also was given major concessions: for its ships to sail freely in the Black Sea, access to the Mediterranean, as well as consulates and an embassy in Ottoman territory.

In 1774, Sultan Mustafa summed up the atmosphere of the time in verse: “The world is in decay, do not think it will be right with us; The state has declined into meanness and vulgarity, Everyone at the court is concerned with pleasure; Nothing remains for us but divine mercy”. He died shortly thereafter. While his successor and brother Abdulhamid I initiated a second war in an attempt to reclaim what had been lost in Crimea, it was a disaster.

A decisive battle in 1789 became a show of Ottoman military weakness: 120,000 Janissaries were defeated by 8,000 Russian troops on the shores of the Danube. New Order reformers argued that the Janissary corps had grown from a hardened fighting force into an entrenched interest group with little interest in training and fighting.

In 1789, Selim III inherited the throne from his uncle Abdulhamid at the age of 28. He also inherited the Second Russian-Turkish War, which resulted in a humiliating loss for the empire and reinforcement of the disaster of Küçük Kaynarca at the Treaty of Jassy in 1792. Selim headed a coalition of reformers and quickly convened a consultative assembly to advance tajdid, or renewal.

While Selim III often receives credit for the military reforms, he was hardly the sole instigator. Ideas for reform — especially of military reform — had preoccupied the Ottoman political class for nearly a century before Selim III took the throne. The first Western-style military training {!} in the Ottoman world was done without the Sultan’s knowledge. In 1790, as Stanford Shaw documents, Koca Yusuf Pasha organized a separate corps to drill a select core of soldiers in the midst of the Second Russian-Turkish War (Shaw 294).

 



 
Reforms

Reforms

Reforms (W)

The primary focus on the New Order reforms — for which all others were named — was military reform. Selim III, having seen his armies easily routed by European forces, brought foreign lecturers to serve as military advisers and organized two colleges — for Naval and Army Engineering, respectively — along European lines, with French as the language of instruction. Selim also embarked on an institutional reorganization of the Armed Forces, bringing Artillery and Transportation into the same department. The investment quickly paid results — several hundred New Order forces widely outperformed conventional Ottoman troops in the 1799 defense of Acre against Napoleon Bonaparte.

The greatest threat to the New Order remained the Janissaries. Indeed, “[the Janissaries’] shortcomings were simply indicative of deeper financial, organizational and disciplinary problems affecting the Ottoman state". In its initial stages, the whole reform had to be hidden in order to avoid provoking them by embedding the New Order Troops within another unit.

While in theory, the Janissaries were also subject to reform and training according to the European style, they would resist it in practice. While some of the more radical reformers urged Selim to abolish the Janissaries, this proved a major political problem in practice. There were also attempts to co-opt the Janissaries: the Sublime Porte issued decrees praising the Janissaries’ role in Ottoman history as well as assuring them that their salaries would continue.

The military reforms, however, also entailed a whole host of economic reforms. The new military demanded new forms of taxation and the uprooting of entrenched elite groups — the “New Order Army” had to be financed by a “New Treasury” — Irad-i Cedid. Absentee or irresponsible timar holders would find their licenses cancelled and seized by the government.New taxes were levied, and old taxes were re-appropriated to fund the New Treasury — including taxes on alcohol and wool. Ottomans also embarked on broader reforms of the tariffs system. While non-Muslims had previously enjoyed special privileges by manipulating the concessions, administrators strove to crack down on this loss of state rent.

Selim III also reorganized the provinces from an administrative standpoint. In 1795, Selim III proposed new governance structures in an attempt to reverse the trend of the empire towards decentralization. The government lacked military or financial resources to carry out their policy, however, making centralization an “unattainable ideal”.

While these reformers called for revamping the Ottoman system and Europeanization of the military, they were by no means antagonistic to Islam. In many cases, the call for reform saw Islamic renewal and military-administrative-economic renewal as intertwined and mutually dependent. Military discipline often entailed the memorization of religious texts.

 



 
End of the New Order

End of the New Order

End of the New Order (W)

The reform coalition with which Selim came to power was not stable. Different members of the bureaucracy used the New Order discourse as a way to secure personal advancement, switching sides on the question of reform depending on personal interests. Few local notables were pleased with new tax arrangements for that New Order Army, for example, since they undermined old tax-farming rent sources. Money for the “New Revenue” system which was raised by reclaiming vacant tax-farms for the state (Finkel 2005). The accumulation of capital had enabled local elites to challenge the center, and they had no interest in giving up their power willingly. While some notables benefited from the reform, others — such as Tayyar Pasha — were excluded.

The Janissaries became increasingly aware of the threats posed by the New Order to their privileges. In 1806, during the famous Edirne incident, local janissaries and notables joined to lynch a qadi who had come to recite an imperial decree announcing the deployment of New Order troops to the region. Janissaries also exploited general resentment over Westernization and higher taxes to fund the New Order in order to gain popular support for the rebellion that would bring an end to the New Order in 1807.

 



 



Nizam-ı cedid — TURKISH HISTORY (B)

Nizam-ı cedid — TURKISH HISTORY (B)


Nizam-ı cedid, (Turkish: “new order”), originally a program of westernizing reforms undertaken by the Ottoman sultan Selim III (reigned 1789-1807). Later the term came to denote exclusively the new, regular troops established under this program.

In 1792-93 Selim III, assisted by a committee, promulgated a series of reforms that included new regulations on provincial governorships and taxation, on land tenure, and on the control of grain trade. More significant, however, were military reforms. A new corps of regular infantry trained and drilled on Western lines was founded, and an attempt was made to introduce discipline into the decadent Janissary Corps (elite troops). New regulations were introduced into the artillery, bombardier, and miners corps; the fleet was reorganized; new military and naval schools provided training in gunnery, fortification, and navigation; and technical and scientific books were translated into Turkish from Western languages. To finance these projects a special treasury was established, collecting revenues from confiscated fiefs and taxes on liquor, tobacco, and coffee.

The reforms were inspired by Western models, and in their application Selim had to rely heavily on French assistance, particularly upon French instructors in the military schools. The growing French influence and the reforms, however, evoked a strong reaction from a conservative coalition of the Janissaries and the ulama (men of religious learning). In 1805 that coalition was joined by aʿyān (local notables) of the Balkan provinces to stop an attempt to organize nizam-ı cedid troops in Edirne. Finally in 1807 a mutiny of the yamaks (auxiliary levies) compelled Selim to abolish the nizam-ı cedid reforms and brought about his deposition.

 



Selim III and the nizam-ı cedid (B)

Selim III and the nizam-ı cedid (B)

The 18th-century reform efforts culminated during the reign of Selim III (ruled 1789-1807), often considered the originator of modern reform in the Ottoman Empire. While he was still a prince, Selim developed plans for modernizing the Ottoman army. He came to the throne during the 1787-92 war with Austria and Russia and had to postpone serious reform efforts until its completion. Selim’s early efforts to modernize the Janissary corps created such opposition that thereafter he concentrated on creating a new European-style army called the nizam-ı cedid (“new order”), using modern weapons and tactics developed in Europe. The new force, never numbering more than 10,000 active soldiers, was trained in Istanbul and in a number of Anatolian provincial centres by officers and military experts sent by the different European powers that were competing for the sultan’s support. In order to avoid disrupting the established Ottoman institutions, it was financed by an entirely new treasury, called the irad-ı cedid (“new revenue”), whose revenues came from taxes imposed on previously untaxed sources and from the confiscation of some timars whose holders were not fulfilling their military and administrative duties to the state. Under the guidance of European technicians, factories were erected to manufacture modern weapons and ammunition, and technical schools were opened to train Ottoman officers. Limited efforts also were made to rationalize the Ottoman administrative machinery, but largely along traditional lines. The older military corps, however, remained intact and hostile to the new force, and Selim was therefore compelled to limit its size and use.

At the same time, much of Selim’s energy was diverted by the rise of powerful autonomous notables in southeastern Europe, Anatolia, and the Arab provinces, as well as by a French expedition to Egypt (1798-1801) under Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I). The French expedition eventually drew Selim into alliances with Great Britain and Russia, through which the French were driven out. The rise of nationalism among Ottoman subject peoples — stimulated by agents of Russia, Austria, and Revolutionary France — showed itself in the beginning of a Serbian revolution (1804) and a new war with Russia (1806-12) and made it impossible for Selim to resist the wishes of the Janissaries, who still formed the bulk of his army. Finally, the sultan’s personal weakness, which led him to desert the reformers and the new army whenever opposition became strong, left him with little significant support in 1807, when he was attacked and overthrown by a conservative coalition. While Selim was imprisoned in the palace, a conservative resurgence under the sultan Mustafa IV (1807-08) ended the reforms, and most of the reformers were massacred. An effort to restore Selim led by the Danubian notable Bayrakdar Mustafa Paşa led to Selim’s death and, after the short rule of Mustafa IV, the accession of his reforming cousin, Mahmud II (1808-39). Although Selim’s reforms were largely abandoned for some time, the greatly increased knowledge of the West in the Ottoman Empire — made possible by the schools established for the nizam-ı cedid and by the increased numbers of Westerners present in Istanbul during the era of the French Revolution — began the process by which Ottoman isolation was finally and definitively broken, setting the stage for the more significant reforms that transformed the empire during the remainder of the 19th century.

 








  Ottoman coups of 1807-08

Ottoman coups of 1807–08

Ottoman coups of 1807-08 (W)

📂 DATA

DATA

Date 1807–08
Location
Result Victory of pro-reform elements in the Ottoman Empire; decline of the Janissaries hastened
Belligerents
Pro-reform factions Anti-reform factions
Janissaries
Commanders and leaders
Selim III
Mahmud II
Mustafa Bayrakdar
Mustafa IV
Kabakçı Mustafa

 



The Ottoman palace coups of 1807–08 refers to several coups and rebellions deposing or restoring to the throne three Ottoman sultans, that took place as a result of the attempted reforms of Selim III.
 
Causes

Causes

Causes (W)

The Ottoman Empire was in decline by the early 19th century, and had lost much of the territory it had ruled over only a century earlier. However, the threat of the conservative, traditionalist Janissaries,the sultan's elite troops, prevented reforms from being enacted by more liberal rulers. In 1789, Sultan Abdulhamid I died, and his nephew Selim III, the son of Abdulhamid's predecessor, ascended to the throne. Selim, a composer of some talent as well as an advocate of modernization, was inspired to a certain degree by the French Revolution, his efforts at Westernization culminating with a levy for new regular troops in 1805. The reforms, particularly the levy, angered the Janissaries and other conservative elements, who rose up and killed leading reform advocates.

 



 
First coup d’etat

First coup d'etat

First coup d’etat (W)

On May 29, 1807, Selim was deposed by Janissaries led by the rebel leader Kabakçı Mustafa and quickly replaced by his cousin Mustafa IV, who incarcerated his predecessor in the relative comfort of the royal palace. Mustafa effectively pardoned the rebels and allied himself with the Janissaries, disbanding Selim's newly formed army.

 



 
Murder of Selim and second coup d’etat

Murder of Selim and second coup d'etat

Murder of Selim and second coup d’etat (W)

However, the influential governor of Ruscuk, Mustafa Bayrakdar, became disenchanted with Mustafa and plotted his downfall. His efforts led to a second revolt in 1808. The imprisoned Selim was murdered on Mustafa’s command, but Selim's cousin and heir, Mahmud, escaped from his would-be assassins. Meanwhile, rebel troops surrounded the palace, to be mocked by Mustafa and his officials, who even showed the rebels the body of Selim, in the vain hope that it would deter them. The rebels entered the palace anyway, arresting Mustafa and declaring Mahmud sultan.

 



 
Attempted reforms and Janissary unrest

Attempted reforms and Janissary unrest

Attempted reforms and Janissary unrest (W)

While incarcerated in the palace, Selim had taught ideas of reform to Mahmud, who continued the reforms that had been stopped by the Janissary coup in 1807. Mahmud had appointed as grand vizier Mustafa Bayrakdar, leader of the rebellion that had installed him as sultan, and the reforms that the pair implemented angered the Janissaries once again.

In an attempt to cow Mahmud, the Janissaries staged a brief uprising and killed the vizier, forcing the sultan to call off the reforms and disband the army, which had been based on Selim's model, yet again.

 



 
Effect on later events

Effect on later events

Effect on later events (W)

Mahmud, although angering the Janissaries early on, managed to reign for several more decades. By 1826, he had become less afraid of the Janissaries and, in the Auspicious Incident, intentionally, some historians claim, caused the unit to rebel. He called out his regular troops and, using artillery to bombard the Janissary headquarters, destroyed the elite troops’ capability to fight. He arrested the survivors, executing them shortly afterward. Now, without having to fear a coup, Mahmud pursued military and social reforms that, although modernizing the empire, did not stop its decline.

 



 








  Kabakçı Mustafa

Kabakçı Mustafa

Kabakçı Mustafa (W)

Kabakçı Mustafa (1770?-1808) was a rebel leader who caused the delay of Ottoman reformation in the early 19th century.
 
Yamaks and Kabakçı

Yamaks and Kabakçı

Yamaks and Kabakçı (W)

Yamaks were a special class of soldiers who were responsible in defending Bosphorous against Cossack pirates from Ukraine. Unlike janissaries they were from Black Sea Region of Turkey and not devshirme. But they liked to share the prestige of janissaries and considered themselves as a part of janissary. Kabakçı Mustafa was a sergeant of these yamaks in the castle of Rumelifeneri, on the European side of Bosphorous. He was from Rize, and probably about 35 years of age in 1807. According to legend, prior to being yamak, he had fought against Russians in Crimean port of Anapa. The epithet Kabakçı which meant leader probably refers to his former battles. But except that almost nothing is known about his origin. He always appeared with two of his younger relatives both using the same name; Mustafa of Of and Mustafa of Pazar.

 



 
Background

Background

Background (W)

The reformist sultan Selim III (reigned 1789-1807) who was under the influence French revolution tried to reform the institutions of the empire. {!} His program was called Nizamı cedit (New Order). However, these efforts met with criticism of the reactionaries. The janissaries were afraid of being trained in western style and religious figures opposed non-Moslem methods in medieval institutions. The middle class city dwellers also opposed Nizamı Cedit because of the new taxes to support the program and the general corruption of the Ottoman Porte.

 



 
The beginning of the rebellion

The beginning of the rebellion

The beginning of the rebellion (W)

On 25 May 1807 Raif Mehmet, the minister of Bosphorous, tried to persuade the yamaks to wear the new uniforms. It was clear that the next step would be the modern training. But the yamaks refused to wear these uniforms and they killed Raif Mehmet. This incident is usually considered as the beginning of the revolt. The yamaks then began marching to İstanbul, the capital about 30 km (19 mi) away. At the end of the first day they decided to elect a leader and they elected Kabakçı Mustafa as their leader. According to historians at this point it was an easy matter to suppress the revolt because the camp of well trained Nizamı cedit troops was nearby. But Köse Musa, a member of the porte whose title is roughly equivalent to interior minister (Turkish: sadaret kahyası) refused to use the modern troops against the yamaks and Selim III who was quite pacifist approved Köse Musa. In a few days it became clear that Köse Musa was supporting the rebels whose numbers had increased with accretion of many people including janissaries who were staying in the capital. (Ottoman Empire was in an uneasy armistice with Russian Empire during the War of the Fourth Coalition between French Empire and Russian Empire, so the main bulk of the army was in battle front. see Russo-Turkish War (1806–12))

 



 
Kabakçı Mustafa as the de facto ruler of the empire

Kabakçı Mustafa as the de facto ruler of the empire

Kabakçı Mustafa as the de facto ruler of the empire (W)

Kabakçı reached İstanbul in two days and began to rule the capital. In fact, Kabakçı was under the influence of Köse Musa and the Sheikh ul-Islam Topal Ataullah. He established a court and listed 11 names of high rank Nizami Cedit adherents to be executed. In several days those names were executed some with torture. Then he asked to abolish all institutions formed within the scope of Nizamı Cedit which the sultan had to agree. He also announced his distrust in the sultan and asked to take the two Ottoman princes (the future sultans namely Mustafa IV and Mahmud II) under his protection. After this last step Selim III resigned (or forced to resign by a fetwa of Ataullah) on 29 May 1807. The new sultan was Mustafa IV.

 



 
During the reign of Mustafa IV

During the reign of Mustafa IV<

During the reign of Mustafa IV (W)

The new sultan appointed Kabakçı as the new minister of Bosphorous. Kabakçı returned to his base. But his headquarters was quite near to İstanbul and he was still the de facto ruler of the capital. This period was one of the most chaotic periods of İstanbul history. Both the janissaries and the yamaks plundered the city. Soon it became clear that even Kabakçı was unable to cope with the anarchy. This period continued for about 14 months.

Alemdar Mustafa, a derebey (lord) in Rusçuk (modern Ruse in North Bulgaria, then an Ottoman province) who was a supporter of former sultan Selim III decided to re-enthrone Selim to end the chaos. But before intervening he sent a squadron of 50 under commandship of Uzun Hacı Ali secretly to Kabakçı’s headquarters. Unaware of the squadron, on the very same day (13 July 1808) Kabakçı had married. After the night full of marriage ceremony and potation, it was an easy matter for the squadron to raid the headquarters and kill Kabakçı. Soon after Alemdar Mustafa Pasha also marched to İstanbul and after some fighting yamaks were subdued.

 



 
Aftermath

Aftermath

Aftermath (W)

Mustafa IV was dethroned. But as a last minute precaution, he had ordered the execution of both Selim and Mahmud to be the sole male member of the Ottoman house. However, unlike unlucky Selim, Mahmud managed to survive and it was Mahmud who was enthroned as the new sultan.

 



 








  Cedid Atlas

Cedid Atlas

Cedid Atlas (W)

Cedid Atlas (or Atlas-ı Cedid) is the first translation of the atlas in the Muslim world, printed and published in 1803 in Istanbul, then the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The full title name of the atlas reads as Cedid Atlas Tercümesi (meaning, literally, "A Translation of a New Atlas") and in most libraries outside Turkey, it is recorded and referenced accordingly.

Although manuscripts and hand-drawn maps were widely available throughout the Muslim world, the massive printing of books started only in 1729 by Ibrahim Muteferrika and the Cedid Atlas could only be published in 1803 by Müderris Abdurrahman Efendi in a style based on European sources.

The Cedid Atlas includes a monochrome celestial chart and 24 hand-coloured copper engraved maps of various parts of the world; the celestial chart and maps measure at least (53 cm by 72 cm) and all the maps are actually adaptations of William Faden’s General Atlas. The maps are preceded by a (1+79) page-long treatise of geography, “Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye” by Mahmud Raif Efendi and a title page. The "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye" of Mahmud Raif Efendi was printed one year later, in 1804, and bound together with the atlas.

From a point of view of art, the atlas is notable for the color of the maps as well as the beauty of the script on the maps.

The Cedid Atlas was published in parallel with the developments of the Ottoman Empire's Nizam-ı Cedid, the "New-Order" or the "New System" ("Cedid" means "new" and "Nizam" means "system", "regime", or "order") and its title-name reflects this clearly. The atlas was new in terms of cartographical knowledge and well suited to the new system which tried to introduce new institutions into the Ottoman Empire while trying to replace existing ones with contemporary counterparts from the West. Introduced by the ruling padishah (the sultan) of the Ottoman Empire, Selim III, the "New-Order" included a series of reforms which mainly modernized and changed the structure of the then existing Ottoman army and changed the administrative structure of the Empire. It was an effort to catch up with technical, military, economic, and administrative achievements of the West against which the Ottoman Empire was losing grounds since the 17th century. New military and engineering schools were established and governmental units related with the foreign relations and affairs were re-organized to align with the new system. For these schools, governmental units, and the wholly re-organized army reformed according to the European practice, a new understanding and applications of geography of the standards of the West were necessary and the Cedid Atlas was translated and printed for this purpose.

Only 50 copies of this atlas (measuring 36 cm x 53 cm) were printed at the press. A copy was presented to Selim III;several copies were also presented to the high-ranking officials of the Empire, some were reserved for the library of Muhendishane (military engineering school of the time), and the remaining were reserved for sale. However, during the "Alemdar Vakası", an uprising of the janissaries in Constantinople during November 15–18, 1808, a fire at the warehouse of the press destroyed an unknown (unaccounted) number of the copies reserved for sale. Based on several estimates and accounting for the single maps (torn-out from bound volumes of the atlas) sold or being sold worldwide, it is believed that a maximum of 20 complete examples could be present in libraries or in private collections whereas some sources suggest that there exist only 10 complete and intact copies in the world. As such, it's one of the rarest printed atlases of historical value.

 

 
Other names

Other names

Other names (W)

A few sources outside Turkey and the Muslim world also refer to this atlas as the New Great Atlas. In Turkey, since the printing press of the book was located in the historical Üsküdar (Scutari) region (now a municipality) of Istanbul, the atlas sometimes is referred to as the Üsküdar Atlası.

 



 
Existing copies

Existing copies

Existing copies (W)

These are the only 12 complete copies known to exist in the world:

  1. Turkey - Topkapı Sarayı (Topkapı Palace) - 1 copy - Complete
  2. Turkey - Library of the Istanbul Technical University (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, formerly known as ""Engineering School (Mühendislik Mektebi")) - 2 copies - Complete (presence of copies are not confirmed)
  3. Turkey - Library of the Boğaziçi University (Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, formerly known as Robert College) - 3 copies - Complete (presence of only 1 copy is confirmed)
  4. Turkey - Municipality of Üsküdar(Üsküdar Belediyesi) - 1 copy - Complete
  5. U.S.A. - Library of Congress - 1 copy - Complete
  6. U.S.A. - Princeton University Library - 1 copy - Complete
  7. Netherlands - Leiden University Library - 1 copy - Complete
  8. United Arab Emirates - Antiquarian bookseller; Eqtna for Rare Books. The copy was displayed for sale at the Sharjah Book Fair 2016. - 1 copy - Complete
  9. Swann Auction Galleries, New York - 1 complete copy sold on 26 May 2016.

(Contrary to sources, on-line library search at the library of Boğaziçi University shows only 1 copy according to the records, and an on-line search at the library of the Istanbul Technical University shows no copies according to records. WorldCat union catalogue search of all the libraries confirms this result. Accordingly, there are only 10 complete and intact copies confirmed to exist in the world.)

These are the incomplete copies known to exist in the world:

  1. U.S.A. - John Carter Brown Library (Brown University) - 1 copy (missing 2 maps)
  2. U.S.A. - Newberry Library - 1 copy (missing 1 map and also 1 available map is from another copy)
  3. Turkey - Yapı Kredi Sermet Çifter Araştırma Kütüphanesi - 1 copy (missing several maps)
  4. Turkey - Bursa İnebey Kütüphanesi - 1 copy (missing several maps)
  5. Norway - Nasjonalbiblioteket (National Library of Norway) - 1 copy (missing 2 maps)
  6. Sweden - Kungliga Biblioteket (Royal Library of Sweden) - 1 copy (missing the title page)
  7. Austria - Antikvariat InLibris, Vienna - 1 copy (Missing the celestial chart).

The following libraries possess very limited portions of the atlas :

  1. Bibliothèque nationale de France owns the initial (1+79) page-long geographical treatise "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye" and one map only, title page and the remaining maps of the atlas are missing.
  2. National Library of Australia owns only two maps of the atlas with all the rest missing.

Occasionally, single maps of the Cedid Atlas are presented for sale by on-line book sellers or auctioneers.

 



 
Maps in the Cedid Atlas

Maps in the Cedid Atlas

Maps in the Cedid Atlas (W)

In addition to the (53 cm x 72 cm) monochrome celestial map, there are 24 coloured maps in the atlas; some of them are larger than (53 cm x 72 cm). In order of appearance, these maps show:

  1. Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere
  2. South Pole and North Pole
  3. The World
  4. Europe (including Iceland)
  5. Anatolia, Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Balkan Peninsula, (heel of) Italy, Iraq/Syria/Lebanon/Jordan/Palestine/Cyprus/Crete (in the south)
  6. Adriatic Coast, Italy, Southern France, Iberian Peninsula, Libya/Tunis/Algeria (in the south)
  7. Anatolia (the) Black Sea, Crimea, Southern Ukraine, (north of) Balkan Peninsula to Hungary
  8. Western Anatolia, Aegean Sea, Crete (in the south), Greece
  9. England (and Wales)
  10. Scotland and Scottish Islands
  11. The Low Countries : Hanau, Luxembourg, Brabant, Flanders, Northern France
  12. France (at the time of the monarchy)
  13. The English Channel and the Channel Islands, Western France Coast
  14. France (at the time of the republic)
  15. Germany (from Brandenburg to Braunschweig)
  16. Poland, Prussia, Lithuania (to the north)
  17. Continent of Asia
  18. Azerbaijan, Armenia, Western Iran, Iraq/Syria/Lebanon/Jordan/Palestine/Cyprus (in the south), Anatolia, Kurdistan, Al Jazzira
  19. Continent of Africa
  20. River Nile in Egypt in detail (including the Nile Delta)
  21. Continents of America (North, Central, South) and (part of) Pacific Ocean
  22. Eastern North America
  23. Central/South America (Guyana) Coast
  24. The Lesser Antilles (including) Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Tobago

 



 
Paper used for the maps in the Cedid Atlas

Paper used for the maps in the Cedid Atlas

Paper used for the maps in the Cedid Atlas (W)

The watermark of the papers on which the maps were printed were examined. While some Princeton University professors believe the papers are Russian-made, John Delaney, the historical maps curator for the Princeton University Library, believes the paper is possibly from Venice, Italy.

 



 
🗺️ Gallery

Gallery

Gallery (W)

Pages from the Cedid Atlas

World map.

The Ottoman controlled Western Asia.

Balkans and Anatolia.

Europe, including Ottoman Southeast Europe.

Africa, including Ottoman North Africa.


A 1785 map of the Mediterranean Sea with the Adjacent Regions and Seas in Europe, Asia and Africa. (LINK)

The maps above from the “Cedid Atlas” are adaptations of William Faden's General Atlas.

 



 
Articles and papers
 
Books

Books

Books (W)

  • The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire. Kinross, Patrick. Perennial, London, 1977.
  • İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı. Ortaylı, İlber. Hil Yayinları, İstanbul, 1983. (in Turkish)
  • Military, Administrative, and Scholarly Maps and Plans. Karamustafa, Ahmet T. In "The History of Cartography, Vol. 2, Book 1: Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward, pp. 209–28", University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992.
  • Türk Bilim ve Matbaacılık Tarihinde Mühendishane, Mühendishane Matbaası ve Kütüphanesi (1776-1826). Beydilli, Kemal. Eren Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1995. (in Turkish)
  • Mühendishane ve Üsküdar Matbaalarında Basılan Kitapların Listesi ve Bir Katolog. Beydilli, Kemal. Eren Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1997. (in Turkish)
  • History of the Ottoman Empire, Volume 2. Shaw, S.J. and Shaw, E.Z., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997.
  • Mahmud Raif Efendi ve Nizâm-ı Cedîd'e Dair Eseri. Beydilli, Kemal & Şahin, İlhan. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara, 2001. (in Turkish)

 



 




  📘 European Cartographers and the Ottoman World (1500-1750)

📘 European Cartographers and the Ottoman World (1500-1750)

 




  📥 Library of Congress / “Cedid atlas tercümesi” (L)

📥 Library of Congress / “Cedid atlas tercümesi”

 









📹 Sarah Brightman — Nella Fantasia (VİDEO)

Sarah Brightman — Nella Fantasia

 




  Yusuf Agah Efendi

Yusuf Agah Efendi

Yusuf Agah Efendi (L)

Yusuf Agah Efendi

Carl Frederik von Breda

Oil on canvas 240 x 148 cm
1794-1796

 
   

During the meeting held in 1793 at the seaside mansion of the reis-ül küttab (chief scribe) in Bebek, a decision was made to establish the first permanent embassy of the Ottoman State in England for the “necessary implementation of the ambassadorial system as per the European standards.” Consequently, the Crete-born Scribe of the Navy Yusuf Agah Efendi was appointed as the first ambassador. As soon as Sir Robert Ainslie, the British ambassador to İstanbul, arranged the details of the journey, the delegation left for London in October 1793. Passing through Austria, Germany, and Belgium, the delegation arrived at the Port of Ostend, crossed the English Channel in stormy weather, and set foot in England by way of sea. Upon reaching Dover, salvo fires and a military band welcomed the delegation.

In a letter he wrote to Foreign Minister Lord Grenville, General Smith, who was among the group that greeted the delegation, described Yusuf Agah Efendi as a “charming and respectable old man,” sırkatibi (literally, the secret scribe) Mahmud Raif Efendi as “young and reasonable,” and chief translator Emanuel Persiani as “intelligent and skillful.” Arriving in London nearly two months after leaving İstanbul, the delegation first stayed at the Royal Hotel in Pall Mall and later settled into the residence they picked out on Adams Street in Adelphi, along the Thames. Every week on Wednesdays, they would join King George III’s audience held for high-level officials and ambassadors; on Thursdays, they would participate in the functions Queen Charlotte organized where women and members of the royal family were also present. However, due to the 8-month delay in the arrival of the gifts and letters of credence shipped from İstanbul, and in the absence of the King in London, they were able to present their letters of credence and officially assume their duties 14 months after their arrival. The audience was coincided with the opening of the Parliament on 29 January 1795 and thus took place amidst a grand procession of more than 20 horse carriages and 200 guards. The gifts, including guns encrusted with precious stones, Arabian horses with gold tackles, and silk fabrics that Sultan Selim III had sent were presented to the King, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, The Duke of Portland, and the Foreign Minister. Often in attendance at the banquets participated by high-level bureaucrats in London, Yusuf Agah Efendi had a monumentally-sized portrait made by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik von Breda, who was known for the portraits he painted at his studio on St. James Street.

Yusuf Agah Efendi’s ambassadorial mission ended in July 1797. The “havadisname” (collection of correspondence) he prepared, as well as the detailed report he had Mahmud Raif Efendi write in French not only include political events, but also offer numerous observations on British economy and social life, the structure of the Parliament, the working of the political system, palace customs, the city of London, universities, and factories.

 

 








SİTE İÇİ ARAMA       
  🗺 William Faden / European Dominions of the Ottomans in Europe, 1795
   
 
 
   

📥 🗺 🔎 William Faden / European Dominions of the Ottomans or Turkey in Europe, 1795

 



📂 DESCRIPTION

Description

Large detailed Faden map of the region bounded by Greece and the Ionian Sea, the Ukraine, the Gulf of Venice, Asia Minor and the northern coast of Cyprus.

Extremely detailed. The map shows the Ottoman Empire, circa 1720 and includes an ornate decorative cartouche. This is the first state of the map.

 


William Faden Biography


William Faden (1749-1836) was the most prominent London mapmaker and publisher of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. His father, William Mackfaden, was a printer who dropped the first part of his last name due to the Jacobite rising of 1745.

Apprenticed to an engraver in the Clothworkers' Company, he was made free of the Company in August of 1771. He entered into a partnership with the family of Thomas Jeffreys, a prolific and well-respected mapmaker who had recently died in 1771. This partnership lasted until 1776.

Also in 1776, Faden joined the Society of Civil Engineers, which later changed its name to the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers. The Smeatonians operated as an elite, yet practical, dining club and his membership led Faden to several engineering publications, including canal plans and plans of other new engineering projects.

Faden's star rose during the American Revolution, when he produced popular maps and atlases focused on the American colonies and the battles that raged within them. In 1783, just as the war ended, Faden inherited his father's estate, allowing him to fully control his business and expand it; in the same year he gained the title "Geographer in Ordinary to his Majesty."

Faden also commanded a large stock of British county maps, which made him attractive as a partner to the Ordnance Survey; he published the first Ordnance map in 1801, a map of Kent. The Admiralty also admired his work and acquired some of his plates which were re-issued as official naval charts.

Faden was renowned for his ingenuity as well as his business acumen. In 1796 he was awarded a gold medal by the Society of Arts. With his brother-in-law, the astronomer and painter John Russell, he created the first extant lunar globe.

After retiring in 1823 the lucrative business passed to James Wyld, a former apprentice. He died in Shepperton in 1826, leaving a large estate.

 

 








 


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