PIRI REIS' MAP[1]
Piri Reis' map was discovered by B. Halil Etem Eldem, Director of National Museums, in 1929, when the Palace of Topkapu was being turned into a museum of antiquities. B. Halil examined this map together with Professor Kahle, the German orientalist, then a visitor in Istanbul, and the result of these investigations was made known by Professor Kahle at the XVIII th Congress of Orientalists, which met in September 1931 at Leyden. The discovery of the noted Turkish and German scholars roused a great deal of interest, and Professor Kahle's report was translated into Italian and Spanish and published in these languages. In December 1931, Dr. Oberhummer, professor of geography at the University of Vienna, also gave an account of this discovery.
Certain Turkish and foreign newspapers entered into discussion of the above-mentioned map, to which they gave the name of "map of Christopher Columbus" and about which they brought forth views that were erroneous and misleading. With the purpose of correcting these mistakes, the Society for Turksh Historical Research (Türk Tarihi Tetkik Cemiyeti) sent an article to the Illustrated London News, together with photographs of the map and of sketches from Piri Reis' work on navigation, "Bahriye". This article and the accompanying photographs appeared in the issue of July 23, 1932.
Professor Kahle published an article on this subject in the July 1932 number of "Forschungen und Fortschritte". Likewise Professor A. Deissmann discussed Piri Reis'map in a treatise, "Forschungen und Funde im Serai", which was published in Berlin in 1933.
Finally Professor Kahle published in 1933 a pamphlet entitled "Die verschollen Columbus-Karte von 1498 in einer Türkischen Weltkarte von 1513".
This pamphlet contains a great deal of informations regarding this map, as well as two photographs of it.[2]
The brief bibliograhpy given here shows that Piri Reis' map has interested the geographers and that much work has been expended on it in a short time.
His Excellency Kemâl Atatürk, President of the Turkish Republic, who, as is well known, attaches great importance to questions of national history and is deeply versed in these questions, caused Piri Reis' map to be brought to Ankara where after personally studying it requested its reproduction in facsimile to be made by the Devlet Basımevi. The Devlet Basimevi which, thanks to the efforts of the Republican government, had reached the level of the most perfectioned printing presses, was successful in reproducing the map in a manner almost indistinguishable from the original.
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The author of the map, Piri Reis, was a nephew of the famous Kemal Reis one of the Turkish admirals in the Mediterranean during the last quarter of the fifteenth century. History records Piri Reis' last official post to have been that of admiral in the Red and Arabian Seas.
While acting in the capacity of admiral of the fleet, Piri Reis also occupied himself with the science of navigation as known in his time. The map in question and his book "Bahriye" testify to his capacity and achievement in theoretic navigation. The "Bahriye" contains not only descriptions and drawings of the Mediterranean of the cities and countries then found on its shores, but also valuable information on the subject of navigation.[3]
Piri Reis prepared and drew his map in the city
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- ↑ This article is not the result of my personal study alone; I have also profited form the investigations of Bay Halil Etem Eldem vice-president of the Society for Turkish Historical Research and ex-director of National Museums, Dr. Reşid Galip, general secretary of the Society for Turkish Historical Research and ex-minister of Public Instruction, Professor M. Fuad Köprülü of the İstanbul University, Bay Hasam Fehmi, librarian of the Ministry of Public Instruction, Bay Osman Ferid, director of the Museum of Ethnography in Ankara, and from the articles published by Professor Paul Kahle, of the University of Bonn, Bay Hikmet, one of our agricultural specialists, and Dr. Wittek have been of great asistance, the former in translating Professor Kahle's last article on this subject into Turkish and the latter in giving help in the correct translation of this article and the deciphering of the marginal notes of Piri Reis' map. By writing the first article for the general public in his newspaper, Bay İbrahim Hakkı, correspondent of the Son Posta, drew everyone's attention to Piri Reis' map. This time again he has helped our Society in the deciphering of the marginal notes.
- ↑ This work was published by Walter de Gruyter and Co., in Berlin and Leipzig.
- ↑ Piri Reis wrote the first version of his "Bahriye" in Gallipoli, eight years after having drawn his map, and seven years later presented to Süleyman the Magnificient in Istanbul with a revised copy. Numerous manuscript copies of this work exist in the
libraries of Istanbul as well as in certain European libraries. Of the Istanbul libraries, the following possess one or two, even three copies, abridged or complete: Santa Sophia. Topkapu Palace, Nuru Osmaniye, Süleymaniye, Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmet Pasha and Ali Emiri Efendi; also the libraries of the Arsenal and of the University.
We also know of the existence of copies of this work at the Dresden Library, the library of the University of Bologne, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. A facsimile edition of the oldest complete manuscript in Istanbul, which is at the same time the best of the copies in existence, (ms. number 2612 in the Library of Santa Sophia) is to be published in the near future.
