The history of science represents an important aspect of the history of nations, and reveals to the learner the truth about science and its secrets. Therefore, it is considered an important topic in modern writings, as its study is a study of the development of civilization and the civilization production of nations through which bridges are established between the past and present to recognize the human development process and build the present and future of nations.
Here we are dealing with a great book and a long journey through "History of Science among the Ottoman Turks" by Abdülhak Adnan Adıvar, a Turkish physician, politician and thinker. Besides medicine, he studied philosophy, literature and history. At first he authored this book in French, then he wrote it in Turkish in a revised and updated version. It was translated from Turkish by the professor of Turkish language and literature Prof. Adbel Razek Barakat, the former dean of the Faculty of Arts in Ain Shams University. The translation came out in a clear flowery language expressing the great effort exerted in writing such unique historiography.
The book handles the Turkish history of science during the Ottoman period between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries. It specifically focuses on empirical sciences and discusses the Turkish status of science, its development and the different contributions of scientists. It sometimes tackles the reciprocal relation between authority and knowledge in close or infrequent intervals. It is not confined to the study of scientific movement only within the Ottoman state. However, the author is trying to make comparisons between the scientific life in Turkey under the Ottoman state on the one hand and the scientific life in the west on the other hand.
One should possess such a worthy book because its author mastered a number of languages that enabled him to peruse different references in his time. Thus, he was able to document the status of science during this important historical period. In fact, it is a bibliography that includes treasures of publications and prominent authors of Ottoman natural and empirical sciences. It is actually a tour among libraries of both ancient and modern worlds. One feels like wandering between the greatest literature written by the scholars of the country and what was dispersed by the hands of ancient time; between what was entirely left and what was preserved out of the dispersed part. Thus, one can make out the history of the renaissance of empirical science and other sciences in the Ottoman countries. The journey extends over eight chapters through which we tried to rename it so as to facilitate the matter for researchers and present this valuable book in the best possible way.
The First Chapter: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
In the first chapter, the reign of Murad I, it is revealed that the sun of empirical sciences shone in the sky of Iznik school which was built by Orkhan Bek in 1330, 1332 AD. The ray shed on the courtyard of this great school started the first steps towards the transformation from depending on the study of traditional sciences into exploring the sciences of nature. Thus, the fourteenth century was the era of the first school and the first book for the children of Ottoman in this respect. There appeared the book entitled Mufradat Ibn Al-Bitar, which was translated by an anonymous person. It is believed to be the only book authored concerning intellectual sciences at that time. The author goes on mentioning the names of the important figures of that time. Prominent among them was Qadhi Zadah, whom Zaki Bek considered the first astronomer and mathematician in the Ottoman State. Thus, it was the age of the first ones and individuals; it was a step towards the sunshine of empirical science in the middle of the Ottoman sky.
The Second Chapter: Sultan Muhammad the Conqueror (Mehmed II) and Science:
The sunshine of sciences continues in the second chapter, the age of the conqueror by whom God opened what was locked tight in his time. It showed its beauty as a result of his interest in science and scientists. The humming of scholars was heard on the lands of the children of Ottoman. Wrapped in shyness, the sunshine appeared in the hall of the Conqueror's palace. He loved metaphysics, languages and religions. It shone on his seat to shed light over his courtyard which was the assembly room of scientists of his time and the center of many accurate debates on the field of religions and others. Translation flourished at his time and many schools and libraries were built. Certainly, the greatest ones were the Conqueror's school and library, which were the link between the old and the new; between authenticity and modernity. They were two of the greatest edifices of traditional science and the empirical one alike.
The Third Chapter: The End of the Fifteenth Century and the Beginning of the Sixteenth Century
The sunshine went on slowly in the sky of empirical science in the country of Ottoman's children in the third chapter, the reign of Bayezid II. Attention was paid to empirical sciences after Fatih although it was less than the attention paid to them in Europe. There appeared timidly the interest in writing books. There was an increase in building hospitals. Under the sun of these sciences in that century, there shone Bairam Jelbi, the most important astronomer and mathematician at that time and the grandson of Qadhi Zadah and so did Muzafar El-Din Al-Shirazi.
The Fourth Chapter: The Sixteenth Century and Maritime Geography
The sun steps steadily in the forenoon of the sixteenth century in the fourth chapter, the reign of Al-Qanooni. It sheds light over the surface of the world. The country expands and more attention is paid to maritime geography, which is a useful instrument for the army to achieve more power and triumph. However, no attention is really paid to pure empirical science according to the state's orientation at that time. Poets were warmly welcomed in the courtyard of Al-Qanooni's palace. Thus, verses of poets went side by side with the interest in maritime geography. Like a maritime and geographical minaret, the marine scientist Piri Reis shone. He drew the most important world map then, and authored a book entitled Bahriya (Book of Navigation).
Within the procession of the sea fleet, we find the geographer and sailor Sidi Ali Bin Hussein, the author of The Mirror of Kingdoms with its legends and nice jokes about his voyages. He also wrote The Ocean, which is considered his most important book.
From the sea, the Ottomans looked at the sky with a gentle touch of the rise of empirical science and the exuberances of news coming about it from Europe. In a request submitted to Murad III, a historian called Sa'ad El-Din Efendi suggested the construction of an Ottoman observatory, which was built and demolished at the same time pursuant to a fatwa of Sheikh El-Islam Ahmad Al-Din Efendi" The sky became cloudy and its bodies and planets disappeared for a while. At that time, translation of major encyclopedias from Arabic and Persian flourished. Physicians started being tested in order to get permission to practice their job. Three of the great scholars of that time were executed in painful and tragic incidents.
The Fifth Chapter: the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries and Katib Gelbi
The sun of sciences went on at the forenoon of the eighteenth century in the fifth chapter, the reign of Muhammad IV. It almost faded. That century witnessed a time of general recession that made renaissance advocates cry and complain bitterly. The scientific movement then depended on copying, quotation and translation. However, there was still a glimpse of hope and a glint of life when a great polymath scientist appeared. That was Hajji khalifa, who was known as Katib Gelbi, the author of encyclopedias and compilations. He authored a book entitled Revealing Doubts. He says, "it is a brief useful history of science and philosophy in Arabic". He is considered the first Turkish man that authored a brief book on the history of science.
The Sixth Chapter: The Eighteenth Century and the Printing Press
In the sixth chapter of the book, the reign of Sultan Ahmad III and Grand Vizier Ibrahim Basha, the sun of knowledge returned to rise in the middle of Ottoman sky of sciences. It enlightened the way for the Ottoman printing press. Thanks to Asad Bin Ali "Ibrahim Mutafarika" and his dissertation "The Means of the Printing Press", Grand vizier Ibrahim Basha strongly advocated the establishment of the printing press. Sheikh Ul-Islam issued a fatwa that permitted only the printing of intellectual and empirical sciences, yet he banned the printing of revelation sciences. The Grand vizier did not enforce that fatwa to a great extent. He showed great consideration for scientific life and its men. So, compilation and translation flourished. Ottomans continued paying attention to geography. However, medicine remained traditional as it was although some like Omar Shifa'ey achieved renown as a physician and an author.
The Seventh Chapter: Medicine and Mathematics at the End of the Eighteenth Century
The sunlight of knowledge becomes greater and brighter in the seventh chapter at the end of the eighteenth century. Science spread widely in the state of Ottoman's children and the activity of scientific renaissance flourished due to the footsteps of horses' hooves, the sound of gunpowder and the sailing of ships. During the reign of Mustafa III, mathematics developed and achieved tremendous progress. The school of maritime engineering was established to develop the army and the military institution.
The Eighth Chapter: The Movement of Revival in the Nineteenth Century
The western influence on scientific life became manifest. Selim III brought teachers from the west and paid great attention to scientific life. So, he established the Royal school of engineering where empirical and intellectual sciences and languages were taught. The second printing press was established at that time and the light of science shone on the land of Ottoman's children.
Finally, the book presents the Ottoman Turkish history of science in a historical descriptive method. Firstly, it was presented to the western community. However, we believe that the book was in dire need of a time plan and a historical method which were more accurate. The book was included in the category of sciences' history, not the bibliography. It represented a very rich material in that category. However, it influenced the accuracy of the historical narrative method since it depended on mentioning compilations without really considering the circumstances of the development of sciences and knowledge.
As a whole, it is a worthy book and a great effort was exerted in compiling it. The critical perspective of the compilations mentioned within the book represented a great advantage on various levels. Prominent among them was the benefit of historians. Through his comments, the translator presented a complete idea about most of the book’s contents. They are the comments of someone mostly involved in the Turkish inheritance and literature.
