Memâlik-i Mahrûse-i Şâhâneye Mahsus Mükemmel ve Mufassal Atlas 1909 Rare Ottoman by Mehmed Eşref
Binbaşı Mehmed Nasrullah, Kolağası Mehmed Rüşdi ve Mülazım Mehmed Eşref – Memâlik-i Mahrûse-i Şâhâneye Mahsus Mükemmel ve Mufassal Atlas – Şirket-i Mürettebiye Matbaası Istanbul Edition (1325 AH / 1909)
Description
This is the 1325 AH (approximately 1909 CE) Istanbul edition of Memâlik-i Mahrûse-i Şâhâneye Mahsus Mükemmel ve Mufassal Atlas prepared by Binbaşı Mehmed Nasrullah, Kolağası Mehmed Rüşdi, and Mülazım Mehmed Eşref, and printed by Şirket-i Mürettebiye Matbaası. Bound in its original period hardcover binding, this highly detailed and comprehensive atlas stands among the most important late Ottoman cartographic publications produced for both military and civil educational purposes.
Prepared during the final years of the Ottoman Empire, the atlas was designed not merely as a geographical reference work but as an administrative and political geography handbook directly serving the empire’s fiscal administration, population management, taxation systems, infrastructure planning, and strategic governance policies. The work reflects the Ottoman state’s increasing reliance on modern cartography and statistical geography during the constitutional era.
The atlas is organized into three major sections and contains approximately 35 detailed color maps covering the Ottoman territories across Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The first section, Avrupa-yı Osmânî (Ottoman Europe), includes administrative maps of Rumelia and surrounding territories such as Istanbul, Northern Greece, the Aegean Islands, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, and Crete. The second section, Asya-yı Osmânî (Ottoman Asia), focuses on Anatolian provinces including Hüdâvendigâr (Bursa), Kastamonu, and Aydın, together with broader Middle Eastern regions such as Syria, Palestine, and the Hejaz including Mecca and Medina. The third section, Afrika-yı Osmânî (Ottoman Africa), contains maps of the empire’s North African possessions including Trablusgarp (Libya) and Benghazi.
Each map is accompanied by extensive statistical and administrative texts discussing the province’s major cities, demographic composition, agricultural and industrial production, taxation potential, transportation infrastructure, railways, and port networks. These details transform the atlas from a simple collection of maps into a sophisticated governmental and strategic reference source documenting the operational structure of the late Ottoman state.
A particularly important aspect of the atlas is its military cartographic background. All three authors were trained within the Ottoman military cartography tradition associated with the Mekteb-i Harbiye. As a result, the maps were prepared with a high degree of technical precision to support strategic defense planning, logistics, transportation coordination, and administrative control. This military influence gives the atlas exceptional value not only as an educational publication but also as a document of Ottoman strategic geography.
Historically, the work holds extraordinary significance because the majority of the territories represented in the atlas would be lost only a few years later during the Balkan Wars and the First World War. Regions shown here as integral Ottoman provinces would soon disappear from imperial control. For this reason, the atlas serves as one of the final official visual records of the Ottoman Empire’s territorial extent, demographic structure, and administrative organization before its collapse.
This particular copy retains all original maps complete and intact. However, the textual section in the first part has been replaced with photocopied pages. Despite this restoration detail, the atlas remains an exceptionally important and visually impressive historical artifact of late Ottoman cartography and state geography.
Key Features
• Title: Memâlik-i Mahrûse-i Şâhâneye Mahsus Mükemmel ve Mufassal Atlas
• Authors: Binbaşı Mehmed Nasrullah; Kolağası Mehmed Rüşdi; Mülazım Mehmed Eşref
• Publisher: Şirket-i Mürettebiye Matbaası
• Publication Date: 1325 AH (approximately 1910 CE)
• Publication Place: Istanbul
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Script: Ottoman Arabic Script
• Format: Hardcover Atlas
• Binding: Original period hardcover binding
• Map Count: Approximately 35 detailed color maps
• Printing Style: Color cartographic printing
• Main Sections: Avrupa-yı Osmânî; Asya-yı Osmânî; Afrika-yı Osmânî
• Geographic Coverage: Ottoman Europe; Anatolia; Middle East; Hejaz; North Africa
• Administrative Content: Provincial divisions; Population data; Taxation statistics; Agricultural and industrial production
• Transportation Information: Railways; Ports; Transportation and logistics infrastructure
• Educational Purpose: Military and civil educational reference atlas
• Military Significance: Prepared by authors trained in Ottoman military cartography tradition
• Strategic Importance: Designed to support administrative governance, logistics, and defense planning
• Historical Importance: One of the final official geographic records of the Ottoman Empire before the Balkan Wars and World War I
• Preservation Note: All maps are complete and original; text section of the first part consists of photocopied pages
• Collector Appeal: Rare late Ottoman administrative and military atlas with detailed color maps and statistical documentation