Ottoman 1912 Comprehensive World History Vol 2 Ancient Greece with Maps Ahmed Refik
Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî (Comprehensive World History) – Volume II, Ancient Greece – Ahmed Refik, 1328 (c. 1912)
Description:
Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî (Comprehensive World History) is a six-volume comprehensive history of the world by Ahmed Refik and represents an important late Ottoman attempt to present world history through a modern, systematic and accessible historical narrative. The series moved beyond a simple chronology of rulers and wars, approaching history through the development of civilizations, societies, political institutions and intellectual life. Its richly illustrated presentation, with numerous historical images, plates and maps, also distinguishes it from many other Ottoman Turkish history books of the period and makes the series particularly significant in the history of late Ottoman publishing and historical education.
Ahmed Refik Altınay (1881–1937) was one of the most productive and influential historians and popular writers of the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. Widely remembered by the epithet “Tarihi Sevdiren Adam” (“The Man Who Made History Loved”), he played an important role in bringing historical subjects to a broader reading public through an engaging and accessible style. Originally trained as a military officer at Kuleli Military High School and the Ottoman Military Academy, he later taught history and geography, served as a professor of Ottoman History at the Darülfünun, and was among the founding members of the Turkish Historical Society.
This second volume of the six-volume series is devoted entirely to the history and civilization of Ancient Greece. It examines the development of Greek civilization, the major city-states of Athens and Sparta, political and social institutions, Greek philosophy and intellectual life, as well as the later Hellenistic period. The work therefore provides a broad account extending beyond political history into the cultural, philosophical and social dimensions of the ancient Greek world.
Published in 1328 (c. 1912) by Kitabhane-i İslâm ve Askerî (İbrahim Hilmi) in Istanbul and printed at Agob Matyosyan Matbaası, the volume contains numerous illustrations and maps throughout the text. This unusually rich visual material is one of the defining characteristics of Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî and provides an important example of the increasingly sophisticated use of visual material in Ottoman historical publishing during the late Ottoman period.
For collectors and researchers, this volume is particularly valuable as part of Ahmed Refik’s six-volume world-history project and as an example of late Ottoman historical scholarship, educational publishing, visual book production and the period's growing engagement with the histories and civilizations of the ancient world.
Key Features:
• Title: Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî (Comprehensive World History) – Volume II
• Author: Ahmed Refik Altınay (1881–1937)
• Series: Second Volume of a Six-Volume Comprehensive World History
• Subject: Ancient Greek history, civilization and the Hellenistic period
• Historical Coverage: Ancient Greece, Greek civilization, Athens, Sparta, Greek city-states, political and social institutions, philosophy and the Hellenistic world
• Publication Year: 1328 (approximately 1912)
• Place of Publication: Istanbul
• Publisher: Kitabhane-i İslâm ve Askerî (İbrahim Hilmi)
• Printer: Agob Matyosyan Matbaası
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Illustrations: Numerous historical illustrations and visual plates
• Maps: Numerous historical and geographical maps
• Visual Significance: Notably rich in illustrations and maps compared with many contemporary Ottoman Turkish history books
• Author Significance: Ahmed Refik Altınay was a prominent late Ottoman and early Republican historian, professor of Ottoman History at the Darülfünun, and a founding member of the Turkish Historical Society
• Historical Significance: Part of an ambitious six-volume attempt to present comprehensive world history through the development of civilizations, societies, politics and intellectual life
• Collectible Significance: Particularly valuable for collectors and researchers of Ottoman Turkish books, world history, Ancient Greece, historical geography, cartography, Ottoman publishing and the intellectual history of the late Ottoman period