Ottoman 1912 Comprehensive World History Vol 5 Arab History with Maps Ahmed Refik Arabian Peninsula
Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî (Comprehensive World History) – Volume V, Arab History, Culture and Civilization – 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 the series from many other Ottoman Turkish history books of the period and makes it 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.
The fifth volume is devoted extensively to the history of the Arab world and the development of Islamic civilization. It begins with the history of Arabia before Islam, examining the region and its societies before the emergence of Islam, before turning to the rise of Islam and the transformation of the Arab world following the Prophet Muhammad's mission. The narrative continues through the period of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs and the subsequent Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates.
Beyond political history, the volume gives considerable attention to Islamic culture, art and civilization, presenting the intellectual and cultural development of the Islamic world as an important part of its broader historical narrative. This makes the volume particularly relevant for the study of the relationship between political history and the cultural and intellectual achievements of the Islamic world.
The volume is also especially notable for its rich visual material. It contains numerous historical illustrations and maps, including images associated with important sacred places such as the Kaaba, Mecca and Jerusalem, as well as a map of the Arabian Peninsula. These illustrations provide a visual dimension to the historical narrative and further demonstrate the unusually rich presentation of Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî within late Ottoman historical publishing.
Published in 1328 (c. 1912) by Kitabhane-i İslâm ve Askerî (İbrahim Hilmi) in Istanbul and printed at Agob Matyosyan Matbaası, this fifth volume forms an important part of Ahmed Refik's six-volume world-history project. Its combination of Arab and Islamic history, cultural history, sacred geography, maps and historical illustrations makes it a particularly interesting volume for collectors and researchers of Ottoman Turkish books and the intellectual history of the late Ottoman period.
Key Features:
• Title: Büyük Tarih-i Umûmî (Comprehensive World History) – Volume V, Arab History, Culture and Civilization
• Author: Ahmed Refik Altınay (1881–1937)
• Series: Fifth Volume of a Six-Volume Comprehensive World History
• Subject: Arab history, the rise of Islam and Islamic culture and civilization
• Historical Coverage: Pre-Islamic Arabia, the rise of Islam, the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate
• Religious and Cultural History: The development of Islamic culture, art, civilization and intellectual life
• Sacred Geography: Historical and visual material relating to the Kaaba, Mecca and Jerusalem
• Maps: Includes a map of the Arabian Peninsula and numerous other historical and geographical maps
• Illustrations: Numerous historical illustrations and visual plates
• Publication Year: 1328 (approximately 1912)
• Place of Publication: Istanbul
• Publisher: Kitabhane-i İslâm ve Askerî (İbrahim Hilmi)
• Printer: Agob Matyosyan Matbaası
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Historical Significance: A substantial Ottoman Turkish treatment of Arab history and the development of Islamic civilization within Ahmed Refik's ambitious six-volume world-history series
• 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
• Collectible Significance: Particularly valuable for collectors and researchers of Ottoman Turkish books, Arab history, Islamic history and civilization, sacred geography, historical cartography, Ottoman publishing and the intellectual history of the late Ottoman period