Ottoman 1923 General History Modern Age Book with many Maps Ali Reşad Empire Africa Asia
Tarih-i Umûmî (General History) – Volume IV, Kurûn-ı Cedîde Evâhiri ve Asr-ı Hâzır (The Later Modern Age and Contemporary History) – Ali Reşad, 1339 (c. 1923)
Description:
Tarih-i Umûmî (General History) – Volume IV is an Ottoman Turkish history textbook by Ali Reşad, prepared for students of the ninth grade of the Mekâtib-i Sultaniye, the prestigious secondary schools of the late Ottoman educational system. The volume covers the later part of the Modern Age and Contemporary History, combining Ottoman history with major international developments in Europe, Asia and America. Its broad chronological and geographical scope reflects the late Ottoman effort to provide advanced students with a comprehensive understanding of modern world history.
Ali Reşad Bey (1877–1929) was a highly productive Turkish historian, educator and author who lived through the final period of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Republic. Born in Lovech in 1877, he moved with his family to Istanbul as an infant following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and graduated from the prestigious Mekteb-i Mülkiye-i Şahane in 1897. Rather than pursuing an administrative career, he chose education and taught history at important institutions including Vefa, Kabataş and Galatasaray Sultanisi. He later held senior educational positions, including the directorship of the Istanbul Directorate of Education, the Darülmuallimîn-i Âliye, and a senior post within the Ottoman Ministry of Education. From 1915, he served as a professor of Medieval History at the Darülfünun and wrote numerous history textbooks for Ottoman schools. He died in Istanbul in 1929 at the age of 52.
The volume's Ottoman historical section begins with the accession of Sultan Ahmed III in 1703 and follows Ottoman history through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the period in which the book was written. Alongside the history of the Ottoman Empire, the work examines major developments in Europe, Asia and America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, placing Ottoman history within the wider context of contemporary global history.
The book is richly illustrated and contains numerous maps covering Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia and the Middle East. These maps and visual materials provide geographical context for the historical narrative and make the volume particularly notable as an extensively illustrated educational publication. The combination of Ottoman and world history with extensive cartographic material reflects the educational approach of the period.
Published in Istanbul in 1339 (approximately 1923) by Kanaat Kitabhanesi and Matbaası, owned and published by İlyas, at Babıali Caddesinde No. 132, the work represents an important example of advanced historical education during the final years of the Ottoman educational tradition. It is particularly interesting as a school textbook covering both the Ottoman Empire's modern history and the wider political geography of the contemporary world.
Key Features:
• Author: Ali Reşad
• Intended Audience: Students of the Ninth Grade of the Mekâtib-i Sultaniye
• Educational Status: Prepared as a history textbook for the ninth grade of the Ottoman Sultanî school system
• Subject: Ottoman and modern world history
• Historical Coverage: From the accession of Sultan Ahmed III in 1703 to the contemporary period of the book
• Ottoman History: Ottoman history from the reign of Sultan Ahmed III through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• World History: Major historical developments in Europe, Asia and America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• Geographical Coverage: Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia and the Middle East
• Illustrations: Numerous historical illustrations throughout the volume
• Maps: Numerous historical and geographical maps
• Publication Year: 1339 (approximately 1923)
• Place of Publication: Istanbul
• Publisher / Printer: Kanaat Kitabhanesi ve Matbaası, owned and published by İlyas
• Publisher Address: Babıali Caddesinde No. 132
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Author Significance: Ali Reşad was a prominent late Ottoman historian and educator who taught at major Ottoman schools, served in senior educational positions and was a professor of Medieval History at the Darülfünun
• Educational Significance: An advanced Ottoman history textbook combining Ottoman history with the major political and historical developments of the wider modern world
• Historical Significance: A valuable record of how Ottoman students were introduced to both their own imperial history and the broader global developments of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• Collectible Significance: Particularly valuable for collectors and researchers of Ottoman Turkish books, educational history, Ottoman history, world history, historical geography, cartography and late Ottoman publishing