Ottoman 1924 New General History Book with many Maps Ali Reşad Empire + Botany Plants
Yeni Tarih-i Umûmî – Volume II (New General History – Volume II), Kurûn-ı Vustâ ve Kurûn-ı Cedîde Evâili (The Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern Age) & İlm-i Nebatat (Botany / The Science of Plants) – Ali Reşad & Harun Reşid, 1340–1341 (c. 1924–1925)
Description:
Yeni Tarih-i Umûmî – Volume II (New General History – Volume II) is a history textbook by Ali Reşad, covering the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age. The volume was specifically prepared for teaching in the second grade of the first level of the secondary schools, in accordance with the official 1340 (1924) curriculum. It therefore represents an important example of the changing educational system and textbook production in the early Republican period.
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 contains more than 200 historical illustrations and maps, providing substantial visual support for the historical narrative. Its principal focus is the history of the Arab world and the emergence of Islam, followed by the transformation of Islamic political structures, the history of the Turks and their adoption of Islam, the Oghuz migrations into Anatolia, the Anatolian Seljuk period, the rise of Timur and the Ottoman Empire's recovery following the Battle of Ankara and the Interregnum. European political and social developments during the corresponding period are also included.
Bound together with this history textbook is a separate work entitled İlm-i Nebatat (Botany / The Science of Plants), written by Harun Reşid. The botanical textbook was officially accepted by the Ministry of Education for use in girls' and boys' teacher-training schools, the first levels of all secondary schools and middle schools. This provides direct evidence of its role within the formal educational system of the early Republican period and makes the volume particularly interesting as a composite educational binding bringing together history and natural science.
İlm-i Nebatat was published in Istanbul in 1341 (approximately 1925) by Kanaat Kitaphanesi, owned and published by İlyas, and printed at Yeni Matbaa at Reşid Efendi Hanı on Babıali Caddesi. The two works were subsequently brought together in a single binding, rather than representing a volume originally issued as a unified publication. The resulting composite volume preserves two different areas of early Republican school education—history and botany—in a single contemporary binding.
Key Features:
• Title: Yeni Tarih-i Umûmî – Volume II (New General History – Volume II) & İlm-i Nebatat (Botany / The Science of Plants)
• Authors: Ali Reşad & Harun Reşid
• First Work Period Covered: Kurûn-ı Vustâ ve Kurûn-ı Cedîde Evâili (The Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern Age)
• Intended Audience of First Work: Students of the Second Grade of the First Level of Secondary Schools
• Educational Status of First Work: Prepared in accordance with the official 1340 (1924) curriculum
• Subject of First Work: General history, with particular emphasis on Islamic, Turkish and early Ottoman history
• Historical Coverage: The Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age
• Illustrations and Maps: More than 200 historical illustrations and maps
• Second Work: İlm-i Nebatat (Botany / The Science of Plants)
• Author of Second Work: Harun Reşid
• Educational Status of Second Work: Officially accepted by the Ministry of Education (Maarif Vekaleti) for use in girls' and boys' teacher-training schools, the first levels of all secondary schools and middle schools
• Publication Year of Second Work: 1341 (approximately 1925)
• Place of Publication: Istanbul
• Publisher: Kanaat Kitaphanesi, owned and published by İlyas
• Printer of Second Work: Yeni Matbaa
• Printer Address: Babıali Caddesi, Reşid Efendi Hanı, Istanbul
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Historical Significance: A composite educational volume bringing together a history textbook and an officially accepted botany textbook from the early Republican educational system
• Author Significance: Ali Reşad was a prominent late Ottoman and early Republican 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: Provides evidence of the formal curricula and textbook publishing practices of the transition from the late Ottoman educational system into the early Republican period
• Binding: The two separately published educational works were subsequently brought together and bound in a single volume
• Collectible Significance: Particularly valuable for collectors and researchers of Ottoman and early Republican Turkish books, educational history, history textbooks, natural sciences, botany and the history of Turkish publishing