The History of the Maritime Wars of the Turks

The book at its simplest level is fast-moving adventure story.The book at its simplest level is fast-moving adventure story. It is a breathtaking lesson in the geography and history of that period in which the Ottoman Turks swept past Constantinople and, using newly acquired techniques of naval warfare, extended their power throughout the centre of the world.
The theatre in which events occurred includes the Mediterranean Sea,made familiar in classical mythology and history, and the Black Sea. By virtue of Turkey’s commanding location between East and West, Turkish ships mounted voyages of discovery and conquest in the Red and Arabian Seas.
“The objective of Svatopluk Soucek, the modern editor, is to introduce a classic text of Turkish maritime history and its author to a general English-speaking audience…A picture emerges of the author as an even-handed historian. The reader receives a concise, colorful geography and history lesson about Ottoman expansion. The work presents the maritime history of the Ottoman Empire with wide-ranging advice that applies today.”–The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord

Kâtip Çelebi (1609-1657) was the quintessential Ottoman intellectual. He was a scholar and one of the most eminent travel writers in the long history of that genre. His History of the Maritime Wars of the Turks was the first book published in the Ottoman Empire in a lavish, illustrated edition.

Svatopluk Soucek is the author of works relating to Central Asia and Central Asian studies and a compiler of works in the Oriental division of the New York Public Library. His books include Piri Reis and Turkish Mapmaking after Columbus and A History of Inner Asia.

Markus Wiener Publishers

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The History of the Maritime Wars of the Turks