“The objective of Svatopluk Soucek, the modem editor, and the publishers of this work is to introduce a classic text of Turkish maritime history and its author to a general English-speaking audience. At the time of its writing in the seventeenth century, it was intended to exhort the leaders of the Empire how to best take advantage of geography and naval technology to compete with rivals like Venice, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain and Portugal.
Kátip Celebi writes that ‘This Epitome consists of an Introduction two parts, and a Conclusion.’ The modern editor points out in his preface that the book consists of “the first two thirds of the text; a summary of the chapters that constitute the missing third; a translation of the missing third”; and summaries of other documents all done by himself. What emerges is a wonder of concise writing that transmits the essentials of information and excitement.
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. It is a history from the conquest of Constantinople in the mid-fifteenth century to the campaign to wrest Candia (Crete) from Venice in the mid- seventeenth century. 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.
“Celebi set the siege of Constantinople as the real beginning of the Ottoman Turks as a maritime nation… A picture emerges of the author of an even handed historian who records reverses and disasters as well as victories. The reader receives a concise, colourful geography and history lesson about Ottoman expansion and a general understanding of the importance of sea power. The work presents the maritime history of the Ottoman Empire with wide-ranging advice that applies today”. – The Northern Mariner /Le marin du nord.
“A more correct translation of this title of this fascinating account of Ottoman naval battles and campaigns, written in the 17th century by a court intellectual, should begin with ‘As A Gift to the Great Ones’ — wording that better captures the writer’s triumphalist tone as a proud Turk witnessing great imperial success. The somewhat 200- year-old English translation of the text is somewhat dated and incomplete, but the editor has included new chapter summaries, portraits of famous admirals and commanders, and useful illustrations of maps, warships and coastal forts.
“A highlight is the description of the Battle of Lepanto, at which Miguel de Cervantes lost the use of his arm. Thanks to Katip Celebi, we know how the fighting looked from the Turkish side, and how close the world came never reading Don Quixote.”
— Lou Werner in Saudi Aramco World.