''Cedid Atlas'' ( ota, جديد اطلس; or اطلسِ جديد, ''Atlas-ı Cedid'') is the first translation of the atlas in the Muslim world, printed and published in 1803 in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. The full title of the atlas reads as ''Cedid Atlas Tercümesi'' (meaning, literally, ''"A Translation of a New Atlas"'') and in most libraries outside Turkey, it is recorded and referenced accordingly. Although manuscripts and hand-drawn maps were widely available, the ''Cedid Atlas'' could only be published in 1803 by Müderris Abdurrahman Efendi in a style based on European sources.

History

The ''Cedid Atlas'' is the first translation of the atlas in the Muslim world, printed and published in 1803 in Constantinople, then the capital of the Ottoman Empire.First Printed Atlas in the Muslim World
The full title name of the atlas reads as ''Cedid Atlas Tercümesi'' (meaning, literally, ''"A Translation of a New Atlas"'') and in most libraries outside Turkey, it is recorded and referenced accordingly. Although manuscripts and hand-drawn maps were widely available throughout the Muslim world, the massive printing of books started only in 1729 by

Ibrahim Muteferrika Ibrahim Müteferrika ( tr, İbrahim Müteferrika; 1674–1745 CE) was a Hungarian-born Ottoman diplomat, publisher, economist, historian, Islamic theologian, sociologist, and the first Muslim to run a printing press with movable Arabic type ...

and the ''Cedid Atlas'' could only be published in 1803 by Müderris Abdurrahman Efendi in a style based on European sources. The ''Cedid Atlas'' includes a monochrome celestial chart and 24 hand-coloured copper engraved maps Beydilli(1995) of various parts of the world; the celestial chart and maps measure at least (53 cm by 72 cm) and all the maps are actually adaptations of William Faden's ''General Atlas''. The maps are preceded by a (1+79) page-long treatise of geography, "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye" by Mahmud Raif Efendi and a title page. The "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye" of Mahmud Raif Efendi was printed one year later, in 1804, and bound together with the atlas.Ottoman Statesmen: Mahmud Raif Efendi
From a point of view of art, the atlas is notable for the color of the maps as well as the beauty of the script on the maps. The ''Cedid Atlas'' was published in parallel with the developments of the Ottoman Empire's Nizam-ı Cedid, the "New-Order" or the "New System" ("Cedid" means "new" and "Nizam" means "system", "regime", or "order") and its title-name reflects this clearly. The atlas was new in terms of cartographical knowledge and well suited to the new system which tried to introduce new institutions into the Ottoman Empire while trying to replace existing ones with contemporary counterparts from the West. Introduced by the ruling padishah (the

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

) of the Ottoman Empire,

Selim III Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...

, the "New-Order" included a series of reforms which mainly modernized and changed the structure of the then existing Ottoman army and changed the administrative structure of the Empire. It was an effort to catch up with technical, military, economic, and administrative achievements of the West against which the Ottoman Empire was losing grounds since the 17th century. New military and engineering schools were established and governmental units related with the foreign relations and affairs were re-organized to align with the new system. For these schools, governmental units, and the wholly re-organized army reformed according to the European practice, a new understanding and applications of geography of the standards of the West were necessary and the ''Cedid Atlas'' was translated and printed for this purpose. Only 50 copies of this atlas (measuring 36 cm x 53 cm) were printed at the press. A copy was presented to

; several copies were also presented to the high-ranking officials of the Empire, some were reserved for the library of Muhendishane (military engineering school of the time), and the remaining were reserved for sale. However, during the "Alemdar Vakası", an uprising of the

janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

in Constantinople during November 15–18, 1808,Kinross(1977), pp 431-434. a fire at the warehouse of the press destroyed an unknown (unaccounted) number of the copies reserved for sale.Municipality of Usküdar-Istanbul
Based on several estimates and accounting for the single maps (torn-out from bound volumes of the atlas) sold or being sold worldwide, it is believed that a maximum of 20 complete examples could be present in libraries or in private collections whereas some sources suggest that there exist only 10 complete and intact copies in the world.
As such, it's one of the rarest printed atlases of historical value.

Other names

A few sources outside Turkey and the Muslim world also refer to this atlas as the ''New Great Atlas''. In Turkey, since the printing press of the book was located in the historical Üsküdar (Scutari) region (now a municipality) of Istanbul, the atlas sometimes is referred to as the ''Üsküdar Atlası''.

Existing copies

These are the only 12 complete copies known to exist in the world: # Turkey - Topkapı Sarayı ( Topkapı Palace) - 1 copy - Complete # Turkey - Library of the Istanbul Technical University (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, formerly known as ""Engineering School (Mühendislik Mektebi")) - 2 copies - Complete (''presence of copies are not confirmed'') # Turkey - Library of the Boğaziçi University (Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, formerly known as

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

) - 3 copies - Complete (''presence of only 1 copy is confirmed'') # Turkey - Municipality of Üsküdar(Üsküdar Belediyesi) - 1 copy - Complete # United States - Library of Congress - 1 copy - Complete # United States - Princeton University Library - 1 copy - Complete # Netherlands - Leiden University Library - 1 copy - Complete # United Arab Emirates - Antiquarian bookseller
Eqtna for Rare Books
The copy was displayed for sale at th
Sharjah Book Fair 2016
- 1 copy - Complete # Swann Auction Galleries, New York - 1 complete copy sold on 26 May 2016. (Contrary to sources, on-line library search at the library of Boğaziçi University shows only 1 copy according to the records, and an on-line search at the library of the Istanbul Technical University shows no copies according to records. WorldCat union catalogue search of all the libraries confirms this result. Accordingly, there are only 10 complete and intact copies confirmed to exist in the world.) These are the incomplete copies known to exist in the world: # United States - John Carter Brown Library (

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

) - 1 copy (missing 2 maps) # United States -

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities and located on Washington Square in Chicago, Illinois. It has been free and open to the public since 1887. Its collections encompass a variety of topics rela ...

- 1 copy (missing 1 map and also 1 available map is from another copy) # Turkey - Yapı Kredi Sermet Çifter Araştırma Kütüphanesi - 1 copy (missing several maps) # Turkey - Bursa İnebey Kütüphanesi - 1 copy (missing several maps) # Norway - Nasjonalbiblioteket ( National Library of Norway) - 1 copy (missing 2 maps) # Sweden - Kungliga Biblioteket (Royal Library of Sweden) - 1 copy (missing the title page) # Austria - Antikvariat InLibris, Vienna - 1 copy (Missing the celestial chart). The following libraries possess very limited portions of the atlas : #

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

owns the initial (1+79) page-long geographical treatise "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye" and one map only, title page and the remaining maps of the atlas are missing. # National Library of Australia owns only two maps of the atlas with all the rest missing. Occasionally, single maps of the Cedid Atlas are presented for sale by on-line book sellers or auctioneers.

Maps in the ''Cedid Atlas''

In addition to the (53 cm x 72 cm) monochrome celestial map, there are 24 coloured maps in the atlas; some of them are larger than (53 cm x 72 cm). In order of appearance, these maps show: # Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere # South Pole and North Pole # The World # Europe (including Iceland) # Anatolia, Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Balkan Peninsula, (heel of) Italy, Iraq/Syria/Lebanon/Jordan/Palestine/Cyprus/Crete (in the south) # Adriatic Coast, Italy, Southern France, Iberian Peninsula, Libya/Tunis/Algeria (in the south) # Anatolia (the) Black Sea, Crimea, Southern Ukraine, (north of) Balkan Peninsula to Hungary # Western Anatolia, Aegean Sea, Crete (in the south), Greece # England (and Wales) # Scotland and Scottish Islands # The Low Countries : Hanau, Luxembourg, Brabant, Flanders, Northern France # France (at the time of the monarchy) # The English Channel and the Channel Islands, Western France Coast # France (at the time of the republic) # Germany (from Brandenburg to Braunschweig) # Poland, Prussia, Lithuania (to the north) # Continent of Asia # Azerbaijan, Armenia, Western Iran, Iraq/Syria/Lebanon/Jordan/Palestine/Cyprus (in the south), Anatolia, Kurdistan, Al Jazzira # Continent of Africa # River Nile in Egypt in detail (including the Nile Delta) # Continents of America (North, Central, South) and (part of) Pacific Ocean # Eastern North America # Central/South America (Guyana) Coast # The Lesser Antilles (including) Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Tobago

Paper analysis

Examination of the watermarks lead some Princeton University professors believe that the paper is of Russian origin, but John Delaney, the historical maps curator for the Princeton University Library, believes it is possibly from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy.

Gallery

Articles and papers

University of Chicago - European Cartographers and the Ottoman World (1500-1750)

Jerusalem Quarterly - Shifting Ottoman Conceptions of Palestine : Ethnography and Cartography

İstanbul Üniversitesi Dergisi - Article in Turkish by Cengiz Orhonlu

İstanbul Üniversitesi Dergisi - Article in Turkish by Deniz Ekinci

Books

* ''The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire''. Kinross, Patrick. Perennial, London, 1977. * ''İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı''. Ortaylı, İlber. Hil Yayinları, İstanbul, 1983. * ''Military, Administrative, and Scholarly Maps and Plans''. Karamustafa, Ahmet T. In ''"The History of Cartography, Vol. 2, Book 1: Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward, pp. 209–28"'', University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992. * ''Türk Bilim ve Matbaacılık Tarihinde Mühendishane, Mühendishane Matbaası ve Kütüphanesi (1776-1826)''. Beydilli, Kemal. Eren Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1995. * ''Mühendishane ve Üsküdar Matbaalarında Basılan Kitapların Listesi ve Bir Katolog''. Beydilli, Kemal. Eren Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1997. * ''History of the Ottoman Empire, Volume 2''. Shaw, S.J. and Shaw, E.Z., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997. * ''Mahmud Raif Efendi ve Nizâm-ı Cedîd'e Dair Eseri''. Beydilli, Kemal & Şahin, İlhan. Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara, 2001.

References

External links

Princeton University Library - ''Cedid Atlas Tercümesi''

* ttps://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/guide/nes-turkey.html Library of Congress - Near East Collections - ''Cedid Atlas''
Library of Congress - "New Order" Artifacts - ''Cedid Atlas Tercümesi''

* ttp://www.sochistdisc.org/news_letter_May_2002/terra-cognita_7.htm Terra Cognita - Newsletter of the Society for the History of Discoveries - ''Cedid Atlas'' at the Newberry Library
Turkish Incunabula in the Sweden Royal Library

Leiden University Library - ''Cedid Atlas Tercemesi''

Copy of "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye" at Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Map From ''Cedid Atlas'' at Bibliothèque Nationale de France

National Library of Australia - Maps From ''Cedid Atlas''

To View All Pages of "Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye", Title Page, Celestial Map and all 24 Coloured Maps of ''Cedid Atlas'' at the Library of Congress Website

* ttp://www.ykykultur.com.tr/sermet/ Turkey : Yapı Kredi Sermet Çifter Araştırma Kütüphanesi Incomplete ''Cedid Atlas'' Copy
History and Maps - Blog in Spanish and English
{{Authority control 1803 non-fiction books Atlases Incunabula Ottoman literature Maps of Palestine (region)