Latifî (1491–1582), or Kastamonulu Latifî Çelebi, was an Ottoman poet and bibliographer. Born in

Kastamonu Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012.) The ...

, in northern

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, he became famous for his '' tezkire'' ''Tezkiretü'ş-Şuara'' (Memoirs of the Poets), the second Ottoman collection of bibliographical data on poets and poetry in overall. Latifî was born Abdüllatif HatibzâdeMehmet Turkan, KASTAMONU’LU BİR TEZKİRECİ VE DİVAN ŞAİRİ (in Turkish)
/ref> into a notable family in Kastamonu and was educated there. He worked as accountant and

katib A katib ( ar, كَاتِب, ''kātib'') is a writer, scribe, or secretary in the Arabic-speaking world, Persian World, and other Islamic areas as far as India. In North Africa, the local pronunciation of the term also causes it to be written keti ...

(secretary) in various

vakif A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or ''mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitable ...

s (pious foundation), including Belgrade,

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

.
His major work was ''Tezkiretü'ş-Şuara'' (Memoirs of the Poets), which was the second ''tezkire'' in chronological order after that of

Sehi Bey Sehi Bey (Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish: Sehî Bey), (1471?–1548) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman poet and bibliographer. He was the first one to compile a ''tezkire'' (bibliographical dictionary of poets and poetry), a genre which ...

. It is also the one with most extent copies, 91 in total. The ''tezkire'' was organized in three sections with an introduction. It narrated the life and work of around 300 poets of the period from the reign of

Murad II Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451. Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...

(reigned between 1421-1451) until 1543, and was finished and presented it to Sultan

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...

in 1546. The Sultan was so pleased that he appointed Latifi as secretary at the " Ayyub al-Ansari" complex endowment. According to

Aşık Çelebi Aşık Çelebi ("Gentleman Bard" in Turkish) was the name of Pir Mehmed ("Mehmed the Pir"; 1520–1572), an Ottoman biographer, poet, and translator. Born in Prizren, he served as '' kadi'' (judge) in many towns of the Rumelia. His major wor ...

's work ''Senses of Poets'' (Meşairü'ş-Şuara), the poet wrote it mostly during the era of Suleiman, but presented it to Murad III in 1574 after making minor changes to the introduction.
Another important work of him was ''Evsaf-ı İstanbul'' (Qualities of Istanbul) written in 1525. It gives a historical overview on the city of Istanbul, intertwined with geographical data, and information on the city's neighborhoods, architecture, and social life. Latifi spent the last years of his life in Istanbul. He died by drowning when the ship he was traveling to

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

sank in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latifi Divan poets from the Ottoman Empire People from Kastamonu 1491 births 1582 deaths 15th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Turkish-language poets

See also

References