Exploring the reasons for a flurry of geographical works in the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century, this study analyzes how cartographers, travellers, astrologers, historians and naval captains promoted their vision of the world and the centrality of the Ottoman Empire in it. It proposes a new case study for the interconnections among empires in the period, demonstrating how the Ottoman Empire shared political, cultural, economic, and even religious conceptual frameworks with contemporary and previous world empires.
'This book deserves attention both for its theoretical sophistication and for the extraordinary variety of its sources. By bringing together maps and travel narratives with works of cosmography, administrative documents, and even poetry, Emiralioglu has forged an innovative and thought-provoking framework for understanding the Ottomans' views of the world and their own place within it.' Giancarlo Casale, author of The Ottoman Age of Exploration 'Pınar Emiralioglu's new book skillfully weaves together an analysis of sixteenth-century geographical and cartographical texts in Ottoman Turkish and a synthesis of scholarly work on Ottoman and other early modern imperial cultures.' American Historical Review '...EmiralioÄ lu's book opens a new understanding into Ottoman geographical and cartographical tradition and has the potential of being a source of inspiration for furthering researches on the topic.' Studies in Ottoman Science