Kâtip Çelebi

His real name was Mustafa bin Abdullah. He entered state service at a young age, took part in various military campaigns and had the opportunity to learn about different regions during these journeys. In later years, he devoted himself largely to scholarly studies and built up a wide range of knowledge by drawing on sources from both the East and the West.

One of his most important works, Keşfü’z-Zunûn, is an extensive catalogue introducing books and branches of knowledge. The result of nearly twenty years of work, it contains information about thousands of books and authors. Cihannümâ is his major work on geography. Through other works, including Fezleke, Tuhfetü’l-Kibâr fî Esfâri’l-Bihâr and Mîzânü’l-Hak, he also made important contributions to the fields of history, maritime studies and intellectual thought.

Kâtip Çelebi died in İstanbul in 1657. His works not only recorded the knowledge of his time but also contributed to an approach based on researching, comparing and questioning different sources. He is remembered as one of the important figures in the Ottoman scholarly tradition who brought together the knowledge of the Eastern and Western worlds.