Prepared by Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Ramazan Şeşen, Cevat İzgi, Cemil Akpınar, İhsan Fazlıoğlu,
Edited by Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu,
İstanbul, 1997 (in Turkish with foreword in English),
ISBN 92-9063-070-1 (vol.1),
ISBN 92-9063-071-x (vol.2),
ISBN 92-9063-072-8 (set)
This work is an important step in interpreting the period of history of science in Islamic lands after the 13th century. A group of researchers prepared the list of 582 "Ottoman" writers who prepared astronomical works approximately between the years 1400- 1923. The inventories of manuscripts located in the libraries of Turkey and outside of Turkey were given. Some tables in the book give a long list of astronomical works copied within the geographical area where the Ottomans ruled. We should also underline that although the book was prepared in Turkish, it contains useful explanations for those who speak English. Therefore, this study can be easily used by all researchers who work in this field.
First volume ISBN 92-9063-070-1
Second volume ISBN 92-9063-071-x
Set ISBN 92-9063-072-8
History of Ottoman Astronomy Literature: "History is as good as its sources. The history of Ottoman science has been neglected because we have lacked an inventory of Ottoman scientific literature. This will now be remedied by an important bio-bibliographical project, of which the set of two volumes under review is the first part. … The publication of the two volumes is a watershed in the study of history of science in the Ottoman world. It is a key that will open the door to new and important research. … The long awaited dawn of a new period of research has now arrived." Prof. William Shea, International Academy of the History of Science, France; in Archives Internationales d’Histoire des Sciences.
Excerpts from an article titled "Eclipsed no more" by Dr. Ziauddin Sardar was published in Nature, Vol. 394, on 13 August 1998: "The project on ‘scientific literature in the Ottoman period’ undertaken by the international Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), is designed to highlight the achievements of Ottoman science and restore it to its rightful place. It is a massive enterprise … The result is a monumental achievement. It not only provides us with a true picture of the extent of Ottoman scientific activity, but also turns the standard view on its head. It is a truly prodigious work that will be celebrated by historians of Islamic science everywhere."
Prof. Abdelhamid Sabra from Harvard University, U.S.A., found that the comprehensive information which is compiled for the first time in this book will help historians’ progress in this hitherto insufficiently explored field; Prof. David King from Frankfurt University, Germany, qualified the book as "a key to Islamic astronomy", and Prof. Jamil Ragep from Oklahoma University stated that the "Introduction" to the book is an analytic study of the transition process from the Hellenistic-Islamic background of Ottoman science to modern European science and that the book as a whole constituted an important step in the study of history of science in Islam.