Mevlânâ Mehmed Neşri (born c. 1450 – died circa 1520), also commonly referred to as Neshri (Ottoman Turkish: نشري), was an Ottoman historian, a prominent representative of early Ottoman historiography.[1]

Neşri Hüseyn ibn Eyne Beg
TitleNeshri
Personal
Died1520?
ReligionIslam
EraOttoman Empire
Main interest(s)Ottoman history
Notable work(s)"Cihan-Nümâ" (Cosmorama)

Very little is known about Neşri, which suggests that he was not a major literary figure during his lifetime.[1] Contemporary sources refer to him with the modest title of muderris (teacher), which further suggested that he did not hold a high office.[1] He witnessed the death of Mehmed II in 1481 and the Janissary riots that followed it. He is known as the author of the universal history Cosmorama or Cihan-Nümâ. Only the sixth and final parts of this work are preserved today. He probably completed it between 1487 and February 1493.[2]

According to the historian Paul Wittek, Neşri based his work on the early Ottoman historian work of Aşıkpaşazade, a chronological list of the mid-15th century and an anonymous chronicle of the late 15th century, amalgamating the three primary historiographical traditions which were then popular. His text became a principal source for many later historians, both Ottoman and European.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Isom-Verhaaren & Schull 2016, p. 66.
  2. ^ Woodhead 1995, p. 7.
  3. ^ Woodhead 1995, pp. 7–8.

Sources

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  • Isom-Verhaaren, Christine; Schull, Kent F. (2016). Living in the Ottoman Realm: Empire and Identity, 13th to 20th Centuries. Indiana University Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0253019486.
  • Kitab-i Cihan-Nümâ, sometimes referred to as Djihan-Nümâ, partially edited and translated in Journal of the German Oriental Society. 13. Volume 1859
  • NEŞRÎ - Osmanlı tarihçisi (in Turkish)
    Published in the 33rd Volume of TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi in 2007, pp.20—22, Istanbul.
  • Woodhead, Christine (1995). "Neshri". In Bosworth, C. E. (ed.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 8: NED-SAM. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill. pp. 7–8. ISBN 90-04-09834-8.