Kâtip ÃÂelebi () or ḤÃÂjjë Khalëfa () (1017 AH/1609 AD â 1068 AH/1657 AD) was a Turkish polymath and author of the 17th-century Ottoman Empire. He compiled a vast universal bibliographic encyclopaedia of books and sciences, the Kaà Âf az-Zunà «n, and wrote many treatises and essays. âÂÂA deliberate and impartial historian⦠of extensive learningâÂÂ, Franz Babinger hailed him "the greatest encyclopaedist among the Ottomans."
Writing with equal facility in Alsina-i ThalÃÂthathe three languages of Ottoman imperial administration, Arabic, Turkish and Persian â principally in Arabic and then in Turkish, his native tongue he also collaborated on translations from French and Latin. The German orientalist Gustav Flügel published Kaà Âf az-Zunà «n in the original Arabic with parallel Latin translation, entitled Lexicon Bibliographicum et Encyclopaedicum (7 vols.) The orientalist Barthélemy d'Herbelot produced a French edition of the Kaà Âf az-Zunà «n principally with additional material, in the great compendium, Bibliothèque orientale.
He was born Muá¹£á¹Âafa ibn 'Abd AllÃÂh () in Istanbul in February 1609 (DhuâÂÂl-QaâÂÂda 1017 AH). His father was a sipahi (cavalrist) and silÃÂhdÃÂr (sword bearer) of the Sublime Porte and secretary in the Anadolñ muhasebesi (Anatolian finance accountancy) in Istanbul. His mother came from a wealthy Istanbul family. From age five or six he began learning the QurâÂÂÃÂn, Arabic grammar and calligraphy, and at the age of 14 his father found him a clerical position in the imperial financial bureaucracy. He excelled in penmanship, accountancy and siyÃÂqat ("Treasury cipher"). As the accountant of the commissariat department of the Ottoman army in Anatolia, he fought alongside his father on the Terjan campaign (1624) and in the failed expedition to recapture BaghdÃÂd from Persian control in 1625. On the return home his father died at Mosul, and his uncle died a month later. In 1626âÂÂ1627 he was at the siege of Erzurum.
ÃÂelebi had a love of learning from his father, and on his return to Istanbul in 1628 he attended the sermons of the charismatic preacher QÃÂdëzÃÂde, who inspired him to resume his studies. An inheritance allowed him to settle permanently in Istanbul. He continued for 34 years, interrupted only for military service on campaigns to BaghdÃÂd (1629) and Hamadan (1630). In 1633 he left his corps' winter quarters in Aleppo to make the Hajj, earning the title Hajji. He rejoined the imperial army at Diyarbakr, where he associated with scholars. He took part in the recapture of Erivan by Sultan Murad IV, and expeditions to Tabriz and BaghdÃÂd (1629-1631).
On his return in 1635 to Istanbul, Mehmed Kalfa, an old associate of his father's, secured him an apprentice position as Khalifa (second clerk), in the Audit Office of the Cavalry. He later obtained a post in the head office of the Commissariat Department. In 1645 a legacy left to him by a wealthy relative enabled him to dedicate himself full-time to scholarship and acquire books. With his master and friend A'rej Mustafa Efendi, he studied the commentary of al-Baydawi, The Roots of Law, commentaries on AshkÃÂl al-taâÂÂsës (Ideal Forms), al-Mulakhkhas (Summary) of Chaghmënë, âÂÂarà «d (prosody) of Andalusë, and Ulugh BegâÂÂs Zëj (Almanac). He also attended the ders-i 'amm (lecturers), Kurd 'Abd AllÃÂh Efendi at Ayia Sophia and Kechi Mehmed Efendi at the SuleymÃÂnëye. In 1642, in order to carry on the chain of oral teaching, he attended Veli Efendi's lectures on the Nukhba, the Alfiya, and The Principles of Tradition. He also studied the Tawdëh, IsfahÃÂnë, QÃÂdë-Mër, al-MaqÃÂsid (Object of Search), the ÃÂdÃÂb al-bahth (Rules of Disputation), FanÃÂrë, the Tahdhëb and the Shamsiya.
He taught medicine, geography, geometry, the Sàfasl ('Thirty Sections') and the Bëst bÃÂb ('Twenty Chapters') on the astrolabe, Elements of Accidence, al-FanÃÂrë, the Shamsëya on logic, JÃÂmë, Mukhtasar, FarÃÂâÂÂid, MultaqÃÂ, Durar, and Ali Qushji's treatises titled al-Muhammadiya on arithmetic and al-Fathëya on astronomy. He wrote that his teaching method was âÂÂto enter every plurality by way of unity, and to master first principles by comprehending universals.â The astronomer Mevlana Mehmed ibn Ahmed Rumi al-Aqhisar was among those who attended his lectures.
His research ranged across lexicology, fiqh (jurisprudence), logic, rhetoric, tafsër (QurâÂÂÃÂnic exegesis) and hadëth (Prophetic tradition), mathematics, medicine, mysteries of religion, astronomy, genealogy, history and chronicling.
Among his academic circle, he acquired the sobriquet âÂÂKâtip ÃÂelebiâ (Learned Scribe). "Khatib" refers to a government clerk and "Chelebi" was used either for Ottoman princes or for scholars not part of the official hierarchy. His theology is described as Islamic orthodoxy combined with adherence to IshrÃÂqë (Illuminationist philosophy). The politician Köprülü Mehmed Paà Âa was a friend. It seems his tireless dedication to an arduous study regime, may have contributed to ill health and premature death in 1657 from a heart-attack, aged just 49. On his death, Kâtip ÃÂelebi left unfinished works. His only son died young and, in 1659, after his widow was deceased, his library was partly acquired by Levinus Warner for Leiden University (Legatum Warnerianum).
ÃÂelebiâÂÂs taste for book acquisition had begun in Aleppo, and he would later expend a substantial part of his inheritance building his famous library, which came to be the largest in Istanbul in its day.
Kâtip ÃÂelebi was most productive in the decade up to his death in 1657. He authored at least 23 books, in addition to shorter essays and treatises:
ðzmir Kâtip ÃÂelebi University in ðzmir is named after him.
The Newton-Katip ÃÂelebi Fund operates an exchange program for science and innovation between Turkey and the UK.