Effendi, Asia

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The Map at Hand

When we look at the 1803 map of “Greater Asia,” we can’t help but be struck by the utter beauty and art form of its written language. Its cursive style, elongation across land masses and bodies of water, and even its slight disappearance into the map itself give significant weight to the raw appearance of this historical document. In other words, it’s beautiful.

Yet, is it possible for the story behind the map’s language to tell us much more about a culture or people rather than just an aesthetic factor? Throughout our exploration for answers, we came across information and thoughts that surpassed our initial impressions of “Greater Asia.” It led to questions of perception, tradition, and modernism. Such a piece of work might even be considered a form of testimonial cartography, in which an interrogation of the precedent piece is essential to the analysis of the work at hand. The aim here is not to provide a full-fledged translation of an 1800s map but rather make the leap into the politically-driven nodes related to linguistics and society. Is one inclined to automatically assume that the words of the 1803 map were in Arabic? Perhaps. Would a Persian-speaker believe the map to be of Persian origin? Probably. Was it surprising to find out that the map’s labels are actually written in Ottoman Turkish? For us, yes and hence the need for such an exploration.

A Window Into the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Turkish labels on the 1803 map serve as an interesting window into the history of the empire. Having been a translated copy of William Faden’s General Atlas map, the 1803 Cedid Atlas map is a tangible connection to the European way of cartographic thinking and representation. Acquired by Mahmud Raif Efendi during his position as the Chief Secretary of Yusug Agah Efendi, the first Ottoman-Turkish ambassador to London, Faden’s document became a tool for the Ottoman Empire to implement institutional change in cartography through Western methods.¹

Born in London in 1749, William Faden, was an engraver and cartographer during the late 18th century and throughout the early 19th century.² By 1775 Faden replaced Thomas Jefferys, the leading cartographer in his day, as the royal geographer to King George III. Faden produced the New General Atlas in the late 1700s, and included maps of North America, the Northern Hemisphere, Greece, Asia, and Africa. Published in Istanbul in 1803 by Müderris Abdurrahman Efendi, the Cedid Atlas Tercümesi (Translation of a new atlas) included 24 hand-colored copper engraved maps. These maps are adaptations of Faden’s editions in the General Atlas, mimicking European geographical knowledge and style. The atlas was published in conjunction with the political movement towards modernization under the Nizam-ı Cedit (“New Order”), a program of reforms that were meant to bring the Ottoman Empire up to par with the technological, military, and political level of Western powers. ³ In fact, this atlas was used in the new Ottoman Military Engineering School.

“Translated into Ottoman Turkish and with all the maps re-engraved, the atlas was intended to introduce students and faculty in the new school to con- temporary European cartographic practices, and as such was linked to late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century efforts to transform and modernize the Ottoman military.” ⁴

The Cedid Atlas was commissioned by the Ottoman government under Sultan Selim III during the 18th and early 19th centuries, ultimately reflecting his reform-minded ideals towards modern advancement. The atlas not only reflected a new form of cartography but a more contemporary way of thinking (at least, according to European standards). Mahmud Raif Efendi, whose elite status in government gave him a direct connection in the world of the Western models, even wrote the introductory text, “Ucalet-ül Coğrafiye,” for the atlas. Here, the question of  accuracy and truthfulness arises.⁵ Were these maps reproduced without as little as a second thought? As we explore more of Ottoman history, we have no restraint to say that the Ottoman Empire may have intentionally accepted European views, principles, traditions, and map-making methods without question. The language used in the 1803 Cedid Atlas map may have also opened a window into the movement towards the identity of what we now know as modern-day Turkey.

Cartographic Hints

From an artistic and aesthetic perspective, the 24 maps in the Cedid Atlas speakto the tradition of Ottoman Turkish script, a play on Persian calligraphy. As seen on the 1803 map of Asia, the elongation of letters in slight cursive form help map readers to understand the size and spread of territories alongside the dark borders that surround them. With the expansion of Islam, the map can be perceived as a testament to the presence of religion in certain institutions. The erasure of the title cartouche but preseravtion of the fleur-de-lis may have also been indicative of the Ottoman Empire’s move to adopt European knowledge and administration while also rejecting Christian elements, such as the coin-like symbol of the classical figure Hadrian.

“… the light of cartography was implicitly related to the light of civilization, for Easter Europe was often described in the eighteenth century as emerging from darkness…”⁶

Although much of the Empire was made up of non-Muslims, Islamic leadership was a  driving force in the success of Ottoman presence. In order to expand Muslim territory, non-secularism was a foundational part in ensuring that Islamic law would be maintained throughout. United by the religious umbrella, Ottoman leaders enforced Islamic warrior code, organization and administrative structures, and ideology. The Ottoman Turkish language, therefore, was a reflection of the strong ties to religion, employing Arabic for its identity as the language of Islam. However, the early period of language reform began in the late 19th century with the Tanzimât (Reorganization) reformation period.⁷ The government’s aims to modernize the Ottoman Empire through Ottomanism, or the concept developed to unify all of the empire regardless of ethnicity or religion. Turks and non-Turks, Muslims and non-Muslims were to be viewed as equal before the law. Secularism was implemented in a number of institutions including education and military service. During this time, secularism was essential to becoming the law of the land, replacing former religious structures.

So can a geographic map represent more than just a depiction of physical land? We believe so. The bold appearance of the Perso-Arabic script on the map resonates with the power and distinction of the Old Turkish language that lasted centuries. The growth of a language hybrid coupled with the map-making nodes of a Western map signify the extensiveness of the empire and its ability to borrow from multiple traditions to create its own culture and objects, i.e. the 1803 map of Asia.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsMpVvriAik[/youtube]

[READER’S NOTE: video of maps changing over time/moving text still in progress]

Language: A Driving Force

The representation of Ottoman Turkish on the map is an element that must not solely be viewed but rather explored through its history and artistic typography. Language acts as an interesting piece of Ottoman history. The language of the Ottoman Turks between the 14th century  and early 20th century was a hybrid of Arabic and Persian. The heavy borrowing from these two languages resulted in a high disparity between this hybrid and native Turkish words, accumulating around 88% of Perso-Arabic vocabulary.⁸ In addition, the Ottoman Turkish alphabet itself was simply a variant form of the Perso-Arabic alphabet.

Such a major change in language structure had affected the social abilities of native Turkish speakers in non-urbanized areas or those who were less-educated. By decreasing their participation in empirical society through lack of language skills, the non-speakers of Old Turkish were marginalized to a certain sect in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.  

The Move Towards Modernization

For thousands of years, before the start of reformative thinking, the Perso-Arabic alphabet was well suited for the Persian and Arabic components of Ottoman Turkish. In terms of the raw Turkish part of the language, the alphabet did not adequately represent its vocabulary. The disparity of language structures was an issue for those with deeper Turkish-language backgrounds, such as the less-educated and rural population. Ottoman Turkish was, therefore, a weak point in the attempts to unify all corners of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, the language reform movements face opposition from religious and conservative sects. In 1923 during the first Economic Congress of the newly founded Turkish Republic, questions were raised on whether making a change from Arabic to the Latin alphabet would detach Turkey from the Islamic world. However, the attempts to create a new Turkish identity, separate from religion, triumphed over conservative thinking. The reform gained momentum once again when Turkic areas in the Soviet Union officially adopted the Latin alphabet. On November 1, 1928, under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, leader of the Republican People’s Party, the Law on the Adoption and Implementation of the Turkish Alphabet was passed and it became effective on January 1, 1929.⁹

Ultimately, the Latin alphabet was better suited for the Turkish phonemes ignored by Perso-Arabic structure. With a modification of the original Latin, the Turkish alphabet became the 29 letter system that we know and recognize today as the language of modern-day Turkey. It can be said that throughout the history of the Ottoman world, the idea of borrowing and adopting was a prevalent theme in establishing the empire’s place in cartographic and linguistic history. From map adaptations to language hybrids, the Ottoman Empire was rather resourceful of their environment and position in the world.

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The Cedid Atlas was a portal into the ideals of what the new enlighten European world was, and it represents the push of the old Ottoman Empire to reimagine their culture and society. The script on the map creates this image of identity through the use of language. The iteration of the map of 1803 Asia brings up the question of the effects of using this Western origin map in the Ottoman Empire. The world view of the people of the Ottoman Empire was not a discovery of their own accord, but rather a modified version of a work produced by European thinkers. This Western influence ultimately made its way into a Western alphabet.

So, is it safe to say that language and cartography are somehow connected?

We’ll let this photo do the talking:

Rebecca Flores and Asrie Karma

Public Scholarship Project

ARH 386

 

*Consultation with Lale Burk and Weam Zaky for translation of map labels*