The History of Translation and Translators in the Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire covered a vast territory for more than five centuries and was therefore a multi-ethnic and multicultural state from the very beginning. Due to the need to negotiate military, political and economic matters both within and outside its borders, the state relied on the services of interpreters. However, despite the multicultural and linguistically diverse communication in the Ottoman Empire, the practice of translation was not formally institutionalised by the state. Until the modernisation efforts of the 18th century, translation was mainly seen as a facilitating or ancillary activity in the diplomatic context. The primary aim of this collection is to comprehensively analyse and define interpreting and translating activities within the Ottoman Empire. Particular attention is paid to the reasons for the lack of institutional structure and the impact of this lack of structure on the practice of translation. It also identifies individual actors, especially those who acted as language and cultural mediators and thus provided important services to the Ottoman Empire. By examining interpreting and translating activities and the agents involved in them, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of language mediation in the Ottoman Empire and the importance of this issue in the context of Ottoman history. Table of contents Preface Furkan Aka / Mehmet Tahir Öncü • Dolmetschen im Osmanischen Reich während des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts: Der Übergang der Dolmetschertätigkeit von jüdischen zu phanariotischen Familien Rabia Eşiyok / Ahu Selin Erkul Yağcı • Translation and Power Dynamics: Exploring the Role of the Phanariot Families in the Ottoman Empire - A Case Study of the Mavrocordatos Family Furkan Buğrahan Uysal / Mehmet Tahir Öncü • In Search of Translation Activities in the Ottoman Empire: Translation Movements of the Tulip Era under the Patronage of Damat İbrahim Pasha Şebnem Hanım Karakuş / Nilgin Tanış Polat • The Muallim-i Salis, Esad of Ioannina, Shedding Light on the Ottoman Enlightenment with His Multilingualism Nihal Tuzcu / Faruk Yücel • The Emergence of The Turkish Aristocracy Class: The Bâb-i Âli Translatıon Office Esra Çağlar Aka / Dilek Altınkaya Nergis • Die Übersetzungskammer der Hohen Pforte Bâb-ı Âli und das Misstrauensdilemma ihrer Übersetzer bis zum Lehrmeister İshak Efendi Fatma Öznur Uslu / Faruk Yücel • Translators’ Decisions in Translation Works within the Context of the Introduction of Western Drama to the Ottoman Empire: The Example of Örikağasızâde Hasan Sırrı Hilal İzci / Ahu Selin Erkul Yağcı • A Polymath Translator Flourishing In “The Nursery of Ottoman Statesmen”: Mehmed Tahir Münif Effendi Şahin Taşkaya / Faruk Yücel • A Daring Lexicographer in the Context of Changing Perceptions of the Ottoman Empire in Europe: Sir James William Redhouse List of authors List of experts