The 1st International Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Symposium on History Of Science in Islam Proceedings Book

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DOI :10.26650/PB/AA08.2020.001.007   IUP :10.26650/PB/AA08.2020.001.007    Full Text (PDF)

From Alexander von Humboldt to Fuat Sezgin on the Discovery of America — A Comparative Historiography

Detlev Quintern

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) not only studied the history of the discovery of America intensively but he also acknowledged the contributions of Arabic sciences to the universal scientific heritage of humanity. Humboldt referred to astronomers and geographers from the flourishing period of sciences during the era of the Abbāsid caliph al-Maʾmūn (r. 813/819-833) in Baghdad, and he studied the adaption of Arabic astronomical-geographical works by Christoph Columbus who set sail in late Summer 1492 from the Canary Islands in order to follow a western sea route to the Far East. Humboldt could not be aware of the America map of the Ottoman admiral and cartographer Pīrī Reʾīs (ca. 1470-1554) which was found in 1929 in Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace, giving new impetuses to the history of the discovery of America. The Pīrī Reʾīs maps were studied by Paul Kahle (1933) and Afet İnan (1937, 1954, 1974). Fuat Sezgin embedded the Pīrī Reʾīs America map in a wider historical context of sciences, integrating relevant texts, maps and practices interdisciplinary and cross-culturally. While overcoming Eurocentric approaches, Fuat Sezgin introduced a universal understanding of the discovery of America. The historiography of assumed European discoveries requires decolonization.


Keywords: History of Discoveries, Decolonial History of Cartography, A. v. Humboldt / F. Sezgin
DOI :10.26650/PB/AA08.2020.001.007   IUP :10.26650/PB/AA08.2020.001.007    Full Text (PDF)

Alexander von Humboldt’dan Fuat Sezgin’e Amerika’nın Keşfi Üzerine - Karşılaştırmalı Bir Tarih Yazımı

Detlev Quintern

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) yalnızca Amerika’nın keşifinin tarihini yoğun bir şekilde incelemekle kalmadı, aynı zamanda çalışmalarında Arap bilimlerinin insanlığın evrensel bilimsel mirasına katkılarını da kabul etti. Humboldt, Bağdat’taki Abbāsid halifesi al-Maʾmūn dönemine ait (813/819-833) bilimsel gelişim döneminde astronomlara ve coğrafyacılara atıfta bulundu ve 1492 yazının sonlarında batı deniz yolunu izlemek için Kanarya Adaları’ndan Uzak Doğu’ya yelken açan Christoph Columbus’un çalıştığı Arap astronomik-coğrafi uyarlamasını inceledi. Humboldt, 1929 yılında İstanbul’da Topkapı Sarayı’nda bulunan Osmanlı amirali ve haritacı Piri Reis’in (1470-1554) Amerika haritasından haberdar olamayarak Amerika’nın keşif tarihine yeni bir ivme kazandırdı. Piri Reis’in haritaları Paul Kahle (1933) ve Afet İnan (1937, 1954, 1974) tarafından incelenmiştir. Fuat Sezgin, Piri Reis’in Amerika haritasını ilgili disiplinler arası ve kültürlerarası metinleri, haritaları ve uygulamaları birleştirerek daha geniş bir tarihsel bilim bağlamına yerleştirdi. Fuat Sezgin Avrupa merkezli yaklaşımların üstesinden gelirken Amerika’nın keşfiyle ilgili evrensel bir anlayış getirmiş oldu. Varsayılan Avrupa keşiflerinin tarih yazımı sömürgeciliği gerekli kılmaktadır.


Keywords: Keşifler Tarihi, Haritacılığın Sömürge Tarihi, A. V. Humboldt / F. Sezgin

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