AYDIN SAYILI (1913 Istanbul- 1993 Ankara)
Ord. Prof. Dr. Aydın Sayılı was born in Istanbul in 1913. Sayılı completed his elementary and
secondary education in Ankara, graduating from Ankara Boys’ High Schoolwith first grant. During his
graduation exams from high school, Sayılı was assessed in History and Geography by an exam board
that included Atatürk. After successfully passing the exam by the Ministry of Education for
scholarships abroad, which was Atatürk’s wish, he was sent to the United States to study in the
History of Science Department of Harvard University. Following his studies at Harvard, Saygılı also
studied at universities like Columbia and Cornell and was awarded a PhD from Harvard in 1942. This
was the first PhD given in Harvard University on history of science, and as far as known, in any other
university for that matter. He returned to Turkey in 1943 after completing his studies in history of
science at Harvard.
After returning to Turkey, he started to teach in the Philosophy Chair of the Faculty of Letters
in Ankara University and was appointed “Associate Professor of History of Science” in 1946. In 1947
he was selected as a full member of the Turkish Historical Society and in 1952, was awarded the
“Professor of History of Science” degree. He became the corresponding member of the International
Academy of the History of Science in 1957. In 1961 he became an effective member of the academy,
where he served as Chairman for three years from 1962 onwards.
Sayılı, who was also an honorary member of the Turkish Librarians’ Association, served as the
Head of the Medieval Branch of the Turkish Historical Society. In 1958 he became Ord. Professor and
founded the History of Science Chair in the Faculty of Letters in Ankara University, thus, establishing
historiography of science in Turkey.
Ord. Prof. Aydın Sayılı was appointed Head of the Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of
Letters in 1974 and continued until 1983. After his retirement, he became the president of the Atatürk
Supreme Council for Culture, Language, and History- Atatürk Culture Center, which was founded in
1984, and retired from this position in 1993.
As an internationally renowned scientist, in 1973 Aydın Sayılı was decorated with the
Copernicus Medal by the Polish government for his work on the Polish astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus. In 1977 he received the TÜBİTAK Service Award, in 1980 he was chosen for the
International Editorial Committee of UNESCO. In 1981 he was given the Excellent Service Award by
Istanbul University and in 1990 he received the UNESCO Award for his lifetime achievements.
The conclusions reached by Ord. Prof. Aydın Sayılı stimulate the reevaluation of the medieval
history of science.
Sayılı was interested in many areas of science history, mainly the history of astronomy and
conducted unique studies in this field. In 1960 he published his masterpiece “Observatory in Islam
and Its General Place in the History of the Observatory”.
Sayılı, who put forth the contribution of the Turks, the Islamic world, the Egyptians, the
Mesopotamians, and other civilizations to science and the formation of western civilization, paid
particular attention to reaching first hand sources of information and to being unprejudiced and
objective.
His remarkable works, which are not only numerous, but also rich in content, have been
published in Turkish, English, Arabic and Persian. The range of his works spans from books to
handouts, research papers and articles. His works such as Türkler ve Bilim, The Observatory in Islam,
Ebû Nasr el-Fârâbi'nin Halâ Üzerine Makalesi (Farabî’s Article on Vacuum), Uluğ Bey ve
Semerkand'daki İlim Faaliyeti Hakkında Gıyâsüddin-i Kâşi'nin Mektubu (Gihiyath al-Din Kashi’s Letter
on Ulugh Bey and the Scientific Activity Samarqand), Abdülhamid İbn Türk'ün Katışık Denklemlerde
Mantıki Zaruretler Adlı Yazısı ve Zamanının Cebri (Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by Abd Al
Hamid Ibn Turk and the Algebra of His Time), Mısırlılarda ve Mezopotamyalılarda Matematik,
Astronomi ve Tıp, Copernicus and His Monumental Work and Hayatta En Hakiki Mürşit İlimdir have
received great attention from historians. Relying mostly on first-hand sources in his field, Sayılı
created a total of 140 works in various languages, eight of which are books.
Aydın Sayılı, who had adopted scientific study as a lifestyle, died on 15 October 1993.
Some of his works
Copyrighted Books
1. Hayatta En Hakiki Mürşit İlimdir, Milli Eğitim Basımevi, Ankara 1948.
2. Observatory in Islam and Its General Place in the History of the Observatory, Türk Tarih
Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara 1960 (1988).
3. Uluğ Bey ve Semerkand’daki İlim Faaliyetleri Hakkında Gıyasüd-din-i Kaşi’nin Mektubu
(Gihiyath al-Din Kashi’s Letter on Ulugh Bey and the Scientific Activity Samarqand), Türk Tarih
Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara 1960 (1985).
4. Abdülhamid İbn Türk’ün Katışık Denklemlerde Mantıkî Zaruretler Adlı Yazısı ve Zamanın Cebri
(Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations by Abd Al Hamid Ibn Turk and the Algebra of His Time), Türk
Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara 1962.
5. Mısırlılarda ve Mezopotamyalılarda Matematik, Astronomi ve Tıp, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi,
Ankara 1966.
6. Kopernik ve Anıtsal Yapıtı, Nikola Kopernik 1473-1973, Başmur Matbaası, Ankara 1973.
7. Doğumunun Bininci Yılında Beyruni, Beyruni’ye Armağan, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara
1974.
8. Türkler ve Bilim, Yedinci İslam Ülkeleri Konferansı, İstanbul 1976.
Books edited
1. Ebû Nasr’i Farabî’nin Halâ Üzerine Makalesi (Farabî’s Article on Vacuum), Ankara: Türk Tarih
Kurumu, 1951 (in association with Prof. Dr. Necati Lugal), (Original in Arabic language, translated into
Turkish and English), (Second edition, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1985).
2. Nikola Kopernik (1473-1973), Ankara: UNESCO Türkiye Milli Komisyonu, 1973.
3. Bilim, Kültür ve Öğretim Dili Olarak Türkçe, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1978 (Second Edition,
Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1994), (Third Edition, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 2001).
4. Beyrunî’ye Armağan, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1978.
5. İbn Sinâ, Doğumunun Bininci Yılı Armağanı, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1984.
CAHIT ARF (1910 Thessaloniki - 1997 Istanbul)
Born in 1910 in Thessaloniki , Ord. Prof. Cahit Arf was a world-famous Turkish mathematician
known for the theorems named after him.
He received his higher education from Ecole Normale Superieure in France and graduated in
1932. He taught mathematics at Galatasaray High School for a period of time before joining the
Faculty of Science of Istanbul University. Afterwards, he went to Germany to receive his PhD.
Upon receiving his PhD from the University of Göttingen in 1938, Arf returned to Turkey in
1939 and resumed his post in the Faculty of Science of Istanbul University. Until 1962, Arf continued
his studies in Istanbul University, where he became professor in 1943 and Ord. Professor in 1955.
Afterwards, he started to teach mathematics at Robert College in Istanbul, and became the Science
Branch Director of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) in 1964.
Cahit Arf conducted several research and observation studies in the USA, and gave lectures as
a visiting professor at the University of California. Upon his return to Turkey in 1967, he joined the
Middle East Technical University (METU). Following his retirement in 1980, Cahit Arf continued his
studies for a while in Gebze Research Center of TÜBİTAK. He was the president of the Turkish
Mathematical Society from 1985 to 1989.
The first work of Cahit Arf was published in 1939 in Crelle Journal – Germany’s famous journal
of mathematics. Arf made significant contributions to mathematics with his works in numerous fields
like algebra, number theory, elasticity theory, analysis, geometry and engineering mathematics and
produced more than twenty original works.
Arf received the Inönü Award in 1948 and the TÜBİTAK Science Award in 1974. He was
awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Istanbul Technical University and Karadeniz Technical University
in 1980, and from METU in 1981. In 1990, an international symposium on Number Theory was
organized in memory of Cahit Arf. The earliest conferences on his advanced Rings and Geometry
studies were held in Istanbul in 1984.
Acquiring a worldwide reputation with his achievements in algebra, Cahit Arf is also known for
his studies for solving synthetic geometry problems with the help of a ruler and compass. He is listed
among prominent mathematicians with his studies named after him such as “Arf Invariant” of
quadratic form, “Arf Rings” and “Arf Closure”. In addition to these terms, he also introduced “Hasse-
Arf Theorem” to mathematics literature.
Cahit Arf died at the end of 1997.
ARCHITECT KEMALEDDIN (1870 Istanbul –1927 Istanbul)
Architect Kemaleddin was born in 1870 in Istanbul. Due to his father’s duty he went to Crete
and learnt French and Arabic during his stay there. Having returned to Istanbul, he improved his
foreign language skills. After high school, he was enrolled at the School of Engineering and graduated
from this school in 1891 with first rank. During his education, with his outstanding talent, he drew the
attention of German Architect Prof. Jasmund, who was lecturing at the same school, and became an
assistant there. Architect Kemaleddin held this position for four years, during which time he also
opened his private office and began designing his early works. In 1895, the Government sent him to
Berlin for further studies in architecture. He studied architecture at Charlottenburg Technische
Hochschule in Berlin for two years and worked in architectures’ offices for a while.
Back in Turkey, Architect Kemaleddin was appointed as a lecturer in the fields of architecture
and civil engineering at the School of Engineering. It was during this period that his ideas on national
architecture started to blossom.
He produced his major works in architecture between 1909 and 1919. Founding the first trade
association in 1908 under the name of ‘Ottoman Association of Architects and Engineers’, Architect
Kemaleddin worked as the Construction and Reparation Manager at the Ministry of Foundations.
During this period, when he was involved with the restoration of historical buildings and the design of
new ones, he found the opportunity to examine the principles of Ottoman architecture, develop his
own style and form his own thoughts on national architecture.
In the meantime, he was elected as a member of Royal Academy of Architecture (UK), owing
to his success in the reparation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Among his major works are Çamlıca Girls’ High School, Mosques of Bostancı, Bakırköy, Bebek
and Yeşilköy, Reşadiye School and Tomb of Sultan Reşat, Tombs of Gazi Osman, Mahmud Şevket,
Cevat, Ali Rıza and Hüsnü Pashas, Laleli Harikzedegan (Tayyare) Apartments, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
Foundation Public Houses (Vakıf Hanları) in Istanbul; Gazi University Rectorate Building, premises of
Gazi Education Institute and Turkish State Railways in Ankara. Furthermore, he gave the final shape
and contributed to the completion of the Ankara Palace project that was initiated by Vedat Tek.
One of the pioneers of the national architecture trend, Architect Kemaleddin was inspired by
classical Ottoman architecture; blending the distinct characteristics of German architecture with those
of the Ottoman architecture and attempting to introduce a brand-new style. In his works, he displayed
the characteristics of Ottoman and Islamic architecture in a way that reflected the national identity
and used architectural elements such as arches, eaves and china tiling on the facades of buildings,
highlighted symmetry and emphasized traditional style with tower-like protrusions and cornices placed on the facades.
Architect Kemaleddin died in 1927.
FATMA ALIYE (1862 Istanbul –1936 Istanbul)
The first Turkish female philosopher Fatma Aliye, born in 1862 in
Istanbul, was also one of
the first female novelists of Turkish literature. Although Zafer Hanım
wrote a novel, “Aşk-ı Vatan”
published in 1877, Fatma Aliye Hanım is known as the first female
novelist, unlike Zafer Hanım, as she had several novels published.
Fatma Aliye is the daughter of the Historian Ahmed Cevdet Pasha. She
took the surname
“Topuz” in 1934. She received a good education during her childhood and
had the chance to improve
her knowledge of French, Arabic, history, literature, mathematics, law,
Arabian history and philosophy.
She started her career in 1889 under a pseudonym, Bir Hanım (A Lady), by
translating a novel
(Volonté) by George Ohnet into Turkish with the title “Meram”. Fatma
Aliye’s efforts were praised by
the author Ahmed Mithat in the newspaper Tercüman-ı Hakikat.
She used the pseudonym, Mütercime-i Meram (The female Translator of
Meram), in her later
works on philosophy, biography and literature. Fatma Aliye usually used
emotional themes in her
novels and published her first novel named Muhadarat in 1892. This novel
is considered to be her best
work.
Fatma Aliye lived during the Tanzimat Period and defended women’s rights
in that period by
generally writing on subjects such as a women’s place in society, the
family and marriage and the
importance of women’s education.
Besides being an author, Fatma Aliye was a poet. Her poems are
characterized with subjects
such as patriotism, women rights and criticism of the admiration of the
West.
Fatma Aliye also worked for women’s involvement in social life and
established Şevkat-i Nisvan
Derneği (Women’s Care Association) with her sister Emine Semiyye and
made efforts to support
women’s education and to ensure women’s participation in production.
In addition to the novel named Hayal ve Hakikat (Dream and Truth) that
she wrote with
Ahmet Mithat Efendi in 1891, her other published novels are Muhadarat
(1892-1893), Ref'et (1898),
Udi (The Lute Player) (1899) and Enin (1910). In her last work named
Ahmed Cevdet Paşa ve Zamanı
(Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and His Time) (1914), she described political life
after the Meşrutiyet
(Constitutional Monarchy) Period. Fatma Aliye also wrote a philosophy
book called Teracim-i Felasife
(1900).
Fatma Aliye’s novels and other works attracted the attention of the
European and American
press and some of her works were translated into French and Arabic. In
addition, her biography and
works were exhibited and hence, included in the catalogue of the library
of the World’s Columbian
Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Fatma Aliye died in Istanbul in 1936.
Major Works
Novels: Levayih-i Hayat (1898), Hayal ve Hakikat (Dream
and Truth) (written with Ahmet Mithat
Efendi in 1891), Muhadarat (1892-1893), Ref'et (1898), Udi (The Lute
Player) (1899), Enin (1910)
Memoirs, Research, Letters and Works on History:
Nisvan-ı İslam (Women of Islam), Taaddüt-ü
Zevcata Zeyl (Polygamy- an appendix), Namdaran-ı Zenan-ı İslamiyan (Famous
Muslim Women),
Ahmed Cevdet Paşa ve Zamanı (Ahmed Cevdet Pasha and His Time), Kosova
Zaferi-Ankara Hezimeti
Works on Philosophy: Teracüm-i Ahval-ı Felasife (Biographies
of Philosophers),
Ahmed Mithat wrote her biography in 1893 under the title “Fatma Aliye
Hanım Yahud Bir Muharrire-i
Osmaniye'nin Neşeti” (Fatma Aliye: The Birth of An Ottoman Woman Writer).
BUHURIZADE MUSTAFA EFENDI (ITRÎ) (1640 Istanbul- 1712 Istanbul)
Buhurizade Mustafa Efendi, whose probable date of birth stated in
sources is 1640, is the
founder of Turkish classical music. He is known as “Itrî”.
He became well known as “the master” during the time of Mehmet IV and
performed fasils
(concerts) in the presence of state authorities.
Itrî is considered to have an extensive theoretical knowledge of music.
The musician, whose
compositions have a vast variety of melody patterns, created music in
nearly all forms of Turkish
music including peşrev, saz semai, kâr, beste, semai, ayin, na’t, durak,
tevşih, tekbir, sala and ilahi.
Due to the extensive variety of his music, Itrî is considered to be the
founder of Turkish
classical music. The Middle and Near Eastern melodies of his antecedents
were replaced by the
Ottoman-Turkish style in Itrî’s compositions, which was later named
Turkish classical music (Many
composers who adopted the classical style were more or less influenced
by Itrî). Along with
Abdülkadir Merâgi (1353?-1435) and Hammâmîzade Ismail Dede Efendi
(1778-1846), Itrî is
considered to be one of the three most important composers who guided
the development of Turkish
music.
Although the number of his compositions - in musical notes - that are
known today is 42, the
actual number of his work is estimated to be around 1000. These include
10 religious compositions (5
mosque music, 5 Islamic Sufi music), 4 saz compositions (3 peşrev, 1 saz
semai) and 28 large nonreligious
compositions (2 kâr, 13 beste, 8 ağır semai, 5 yürük semai).
Itrî’s approach to and interpretation of religious music reflected a
novel style. Segâh Kurban
Bayramı Tekbiri, performed by the whole congregation during the
performance of ritual prayers on the
first days of religious festivals; Segâh Salât-ı Ümmiye, performed
during the visits paid to relics; Segâh
Ayin-i Şerif-i Mevlevi, Nühüft Peşrevi Nühüft Saz Semaisi, Acem Yürük
Semai, Acem-Aşiran Yürük
Semai, Beyâti Peşrevi, Rehâvi Peşrevi, Bestenigâr Beste, Beyâti Beste,
Buselik Beste, Mâhûr Beste,
Segâh Yürük Semai Mâye Cum’a Salâtı and Dilkeş-Hâveran Gece Salâsı are
among his well-known
works.
Itrî was not only interested in music, but also in poetry and
calligraphy. He studied a type of
calligraphy called Talik and created aesthetic works and also became
well known in this field. Itrî is
considered to have written enough poems to make up a Divan (collection
of poems).
According to the available literature, Buhurizade Mustafa Efendi died in
1712.
Major Works
Segâh Kurban Bayramı Tekbiri, Segâh Salât-ı Ümmiye; Mâye Cuma Salâtı,
Dilkeş-Hâveran Gece Salâsı,
Segâh Ayin-i Şerif-i Mevlevi, Rast Nâ’t, Rast Tevşih; Nühüft Durak;
Nühüft İlahî; Nühüft Tevşih; Nühüft
Peşrevi Nühüft Saz Semaisi, Beyâti Peşrevi, Rehâvi Peşrevi, Nevâ Kâr;
Arazbâr Kâr, Acem Nakış Beste,
Acem Yürük Semai, Acem-Aşiran Yürük Semai, Bestenigâr Beste, Beyâti
Beste, Buselik Beste, Buselik
Yürük Semai, Dügâh Beste, Hisar Beste, Hisar Aksak Semai, Hisar Sengîn
Semai, Irak Aksak Semai,
Isfahan Beste, Mâhûr Beste, Mâhûr Ağır Aksak Semai, Nevâ Yürük Semai,
Nikriz Beste, Nühüft Aksak
Semai, Pençgâh Birinci Beste, Pençgâh İkinci Beste; Râhatülervâh Beste,
Rast Aksak Semai, Rehavî
Beste, Rehavî Aksak Semai, Segâh Sengîn Semai; Segâh Yürük Semai.
YUNUS EMRE (1238-1320)
Yunus Emre is a pioneer of mysticism in Anatolia and of using the
Turkish language in poetry.
Where and when he was born is not known exactly but most sources state
that he was born in 1238 ,
belonged to a Turkish family who immigrated to Anatolia and died in
1320.
Yunus Emre studied at madrasah; learnt Arabic and Persian; became
interested in Iranian and
Greek mythology and analyzed the history of mysticism. He became Tapduk
Emre’s student when he
was young and traveled in Anatolia for a long time to introduce Tapduk
Emre’s philosophy to the
Anatolian people.
With the religious system he developed, he became one of the prominent
scholars in the
history of Islam. This belief, which is called Vahdet-i Vücud (unity of
existence), internalizes the
essence of the Koran, trying to comprehend and explain the secrets of ‘one
and only creator’ to the
community. Some verses of Yunus Emre reveal that Mevlana Celalettin
Rumî, who died in Konya in
1273, had an influence on him.
The infinite tolerance of Yunus Emre was also reflected in his
understanding of art. He
associated religious and national values in his verse. He mentioned
mystical concepts by using the
most beautiful and outstanding features of the Turkish language. Yunus
Emre reaches ordinary people
by the way he expressed his feelings and thoughts. Nearly all of the
concepts like ethics, religion and
love are embraced by mysticism in the verse of Yunus Emre.
In Yunus Emre’s opinion, becoming a dervish means becoming mature in a
mystical train of
thought. In addition to this, this state is love; is acceptance by God,
is controlling the will and
overpowering it; is opposing fighting, evil thinking, showing off,
enmity and formalism. The poet
emphasizes that everyone deserves to be loved irrespective of the
differences in religion, sect, race,
nationality, color, position and class.
That Yunus Emre is the pioneer of the use of the Turkish language in
poetry in Anatolia bears
importance with regard to our history of literature. This facilitated
the mystical way of thinking to
become comprehensible for readers.
Yunus Emre has two well-known works: “Risalet-ün Nushiyye” is a mystic,
morally related and
religious work written as a mesnevi (rhyming couplets) with prosodic
meters. The other one “Divan”
was compiled some 70 years after his death. Some of his poems that were
confused with the works of
other poets, who lived many years later and whose names were also “Yunus
Emre”, were analyzed in
terms of style and use of language and it was considered that some 357
poems belonged to him.
UNESCO dedicated 1991 to Yunus Emre, as "The International Yunus Emre
Year"