[MUTEFERRIKA Ibrahim] VAUBAN, Sébastien Le Prestre de. YPSIL - Lot 86

[MUTEFERRIKA Ibrahim] VAUBAN, Sébastien Le Prestre de. YPSILANTIS, Constantine (trans.) Fenn-i Lagim. Constantinople, Muhammad Rasid [successor to Ibrahim Müteferrika], 1208 H. = [1792-1793]. In-folio, [4] ff. (of which 1 bl.), 24 ff. 11 black copper-engraved plates. Contemporary ottoman binding in tan basane, smooth spine, red edges (spotting and rubbing, missing upper cover, corners and edges, marginal wetness on some leaves). Very rare 18th-century Ottoman military manual in its original binding. Translation into Ottoman Turkish by the Phanariot of Constantine, Alexandre Ypsilantis (1760-1816), based on Vauban's Traité des mines (in De l'attaque et de la défense des places, 1737-1742). 300 copies printed in 1208 A.H. (1792-1793). Printed by order of Sultan Selim III by Muḥammad Raşid. Ibrahim Müteferrika (1674-1745) introduced printing to the Ottoman Empire and himself translated several books from European languages, but very little is known about the translation activity of the Phanariotes until the second half of the 18th century. It was only during the period of the reform movement under Sultan Selim III (1789-1807), known as Nizam-z Cedid, when demand for this type of study became vital, that we find the first notable contribution by a Phanariot, the great dragoman Constantin Alexandre Ypsilanti (1760-1816) translated from French three military treatises intended for the training of officers in the new army, at the request of the chief secretary (re)zsi l-kiittab) Mehmed Rasid Efendi ; These works were even printed, which was rare at the time (cf. Strauss, 1955). Fenn-i Lağim, Istanbul 1208 [1793] is one of these 3 titles (along with Fenn-i Harb, Istanbul 1207 [1792] and Fenn-i Muhdsara, Istanbul 1209 [1794]); the original works from which they were translated being classics of military literature by Belidor and Vauban). The illustration consists of 11 copper-engraved plates by two Armenian artists, Kapriyel and Stepan Efendi. Poliorcetics. [Ottoman Empire - Militaria].