The Ottoman Scientific Heritage

Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has been a pioneering figure in the studies and researches in the field of History of Science in Islam. He has been working on three main subjects since late 70’s that never quote the attention of scholars either from the Muslim world or Western world. The first is about the scientific activities of late centuries (14-19) and the second is very important subject of the introduction of the modern science and technology to the Muslim world and the attitude of the Muslim scholars which is still a vital question and the third is about the history of institutions of science in Islam.

Prof. Ihsanoglu supervised many international projects sponsored by UNESCO and IRCICA; Master and PhD thesis’s on History of Science in Islam particularly. His publications and academic activities were appreciated by many international awards. Among them Alexandre Koyre Medal in History of Science given by the International Academy of History of Science (Paris, 2008).

He also has been awarded by 20 honorary doctorates and professorships from different European, American, Russian and Islamic universities. Most significant among these honorary doctorates in History of Science is from Galileo Chair at Padua University in Italy.

The International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology established for the first time, an international award in the name of Prof. Ihsanoglu to given to the best PhD in the field of History of Science in Islam since 2009.

Prof. Ihsanoglu was a founder and co-founder of many institutions in this field:

1. Founder of the first independent department in History of Science in Istanbul University, Turkey, 1984.
2. Founder and first Director General of IRCICA between 1980-2004 where he established and edited series of research projects on science in Islam including 18 volumes of Ottoman Scientific Literature.
3. Founder and Honorary President of Turkish Society for History of Science established in 1989.
4. Co-founder of the Commission on History of Science and Technology in Islamic Societies in 1989 Hamburg under the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.
5. President of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology between 2001-2005.

Prof. Ihsanoglu has authored, co-authored and edited many volumes on different aspect of culture and science in Islam which has been published in many languages; English Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Persian, Bosnian, Albanian, etc.

(Selected Publications)

1. Ekmeleddin İhsanoglu and et.al, Ottoman Scientific Literature (scientific disciplines such as Astronomy, Mathematics, Geography, Music, Medicine, natural and applied sciences, military art and science, astrology etc.) 18 volume
2. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu and B. Rosenfeld, Mathematicians, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and Their Works (7th – 19th v.). İstanbul: IRCICA, 2003.
3. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, The House of Sciences: The First Modern University in the Muslim World, Oxford University Press, 2019.
4. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Ottoman Scientific Heritage, (in Arabic), Al-Furqan Foundation, London, 2020
5. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (ed.). Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World. İstanbul: IRCICA, 1992.
6. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. Science, Technology and Learning in the Ottoman Empire: Western Influence, Local Institutions, and the Transfer of Knowledge. Oxon: Ashgate, 2003.
7. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (chief ed. & co-author). History of the Ottoman State, Society and Civilisation, 2 vols. İstanbul: IRCICA, 2001-2002. (Including detailed two chapters on scientific institutions and literature) (available in Turkish, English, Arabic, Russian, Persian, Albanian & Bosnian languages).
   1. Ottoman Educational and Scholarly Scientific Institutions, p.357-515
   1. Ottoman Scientific Scholarly Literature, p. 517-603
8. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (edited & introduction by), Cultural contacts in building a universal civilisation: Islamic Contributions, İstanbul: IRCICA, 2005.
9. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (chief ed. & co-author). The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Volume Five: Culture and Learning in Islam. (English Edition), Paris: UNESCO, 2003; Ankara: Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı, 2008 (Turkish Edition).
10. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, "Introduction of Western Science to the Ottoman World: A Case Study of Modern Astronomy (1660-1860)", Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World: Proceedings of the International Symposium on "Modern Science and the Muslim World", editör (edited by), Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, İstanbul: Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture, 1992'nin içinde, 67-120.
11. “Science in the Ottoman Empire”, Ottoman Civilization / edited by), Halil İnalcık ve Günsel Renda.- Ankara: Milli Kütüphane Yayınları, 2003, c.1, 318-343.
12. "Ottomans and European Science", Science and Empires, edited by Patrick Petitjean... et al., Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1992, 37-48.
13. Scholars of Andalusian Origin and Their Contribution to Ottoman Science”, Suhayl: International Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilization, vol.14, 2015, 9-48.
14. “Orthodox Christian Physicians and Scholars in the Ottoman Court”, Orthodox Christianity and Modern Science Tensions, Ambiguities, Potential, V. N. Makrides, G. E. Woloschak (eds.), Brepols Publisher, 2019
15. “Modernization Efforts in Science, Technology and Industry in the Ottoman Empire (18th and 19th Centuries),” The Introduction of Modern Science and Technology to Turkey and Japan: International Symposium October 7-11, 1996, edited by Feza Günergun ve Kuriyama Shigehisa, Tokyo: International Research Center for Japanese Studies, p.15-35. (9570)
16. “Institutions of Science Education: Classical” The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, edited by İbrahim Kalın, cilt 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 386-397
17. “Emergence of the Ottoman Medrese Tradition” Archivum Ottomanicum.- cilt: 25 (2008), [283]-338.
18. “Institutionalisation of Science in the Medreses of pre-Ottoman and Ottoman Turkey” Turkish Studies in History and Philosophy of Science / edited by, Gürol Irzık and Güven Güzeldere.- Netherlands: Springer, 2005, 265-283.
19. “Ottoman Educational Institutions”, Ottoman Civilization / editör (edited by), Halil İnalcık ve Günsel Renda.- Ankara: Milli Kütüphane Yayınları, 2003’ün içinde, c.1, 344-385.
20. “The Birth of the Tradition of Printed Books in the Ottoman Empire: Transition from Manuscript to Print 1729-1848, (Hatice Aynur ile birlikte), Archivum Ottomanicum, 24 (2007): 165-196.
21. “Islam and Modern Science” Science and Religion around the World /edited by John Hedley Brooke and Ronald L. Numbers, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp.148-174.
22. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (Edited and Introduction by), an Arabic biographical dictionary of 17th century by Katip Çelebi, Sullam al-Wusul ila Tabaqat al-Fuhul (The Ladder of Elevation to the Lives of the Great and Famous by Generation) Istanbul: IRCICA, 2010, 6 volumes.
23. John Brooke & Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu (ed.). Religious Values and the Rise of Science in Europe. Istanbul: IRCICA, 2005.