Matrakçı Nasuh
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Matrakçı Nasuh (also known as Nasuh el-Silahi or Nasuh the Swordsman for his talent with weapons) was a Turkish mathematician, historian,geographer,cartographer and miniaturist. His birth date and birth place is unknown. He received education at Enderun School. He received the nickname "Matrakçı" after he created the game called Matrak. Matrak means amazing in Turkish and "çı" is a suffix for English "-er". Therefore his nickname means "who plays (invents) the amazing game".
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[edit] His life
He wrote "Cemâlü'l-Küttâb" and "Kemalü'l- Hisâb" after a long period of studies on mathematics and geometry and submitted to Selim I, the Ottoman Empire. He wrote "Mecmaü't-Tevârih" and "Süleymannâme" on history concerning the period 1520 - 1543. He also wrote a historical piece on İran march of Suleiman I titled "Fetihname-i Karabuğdan".
He wrote on mathematics and history but he is most famous of his miniatures.He created a naturalist style which focuses on panoromic views of landscapes and cities with greatest detail (his most famous İstanbul landscape picture shows almost every street and building of the city)in Ottoman miniature art later known as "Matrakçı style". The most important of his four historic volumes of miniatures is that of Suleiman I’s first Iran-Iraq campaign in 1534-35. As well as illustrating how the Ottoman army marched from Istanbul to Baghdad and then Tabriz and how it returned via Halep and Eskisehir, he also includes all the cities they passed along the way. The Library of Istanbul University houses the sole copy of this matchless work today.
Nasuh was also a soldier and a master swordsman. He worked as a weapons teacher in Enderun School. He and his students demonstrated their skills in a show which was a part of the circumcision celebrations of Suleiman I's sons. Because of his success in this demonstration Nasuh received the honorary title of Ustad(Master) and Reis (Chief) from the sultan. He also wrote a book about usage of various weapons and techniques of cavalry and infantry battle, called Tuhfet-ul Guzat.
[edit] His works
[edit] Mathematics
- Cemâlü'l-Küttâb
- Kemalü'l- Hisâb
- Umdetü'l-Hisâb
[edit] History
- Mecmaü't-Tevârih
- Süleymannâme
- Fetihname-i Karabuğdan
- Beyan-ı Menazil-i Sefer-ul Irakeyn
- Tuhfet-ul Guzat
