Podcasting the Ottomans

When Piri Reis sailed around the Mediterranean, mapping every inch of coastline, it was the height of the Renaissance. The Renaissance, literally meaning “rebirth,” was a period of revival of classical thoughts in economics, politics, and art, which will be the center of attention for this episode. From vivid depictions of the Piazza San Marco to the fountains of lions, Piri reflects a surprising Ottoman fascination with Italian Renaissance art. Researchers and Hosts: Annie Goldberg, Aidan Mehta, Peter Pigliucci, Miles Riah, Erika Takai, and Derek Zeng Image: “Western Italian coastline as far as Naples and the island of Ischia,” The Book of Navigation, The Walters Art Museum, ms W658. f.238b. Music Credits: Bram, “Bram_versus_plaga_fountain_inside_church2.wav.” Copyc4t, “The Global Voice - Italian announcement.” Craigsmith, “R04-42-Deep Bell.wav.” Dibko, “Walking past people and things.wav.” Fesliyan Studios, “Turning-Paper-Book-Page-Med-Speed-A1.” Fesliyan Studios, “Turning-Paper-Book-Page-Slow-A1.” Fesliyan Studios, “Turning-Paper-Book-Page-Snappy-A1.” Steve Oxen, “Tarentella.” Steve Oxen, “Riviera Walk.” Pfannkuchn, “Sailing boat, bow wave (distant perspective).” References: Contadini, Anna and Dr. Claire Norton. The Renaissance and the Ottoman World. Farnham, Surrey, UK; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2013. de Divitiis, Bianca . “Giuliano Da Sangallo in the Kingdom of Naples: Architecture and Cultural Exchange.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 74, no. 2 (2015): 152–78. “Gentile Bellini.” Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Bellini-Italian- Painter. Guglielmo. “Neptune Fountain: Naples-Napoli.” Naples, March 26, 2018. https://www.naples- napoli.org/en/neptune-fountain/. Worringer, Renée. A Short History of the Ottoman Empire. Toronto, Ont: University of Toronto Press, 2021.

The fight over the Maghreb (North Africa) was a never-ending battle between the Hapsburgs, the Spanish and the Ottomans vying for control, until Piri Reis paved the way in his Kitab-i Bahriye as Ottoman success and mastery over Tunis. This episode explores the different dimensions of the formation of Tunis as a legitimate Ottoman polity. Join us as we explore the historical consequence of the Tunis' conquest, and Piri Reis' unique depiction of this crucial Ottoman territory. Researchers and Hosts: Rachel Varley, Luchi Casale, Solace Yee, Hunter Magher, Fiona Sawyer, Nasma Kawar Image: Tunisian coastline with the ports of Bizerte and Tunis as far as Kelibia,The Book of Navigation, The Walters Art Museum, ms W658. f. 279b. Music Credit Vlada Balas, “The Road to Mecca.” Volodymyr Piddubnyk, “Middle Eastern Arabic Background Cinematic Music.” Mood Mode, “Funk That Feelings Instrumental.” References: Brummett, Palmira. “Ottoman Expansion in Europe, ca. 1453–1606.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, edited by Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet, 44–73. Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Dávid, Géza. “Ottoman Armies and Warfare, 1453–1603.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, edited by Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet, 276–319. Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Elliott, J. H. "Iberian Empires." In The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern European History, 1350-1750: Volume II: Cultures and Power, edited by Hamish Scott. 2015 Faroqhi, Suraiya N. “Ottoman Population.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, edited by Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet, 356–404. Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Fleet, Kate. “Ottoman Expansion in the Mediterranean.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, edited by Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet, 141–72. Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Fleet, Kate. “The Ottomans, 1451–1603: A Political History Introduction.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, edited by Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet, 19–43. Cambridge History of Turkey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Reis, Pirî, and Tülây Duran. Kitab-I Bahriye Pirî Reis. Edited by Ertugrul Zekâi Okte. Translated by Vahit Çabuk. 3 vols. Istanbul: Istanbul Research Center, 1988. Soucek, Svat. "Islamic Charting in the Mediterranean." In History of Cartography, Volume 2, Book 1, edited by J. B. Harley and David Woodward. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. Soucek, Svat. "Tunisia in the Kitab-i Bahriye by Piri Reis." Archivum Ottomanicum 5 (1973): 129-296.

Although unidentified in the popular show, Game of Thrones, Dubrovnik, serves as the center of action of the Kingdom of Westeros, King's Landing. Made famous by the show, this Croatian town has become a center for heavy tourist traffic. However, what remains recognized is the historical similarities between the real city and its imagined counterpart. This episode will dive into Dubrovnik's cultural, economic, and strategic significance as a crucial port city in the Mediterranean in the Early Modern period. We will explore the city through the notable Book of Navigation by the Ottoman Navy admiral and cartographer Piri Reis. Hosts and Researchers: Izy Maceda, Bobby Starck, Julia Pellegrini, Bella Pomarico, Zach Rubenstein, Jack Maier References: Bentley, Jerry H., Sanjay Subrahmanyam, and Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, eds. “Crossroads Regions.”. In The Cambridge World History,4: 345–444. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. Brummett, Palmira. “Ottoman Expansion in Europe, ca. 1453–1606.” In The Cambridge History of Turkey, edited by Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet, 44–73. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Carter, F. W. “The Commerce of the Dubrovnik Republic, 1500-1700.” The Economic History Review 24, no. 3 (1971): 370–94. Carter, F. W. “Dubrovnik: The Early Development of a Pre-Industrial City.” The Slavonic and East European Review 47, no. 109 (1969): 355–68. Sugar, Peter F. Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354-1804. Seattle:University of Washington Press, 1977 Music: “Game of Thrones Music No Copyright,” Liborio Conti. Picture: “Adriatic coastline north from Dubrovnik,” The Book of Navigation, The Walters Art Museum, ms W658. f. 151b.

This episode explores the depiction of the city of Granada in the Kitab-ı Bahriye, the atlas composed by the Ottoman navy admiral and cartographer, Piri Reis. Piri's inclusion of Granada, an inland city, in his atlas of the Mediterranean coast, is odd. Granada is one of the few non-maritime cities that are depicted in the book. As we attempt to solve the puzzle of Granada's representation, we will visit the history of the last Islamic regime in Spain, the Nasrids of Granada (r. 1232 to 1492), whose rule was ended by the Reconquista. As the Catholic Monarchs conquered the city and expelled its non-Christian populations, Piri in his “previous life” as a corsair, had an important role to play. Tune in to listen to our discussion of a moment in history when religious tolerance and coexistence came to an end and how Piri Reis played a heroic role in it. Researchers and Hosts: Marissa VanOrmer, Aaron Peters, Artan Redzepi, Elif Yigit, Kennedy Pemberton, and Gavin Hasche. Music Credit: Jérôme Chauvel (Abydos Music), “Middle East Ballad - 1 minute edit.” Sergei Chetvertnykh (Serge Quadrado Music), “Islam Dream.” Image: Coastline of Andalusia with the city of Grenada, The Book of Navigation, The Walters Art Museum, ms W658. f. 261a. References: Abay, Emre Gurkan. 2013. “Ottoman Admiral Piri Reis Honored by UNESCO.” Anadolu Ajansı. December 30, 2013. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/culture-and-art/ottoman-admiral-piri-reis-honored-by-unesco/194120. Dalrymple, William. 2021. “The Ottoman Empire: A Forgotten Giant of Western History.” November 24, 2021. https://www.ft.com/content/ae3756fe-1e58-4ede-a13b-30dcb2c74434. Egypt Today. 2017. “Remembering Granada: The Last Muslim Kingdom of Spain.” EgyptToday. June 19, 2017. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/8091/Remembering-Granada-The-last-Muslim-Kingdom-of-Spain. Emiralioğlu, Pinar. 2014. Geographical Knowledge and Imperial Culture in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire. Ashgate Publishing. https://www.routledge.com/Geographical-Knowledge-and-Imperial-Culture-in-the-Early-Modern-Ottoman-Empire/Emiralioglu/p/book/9781138247543. Latham, J.D., and A. Fernández-Puertas. n.d. “Naṣrids.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English), edited by P.J. Bearman, 2nd ed. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0855. Look Back History, dir. 2021. The Rise and Fall of Al-Andalus | What Was the Reconquista? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4GOF0l8cvc. Reis, Pîrî. 1521. Kitab-ı Bahriye (The Book of Navigation). Edited by Ertügrul Zekai Ökte. Translated by Robert Bragner. 4 vols. İstanbul: Historical Research Foundation. https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/kitab-i-bahriye/author/piri-reis/. Rodgers, Helen, and Stephen Cavendish. 2021. City of Illusions: A History of Granada. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197619414.001.0001. Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. 2007. “Holding the World in Balance: The Connected Histories of the Iberian Overseas Empires, 1500–1640.” The American Historical Review 112 (5): 1359–85. https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr.112.5.1359.

This episode covers the city of Alexandria's contributions to the Ottoman empire's economic and trading success through the eyes of the esteemed cartographer Piri Reis. Through exploring Piri's drawings and vivid descriptions of Alexandria, we explore the ways in which he depicts the city as the trading superpower in the Mediterranean and the Old World. Researchers and Hosts: Sophia Fawcett, Jacob Chi, Henry Reuland, Lizzy Langhoff, Austin Hartsell, and Milap Patel Image: “City of Alexandria”, The Book of Navigation, The Walters Art Museum, ms W658. f. 302a References: Agoston, Gabor, “The Ottoman Empire and Europe,” in The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern European History, 1350-1750: Volume II: Cultures and Power. Ed. Hamish Scott. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, (612-637). Antrim, Zayde, “Mapping in the Ottoman Empire”, London: Reaktion Books, 2018. Dávid, Géza. “Ottoman Armies and Warfare, 1453–1603.” in The Cambridge History of Turkey. Ed. Suraiya N. Faroqhi and Kate Fleet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. (276–319). Rapaport, Youssef, “The Expanding Horizons of an Ottoman Admiral.” Oxford, England: Bodleian Library, 2020.

The pervasive Orientalist view of the Ottoman Empire as a backwards civilization has been challenged by more recent historical scholarship that evaluates the role and importance of women in Ottoman society. This episode shows that Ottoman women were far more than just a footnote in the functioning of the empire.

This episode presents a fantastic rebuttal to a Eurocentric view of 16th century geopolitical affairs, and astutely notes the forceful impact of the reality of Ottoman territory at the crux of global trade.

The students will lead us by exploring the Ottoman conception of “other,” more specifically, of their Portuguese rivals.

Intrigued by the diversity of Ottoman society, several Boston College students explore these complex inter-religious realities through tracing the representations of mosques and churches in the maps of Piri Reis

This episode dives into the relationship between the Venetians and Ottomans as the two leading powers in the Mediterranean. Presented as “frenemies,” the two ambitious powers sparred on many occasions, yet the Ottoman Empire and the city-state of Venice had a surprisingly functional working relationship

In this episode, the podcasters will show us how the representations of Venice and Cairo differed significantly from that of Marseille with respect to the geopolitical situation of the time.

In this episode, Professor Dana Sajdi of Boston College offers an overview of Piri Reis' life and work through conversations with Professors Giancarlo Casale of University of Minnesota and the European University Institute; Pınar Emiralioğlu of Sam Houston State University, and Yossef Rapoport of Queen Mary University of London.

Gage Higgins introduces the series Navigating the Book of Navigation produced by Boston College undergraduate students for the History Core course, Podcasting the Ottomans.