Kitâbu Nûri Hadakati el - Ebsâr ve Nûri Hadîkati el Enzâr

Edited for publication by Hüseyin Gazi Topdemir, this work is a treatise by the renowned scholar Takîyüddîn Ibn Ma‘ruf, a prominent figure in 16th-century Istanbul, in which he records the findings he obtained through experimental and mathematical investigations of numerous optical phenomena, such as the source, nature, propagation, reflection, and refraction of light, as well as the formation of colors. From the perspective of the history of optics, this book is of great importance in two aspects: First, considering its content, theoretical framework, and richness of exposition, it is the only substantial scientific work on optics in the history of the Ottoman Empire, apart from a few short articles. Second, while the work extensively incorporates the results of experimental research conducted in the Islamic world (8th–12th centuries), it primarily consists of Takiyüddin’s original findings derived from his own experimental and mathematical investigations. Consequently, this original work, which provides illuminating insights into the general structure and nature of scientific studies conducted in the Ottoman Empire during the 16th century, offers readers the opportunity to learn not only how the successful studies in optics initiated in the Islamic world continued in later periods and what level they reached, but also how this accumulated knowledge was transmitted to the Ottomans.