Biodiversity in the early modern Ottoman literature: Plants and herbs

This thesis seeks to answer the questions of what kind of knowledge the Ottomans had about biodiversity in terms of plants, what were the reference sources of this knowledge and in which areas they used this knowledge. This study covers the Early Modern Period (15th-18th centuries) and focuses on the geographical region of Diyâr-ı Rûm, where the Turkish-speaking population was densely populated. Since the texts accessible to the average literate population living in this region are taken as a basis, texts written mainly in Ottoman Turkish are preferred. Although the influence of Arabic as the language of science was still present in this period, Ottoman Turkish was also significantly preferred in scientific circles, especially from the 17th and 18th centuries onwards. The Early Modern Period is a period in which new discoveries were made in the world and the knowledge of antiquity was replaced by the search for new knowledge. In this period, the knowledge of plant diversity in the world also increased and some plants rapidly became a commodity of global trade. How far the Ottomans sailed in the winds of nature discovery that began in Europe and how far they were able to go is another answer this thesis seeks. In the classical period, Ottoman authors inherited and adapted medieval Islamic literature and shaped it according to their needs and curiosities. They also showed interest in the new knowledge produced as a result of European discoveries to the extent of their curiosity and needs, and interpreted and utilized them within the framework of their own paradigms. As a result, science production in the Ottoman Empire has eclectic and pragmatic characteristics. In this field, this study discusses how the Ottomans tested themselves in the phenomenon of scientific revolution. The extent to which the Ottomans updated themselves in the field of plant diversity knowledge has also been tried to be determined.