Mustafa Naima

Muṣtafa Na'īmā (مصطفى نعيما in Ottoman; Mustafa Naima in modern Turkish) (1655 in Aleppo – 1716 in Patras; 1065–1128 according to the Hijri calendar) was an Ottoman bureaucrat and historian who wrote the chronicle known as the Ta'rīkh-i Na'īmā (Naima's History). He is often considered to be the first official historian of the Ottoman Empire, although this formal office was probably not created until the time of his successor, Rashid.

Life and career

Mustafā Na'īm (مصطفى نعيم) was born the son of a Janissary in Aleppo. He joined the palace guard in Constantinople and was educated as a secretary there. He rose in the financial administration of the empire until the palace intrigues caused him to be sent to a provincial administrative post in 1715.

As a historian Mustafa Naima mentions the arrival of Mughal ambassadors: Qaim Beg, Sayyid Ataullah and Hajji Ahmad Saeed, sent by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The ambassadors lodged in the Seraglio of Saiwush Pasha.

Works

Na'īmā's main work is the Ravḍatü 'l-Ḥüseyn fi ḫulāsat-i aḫbāri 'l-ḫāfiqayn (روضة الحسين فى خلاصة أخبار الخافقين in Ottoman; literally: "The Garden of Husayn in the Summary of the Chronicles of East and West"). This work was finished in 1704 and dedicated to the vizier Amcazade Hüseyin Paşa. The book covers the events of the years from 1591 to 1660.

Bibliography

• Norman Itzkowitz: Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition, University of Chicago Press 1980, ISBN 0-226-38806-9
• Lewis V. Thomas, Norman Itzkowitz (ed.): A Study Of Naima, New York University Press 1972, ISBN 0-8147-8150-0 / Hodder & Stoughton Ltd 1972, ISBN 0-340-16893-5
• Annals of the Turkish Empire: from 1591 to 1659. Trans. Charles Fraser. London: Oriental Translation Fund, 1832.

See also

• List of Muslim historians

External links

• Article in the Encyclopædia Britannica