Were the Endowment Libraries in Arab Countries Plundered by the Ottomans

Abstract

This article examines the claim that the collections of the manuscript libraries in Istanbul came into being by transferring the collections of endowment libraries in the conquered territories, especially from cities such as Cairo and Alep- po following the conquests of Yavuz Sultan Selim. Since the origin of this claim is Ibn Iyas’ Bedâ’iü’z-Zuhûr fi Vekâyi‘i’d-Duhûr we will first evaluate this claim, and then proceed to an assessment of certain conclusions reached on the basis of this claim. We will also discuss loss of books due to neglect and abuse of library staff in addition to foreign invasions and natural disasters such as fire and flood, and the role of book trade in the erosion of endowed library collections.