On two manuscripts by Abū Bakr b. Bahrām al-Dimashqī (d. 1102/1691) related to W. and J. Blaeu’s Atlas Maior

Abstract

Numerous  versions  are  said  to  have  been  produced  by  Abū  Bakr  al- Dimashqī (d. 1691) of his translation of that pinnacle of Dutch cartography, the Atlas Maior of Joan Blaeu, but no detailed study has been undertaken of the vari- ous manuscripts. This article compares two versions classified by Adnan Adıvar and later scholars as “the basic translation,” as opposed to a longer, nine-volume version (Topkapı Sarayı Museum, B 325-33). Scrutiny of structure and accompanying maps reveals that Nuruosmaniye 2996 and Museum of Islamic and Turkish Art (TİEM) 1975, formerly Evkaf 1506, should be considered different epitomes of the main work, testifying to an ongoing engagement of the author, Abū Bakr, and subsequent copyists and mapmaking workshops with the new material and older works, includ- ing prominently Katip Çelebi’s Cihânnümâ.