From Hungary to Southeast Asia: The Ali Macar Reis Atlas in a Global Context

Abstract

This article presents a political context for understanding the world map con- tained within the pages of the famous mid sixteenth-century portolan atlas of Ali Macar Reis. Through a close reading of the Turkish-language captions in the map itself, in combi- nation with other supporting material from the Topkapı Palace Archives, it argues that the map’s contents reflect heightened Ottoman interest in specific areas of the Indian Ocean as a result of the planned Ottoman expedition to Aceh in 1567. Because of the “practical” implications of this reading, the article also tentatively suggests new ways to understand both the audience for sixteenth-century Ottoman world maps, as well as the ways in which they were used by the people who consulted them in the palace.