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Piri Reis

Type Figure Region Ottoman Empire Time c. 1467–1554 Also known as Pasha Piri

Famous Ottoman naval commander, geographer, and cartographer, born around 1467 in Gallipoli, who studied navigation under his uncle Kemal Reis.…

Timeline

  1. c. 1467–1490Gallipoli · Ottoman EmpireBorn into a seafaring family in Gallipoli, he learned navigation and Mediterranean geography from his uncle Kemal Reis from childhood, serving as a sailor in the fleet and beginning to gather material on ports, routes, and cartography.
  2. 1491–1500Aegean Sea · Aegean SeaDuring this period he took part with his uncle Kemal Reis's fleet in naval operations against Venice and the Mamluks, surveying ports and sea conditions on site and recording routes, laying the documentary foundation for the Kitab-ı Bahriye.
  3. 1501–1554Istanbul · Ottoman EmpireIn 1513 he drew his famous world map and presented it to Selim I. He published the first edition of the Kitab-ı Bahriye in 1521 and a revised edition in 1526, systematically describing Mediterranean geography. He later held senior naval posts in Egypt and Basra, and was executed around 1554 in a political case.

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