LEUNCLAVIUS, Johannes

Second edition, first published 1588, of this Latin translation of a Turkish manuscript chronicle by the Ottoman historian Sa'd-ed-Din, also known as Khoja Efendi (d. 1599), brought from Constantinople to Germany by Hieronymus Beck von Leopoldsdorf (1525-96), who had travelled widely in the Middle East. It was translated into German at the behest of Emperor Ferdinand II by his interpreter, Hans Caudir von Spiegel (d. 1579), and into Latin by the German orientalist and jurist Johannes Leunclavius (d. 1594), who had himself visited Constantinople on embassy in 1584-85.

The original chronicle covers the history of the Ottoman Empire from its foundation to c.1550, extended by Leunclavius up to the original date of publication. Leunclavius also contributes the extensive Pandectes Historiae Turcicae, a series of short historical sketches of wars and other events in Ottoman history, beginning with a folding genealogy of the sultans, as well as commentaries on their culture. These include money, dress, the coronation ceremony, Ottoman cruelty and their tendency towards patricide, especially by poisoning, descriptions of cities, with detailed descriptions of Ottoman buildings in Constantinople, the city's prison reserved for fraudsters and usurers (including Jews), etc. Leunclavius describes the Ottoman incursions into Europe under Suleiman I and Selim II, including at the end a separate account of the Siege of Vienna in 1529, when Suleiman was defeated, translated from a German source, which includes a long catalogue of the names of the Christian defenders. A detailed and fascinating study of Ottoman culture and history.