The History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire. 5th edition

1682

Shoults Eb 1682 R

London: Printed by T.N. for John Starkey

Sir Paul Rycaut’s The Present State of the Ottoman Empire was the first comprehensive description of the area, written in English. Importantly, it was based on Rycaut’s long residence in Constantinople and Smyrna, which began in 1661. Rycaut (1629-1700) played close attention to politics and customs, and learnt Turkish. Indeed, this work is of linguistic importance because of the words he introduced in the text. This is the fifth edition; the first edition being scarce because most copies were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.