[CATHERINE THE GREAT IN THE BULAQ COLLECTION] Tevârîh-i Katerina: Icmal-i eva'il-i ahval-i devlet-i Rusiya. Translated by Yakovaki, (1774-1850)

JEAN-HENRI CASTERA, (1749-1838), Matbaâtü Sâhîbi'l-Fütuhâti'l-Bâhire, Bulaq, Cairo, [AH 1246] = 1830 AD.

Original boards over handsome brown spine with gilt decorations in European style. A contemporary label on the front board has a manuscript title of book. Large roy. 8vo. (25 x 17 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). [10], 225, [1] p.

Early Bulaq imprint, a highly rare translation of the French biography of Catherine the Great by Marquis Jean-Henri Castéra, who was a French diplomat, and traveler, who gathered much of the original information while on diplomatic service in Saint Petersburg, titled "Vie de Catherine II, Impératrice de Russie" [i.e. The life of Catharine II, Empress of Russia], published in two volumes in Paris in 1797. Castera's book "The History of the Reigns of Peter III and Catharine II of Russia" gave detailed biographical information about Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, including the events during the First and Second Russo-Turkish Wars of 1768-1774 and 1787-1792 under her reign, which saw and resulted in some of the worst Turkish defeats in history. The first edition of this book printed in Bulaq as well, but in 1828 [AH 1244], which has 160 pages. This is the second enlarged edition which was annotated by Sadullah Said Amedi, (1759-1831), who was a Turkish poet, later Divân kâtibi [i.e. Imperial court clerk], and "Tabhane-i Misrî Bas Musahhihi" [i.e. The chief editor of Egyptian printing house], appointed by Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha, (1769-1849), the Ottoman governor of Egypt.

A short introductory text on the colophon like: "Moskov diyarinda mukim bulunan Kastra [Castera] nam Fransa elçisinin Moskov Devleti hakkinda cem' ettigi tarihin tercümesidir. Bundan akdem Devlet-i Aliyye'de Divan tercümani olup Rum hadisesi zuhurunda Burusa'ya nefy olunan Yakovaki nam sahis bazi rical-i Devlet-i Aliyye talebiyle tercüme etmistir. Tarih-i merkum Devlet-i mesfûrenin ahvâl ve ahbâr ve kavânîni mefsedet-medârini hâvî ve kâffe-i düvel hususen Devlet-i Âliyye-i ebed-müddet hakkinda olan muamelât-i politikiyyesini muhtevî bir kitab-i ibretnümâ oldugu mütalâsina nigâh-endâz-i ragbet ve iltifat olan erbâb-i basirete asikâr ve hüveydâ olacagi bî-reyb ü meradir". According to this text, this book was translated by Yakovaki Argiropoulo Efendi, (1774-1850), who was the Sultan's envoy in Vienna in the late 18th century, later a respectable dragoman of the fleet and the interpreter of Divan-i Hümâyûn, and translator of earlier books titled 'Ucalet al-Cografya' and 'Cedid Atlas' as well, upon the request of the Turkish Imperial authorities.

Only one copy is located in OCLC 643670610.; and several copies are in 951557955.; Özege 10359.