[MASTERPIECE WALL MAP OF OTTOMAN CARTOGRAPHY] Yunan Muharebesi'nde Yanya Redif Taburu Binbasi Yanya Vilâyeti'nin kism-i cenûbîsini harita. [i.e. The map of Ioannina by Major Halil Ibrahim [.] during the Greco-Turkish War in 1897]

BINBASI HALIL IBRAHIM EFENDI, (Mekâtîb-i Fünûn-i Harbiye-i Sahâne'de topografya muallimi muavini), (19th century), Meclis-i Maârif-i Askeriye Matbaasi [i.e. Printing House of the Educational Assembly of Turkish Army], Istanbul, [AH 1318] = 1902.

COMPLETE TITLE: Üçyüz onüç senesi Serez'de zuhûr olan Yunan Muharebesi'nde Yanya Redif Taburu Binbasi vekâletini ifâ eylemek üzere Yanya Kolordu-yi Hûmâyûnu'na i'zâm edilmis olan Mekâtîb-i Fünûn-i Harbiye-i Sahâne'de topografya muallimi muavini Binbasi Halil Ibrahim Efendi tarafindan 1/50000 nisbette olarak istiksâf usûliyle yeniden ahz ve tersîm edilen ve Yanya Vilâyeti'nin kism-i cenûbîsini mufassalen irae eyleyen isbu harita Mekâtib-i Fünûn-i Harbiyye-i Sahâne sinif-i muhtelîfesi sâkirdânina tedrîs edilmekte olan Fünûn-i Askeriye tatbîkâtinca isti'mâl edilmek üzere Meclis-i Maârif-i Askeriye tarafindan kabûl buyurularak mekteb-i mezkûr matbaasinda tab' olunmustur. Def'a-yi Saniyye, Sene-yi Maliyye 1318.

Original hand-colored and very attractive chromo-lithographed wall map mounted on cloth. 165x80 cm. In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). Scale: 1/50000. This map is one of the masterpieces of Ottoman cartographic history.

Occasional splits on folding traces, and slight chippings on corners and extremities; overall, a very clean and fresh copy.

This rare and attractive map shows the topography of Ioannina Greece (Ioannina often called Yannena within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece). The map includes several attractive hand-colored land views. A lower panoramic view of South Ioannina shows the Ottoman army deployed across the river and the bridge built by Sultan Mehmet II. The second one at the upper left of the map shows Loros village in Greece and Hamidiye Bridge on the river as an Ottoman architectural building. The third and fourth painted view shows the Castle of Ioannina with the Ottoman flag which is the fortified old town of the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece. The present fortification dates largely to the reconstruction under Ali Pasha in the late Ottoman period, but incorporates also pre-existing Byzantine elements. The last vignette under the title part shows northern Greece and Rumeli (Roumeli). All views are captioned in Ottoman script with Arabic letters. The map includes the Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium of the Ionian Sea on the south; and Loros Plains on the north.

Binbasi [i.e. Major] Halil Ibrahim Efendi was a cartographer and topography teacher at the Ottoman Military School. He participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 ('93 Harbi in Turkish).

The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College was a two-year military staff college of the Ottoman Empire. It was located in Constantinople (now Istanbul). Its mission was to educate staff officers for the Ottoman Army. The school, which was established in accordance with the decree of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I in 1845 and the decision taken by the Military Education Board consisting of Emin Pasha, Fuad Pasha, and Shaikh al-Islam Arif Hikmet Bey, started education and training in 1848 and Abdülkerim Pasha was appointed as the first principal.

The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause involved the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek-majority population had long desired union with Greece. Despite the Ottoman victory on the field, an autonomous Cretan State under Ottoman suzerainty was established the following year (as a result of the intervention of the Great Powers after the war), with Prince George of Greece and Denmark as its first High Commissioner. (Wikipedia).

We can't trace any copy in OCLC. One copy in SALT of Turkey, no copy in TBMM Library. Extremely rare.