[EDUCATION / EARLY PRINTING] سبحهٔ صبيان / Sübhâ-i Sibyân [i.e., The rosary of children]. Printed by Abdurrahman Efendi

EL-RÛMÎ, MAHMUD B. AHMED (16^th century).

Darü’t-Tibaatü’l-Âmîre [Mühendishâne], Istanbul, AH 1216 [1801 CE].

Contemporary brown half calf, both boards marbled. Demy 8vo. (21 x 14 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 33, [1 blank] p. Many marginal notes, underlined words by red ink, stains between pp. 15-18, stained margins, two ownership period seals, some notes and calculations on the front pastedown and the boards. Hand-coloured and decorated headpiece. Otherwise, a good copy.

Exceedingly rare first edition of this foundational textbook, traditionally attributed to Mahmud el-Rûmî, hence known as the 'Mahmudiye', which served for centuries as the primary resource for teaching Arabic to children in Ottoman madrasahs and was reprinted in numerous subsequent editions. Between 1801 and 1900, the book was published 30 times after this first edition.

First composed in the 16th century and widely used in Ottoman madrasahs, it was the principal introductory text for children beginning their study of Arabic. Its pedagogical structure and clarity made it a standard in elementary religious and linguistic education for centuries. The book offers a concise and accessible introduction to Arabic grammar and morphology, especially tailored for young learners. It includes basic Arabic vocabulary, introduction to Arabic letters and pronunciation, noun and verb conjugations (with emphasis on common forms), simple sentence structures, essential grammatical rules, and inflection patterns (i'râb). Written in rhymed prose or verse, the text was designed to be easily memorized. It laid the groundwork for more advanced studies in the Arabic language, Quranic recitation, and Islamic sciences in the Ottoman madrasahs.

Professor (Müderris) Abdurrahman Efendi was the first director of the “Engineering School Printing House” (Mühendishâne Matbaasi), established in 1797 in Üsküdar, Istanbul. A professor of algebra and geometry, Abdurrahman Efendi had studied fortification techniques for ten years under French experts before the founding of the Mühendishâne-i Berrî-i Hümâyûn (also known as Mühendishâne-i Cedide) in 1793, during the Nizam-ı Cedid reform period. While managing the printing house, he also taught engineering courses at the newly founded school. Commonly known among the public as the “Üsküdar Printing House,” the Mühendishâne Matbaasi, under his direction, published several important works, including the famous Cedid Atlas. Despite this, the press was regarded as a public-interest institution and lacked sufficient capital, which hindered its development. Due to the lack of progress, Abdurrahman Efendi stepped down on December 2, 1807, and was succeeded by Seyyid Hüseyin Beyefendi, former deputy chief clerk of the registry (Defteremini).

The Mühendishâne Printing House (1797) was founded under the chairmanship of Mühendishane teacher Abdurrahman Efendi, with the printing sets inherited from Ibrahim Müteferrika, who published the first Turkish book in the Ottoman Empire. Until 1824, 66 works were printed, including the important publications of the period such as Bashoca Hüseyin Rifki Tamani’s Usûl-i Hendese (1797-98), Atlas-i Kebîr Tercümesi (1803, author: William Faden) translated into Turkish by Resmî Mustafa Ağa, and Mahmut Raif Efendi’s Cedveli-Tableau des nouveaux reglemens de I’Empire Ottoman (1798) printed in French in the Ottoman Empire. The printing house, which was inactive for almost 45 years between 1826 and 1870, started operating again, especially in 1878, and 38 works were printed here until 1906. (Source: ITÜ online).

Beydilli 15., Özege 18418., Türkmen 29.; Yazmadan Basmaya: Mühendishâne 11.; As of May 2025, we can’t trace any copies in OCLC.