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Arrested by the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Piri Reis was executed in 1553 in compliance with an order issued from the imperial headquarters. The sultan probably never recalled – if in fact he ever noticed it – that the aged mariner had at the time of his enthronement dedicated a book called Kitabı Bahriye to him, and that still earlier he had made a strange map whose mutilated remains lay forgotten in the library of Topkapı Palace. [...] Piri Reis and his work occupy a special place in the framework of the exhibition "L'Age d'or des cartes marines: Quand l'Europe découvrait le monde". They show that although the Ottoman Empire had the potential to participate in the discoveries, its ruling elite spurned the attempt to blaze a trail in this direction made by a representative of a marginal group whose other members too ran into dead ends. [...] Piri Reis ran into a dead end as a cartographer [...]
Piri assisted in transporting the Muslim and Jewish population in Granada from Spain to North Africa during the time of the reconquista.
6. It was one of these gazi-corsairs, Kemal Reis, who suggested repeatedly to Beyazit II that he embark on conquests of potential bases on Rhodes and the Peloponnese, and offered expert advice on how to do it. This was recorded by Kemal Reis's nephew Piri Reis in his Kitab-i bahriye, a book of sailing directions for the Mediterranean compiled in two versions, the first in 1520 and the second in 1526. Advice on how to conquer Rhodes is included, understandably, only in the first version.
Piri's taking part in the Turkish fleet going to the campaign on Rhodes in 1523 is to be regarded as only natural.
Also, Kemal Reis or, in actuality, Piri Reis offered this advice to the sultan clearly noting that any plans would be contingent on the sultan's approval. No plan of conquest would be followed unless the sultan was convinced of its feasibility or benefit to the empire. Kemal or Piri also advised against allowing some individuals to consider themselves too important to be required to bring a bag of dirt to help construct a fortress on Kumburnu. Kemal and/or Piri warned against the pretensions of the elite, who considered themselves superior to the men who would be recruited to implement this plan. The conflict between the administrative elite and seafarers echoes throughout this advice.
When viewed in isolation, the coastline of Terra Australis on the Piri Reis map may superficially appear to resemble the actual coast of Antarctica [...]
Rjjiii (talk) 06:54, 2 November 2024 (UTC).