^ҁAbbās Wasīm Efendi

Born Bursa, (Turkey), 1689

Died Istanbul, (Turkey), 1760

^ҁAbbās Wasīm Efendi was a scholar who made many valuable contributions to Ottoman astronomy. These included writing a Turkish commentary on the famous astronomical handbook (Zīj) of Ulugh Beg as well as translating ^ҁ Abd al- ^ҁ Alī al-Bīrjandī ’s work on solar and lunar eclipses into Turkish. In addition to being an astronomer, he was a physician, a calligrapher, and a poet; he was also a member of the Khalwatiyya and Qādiriyya religious orders. Besides knowing Turkish, ^ҁAbbās Wasīm Efendi knew a number of languages that included Arabic, Persian, Latin, French, and ancient Greek.

^ҁAbbās Wasīm Efendi, whose father’s name was ^ҁAbd al-Raḥmān and whose grandfather’s name was ^ҁAbdallāh, was known as Kambur (Humpback) Vesim Efendi and as Dervish ^ҁAbbās Ṭabīb. He pursued his education with eminent scholars; apparently his teachers appreciated his cleverness, aptitude, and open-minded attitude. His studies and research took him to...