Hacı Ahmed World Map depicts Suleiman the Magnificent as ruler of the world

During a conference at the Qatar National Library, Professor Giancarlo Casale, Head of the History Department at the European University Institute, discussed the significance of the 1559 Hacı Ahmed World Map. Considered the oldest complete printed world map prepared in Ottoman Turkish, the map depicts Suleiman the Magnificent as the ‘ruler of the world,’ using imagery that likens him to the sun.

Casale noted that the map provides insight into the political and scientific worldview of the 16th century, illustrating the Ottoman Empire's dominance across three continents. Unlike the Piri Reis map, which is a manuscript with missing sections of Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Hacı Ahmed map is a printed work that brings the Old World and the New World together in a single visual representation, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.