Remarks on the Part of Ottoman History in Nişancızâde's Mir'âtü'l-Kâinât

Nişancızâde Mehmed Efendi (d.1031/1621) was a famous chronicle writer and one of the prominent scholars of the seventeenth century. He was born during the reign of Süleyman I and lived under the reign of seven Ottoman sultans, including Osman II; and became well-known with his work Mir’âtü’l-Kâinât, covering significant events from the beginning of the universe to the end of the Süleyman I’s reign. Thus, in the chronicle, the part dealing with Ottoman history covers the period from Osman Gazi to the end of Süleyman I’s rule. This article analyzes this part of Mir’âtü’l-Kâinât as it is one of the most significant contributions to the details of Nişancızâde's life. For instance, some sources have contradictory information about his birthday. Whereas the year he was born becomes apparent thanks to the details he provided in Mir’âtü’l-Kâinât about his relatives. The primary source of this article is Mir’âtü’l-Kâinât's autograph copy in the State Library of Berlin. As a result of a comparative analysis of this manuscript along with other chronicles and biographies, the study deducts that Hoca Sadeddin Efendi’s Tâcü’t-Tevârîh is the primary source for the Ottoman history part of Mir’âtü’l-Kâinât.