THE HISTORY OF SOLAK-ZÂDE

Solak-zâde Mehmed Hemdemî Çelebi is a historian, poet and composer who lived in İstanbul in the 17th century. Solak-zâde whom we have little information about is known for pseudonyms such as “Hemdemî” in his poetry and “Miskalî” in music. Solak-zâde, who was interested in history since childhood, is the author of Nevadirü’l Vukū’ which he wrote with the encouragement of the concierge Hasan Ağa. The history of Solak-zâde, which includes military and political incidents starting from the foundation of the Ottoman Empire until the death of Sultan Ahmet I, is a kind of synopsis of Hoca Sadeddin Efendi’s Tacü’t Tevârih, Künhü’l Ahbar of Mustafa Ali from Gallipoli and Nuhbetü’t Tevârîh of Mehmed b. Mehmed from Edirne. The work, which is far from authenticity because the author narrated his resources without changing them, has been described by Joseph Von Hammer as the most useful summary on the history of the Ottoman Empire.