Description
A very rare broadside, issued in 1903, showcases the map of the Siege of Ismail, in today’s Ukraine. The battle was fought in 1790 during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). The Ottoman army suffered large losses and the city had to surrender to Russia.
The sheet was publshed in a series Ottoman State Military History (دولت عثمانيى تارخي عسكريسى) in the last years under the reign of Abdul Hamid II by a Royal War Office under the patronage of General Ahmed Muhtar (طويجى اركان حربيه سندن فريق احمد مختار). The series was suppose to educate people on the military history through the images of great Ottoman battles in the early 20th century, when the Ottoman Empire was undergoing a great crisis. In 1908 year Sultan Abdul Hamid was deposed in the Young Turk Revolution.
Traditionally the focus of Ottoman map making was not on historical cartography. As such the present battle plan of a key historical engagement in South Easter Europe is remarkable.
We could not trace any other examples of the map in instititutions worldwide.
