Neşri

Mevlânâ Mehmed Neşri (born c. 1450 – died 1520?), also commonly referred to as Neshri (Ottoman Turkish: نشري), was an Ottoman historian, a prominent representative of the early Ottoman historiography.[1]

Very little is known about Neşri, which suggests that he was not a major literary figure during his lifetime.[1] Then contemporary sources refer to him with the modest title of muderris (teacher), which further suggested that he did not hold a high office.[1] He witnessed the death of Mehmed II in 1481 and the Janissary riots that followed it. He is known as the author of the universal history Cosmorama or Cihan-Nümâ. Only the sixth and final parts of this work are preserved today. He probably completed it between 1487 and February 1493.[2]

According to the historian Paul Wittek, Neşri based his work on the early Ottoman historian work of Aşıkpaşazade, a chronological list of the mid-15th century and an anonymous chronicle of the late 15th century, amalgamating the three primary historiographical traditions then popular. His text became a principal source for many later historians, both Ottoman and European.[3]