Vahid Çabuk

Researcher and writer (b. 12 November 1946, Cebike / İskenderun / Hatay – d. 5 March  2000, İstanbul). He completed his primary education at İnönü Primary School which was 7 kilometers from his village (1961). He later attended the İskenderun High School (1967) and graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of History (1971). He received his doctorate degree at the same faculty (the title of his thesis was “Tarikî-zâde Mehmet Subhi Efendi’nin Eğri Seferi Şehnamesi” – The Cronicle of the Campaign to Eğri by Tarikî-zâde Mehmet Subhi Efendi, 1986). He began to work for the Encyclopedia of Islam of the Ministry of Culture in 1969. He worked as the director of the Encyclopedia of Islam for 21 years (1971-91) and as an expert at Süleymaniye Library for about a year (1992-93). He worked as a lecturer at İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature, and Department of History from 1983 until his death.

His first poem (Durgunluk Dönemeci – The Turn of Recession) was published in the review Hareket (May, 1970, issue no: 23). His other poems and essays were published in the reviews Hareket (1970-71), İslâm Ansiklopedisi (1972-86), Türk Kültürü (1973-77), Millî Gençlik (1970-78), Tercüman (1977-78), İstanbul, Kültür Sanat Ansiklopedisi, Güneyde Kültür ve Sanat, Tarih ve Medeniyet, Türk Dünyası, Tarih, Belgelerle Türk Tarihi, and in the newspapers Yeni Devir, Tercüman, Yeni Şafak, Türkiye, Millî Gazete and Babıalide Sabah. Moreover, he wrote one thousand articles for the encyclopedias such as İslâm, Görsel Genel Kültür, İstanbul Kültür Sanat Ansiklopedisi, Gelişim Lorousse, Meydan Larousse. He spoke Arabian, Persian and French. He had three children with named Mustafa Emre (1978), Burak Fazıl (1980) and Kenan (1985).

WORKS:

RESEARCH-STUDY: Mecmua-i Tevârih (Collection of History, a simplification from Hafız Hüseyin Ayvansarayî, in collaboration with Fahri Ç. Derin, 1985), Köprülüler (The Köprülü Family, 1988), İslâm Ansiklopedisi İndeksi (Index of the Encyclopedia of Islam, 1994), Osmanlı Teşkilat ve Siyaset Kültürü (The Organizational and Political Culture of the Ottomans, 1996), Kuruluşundan Cumhuriyete Büyük Osmanlı Tarihi (The Great Ottoman History from Its Foundation to the Republic, ten volumes, 1999).

BIOGRAPHY: Sultan IV. Murad Han (Sultan Murad Han IV, 1995), Osmanlı Siyaset Tarihinde Sultan II. Abdülhamid Han (Sultan Abdülhamid Han II in the History of Ottoman Political History, 1998).

NOVEL: Göçer Toprağa Düştü (The Nomads Fell on Earth, 1995).

PLAY: Mühre Kan Bulaşmasın (Don’t Let the Blood Touch the Seal, staged on Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s Channel I and Channel III, 29 May 1988).

ANTHOLOGY: Osmanlı Tarihinden Fıkralar (Anecdotes from the Ottoman History, 1974), Tiryaki Hasan Paşa’nın Gazaları ve Kanije Savunması (The Battles of Tiryaki Hasan Paşa and the Defense of Kanije, 1978), Peçevi Tarihi (The History of Peçevi, foreword and index, in collaboration with Dr. Çetin Derin, 1980), Tarih-i Hind-i Garbî (The History of Western India, anonymous, a simplification from English, 1985), Ottoman Empire in Miniatures (in English, anonymous, 1987), Ottoman Empire in Drawings (From English, anonymous, 1987), Süleymannâme / Sinan Çavuş (Book of Süleyman / Sinan Çavuş, anonymous, simplification, 1987), Pirî Reis - Kitab-ı Bahriye (Piri Reis – The Book of Maritime, four volumes, the ex-President Turgut Özal brought took this work to George Bush, the President of the United States, and to other presidents as a gift, simplification, 1988), Tarihimizde Vakıf Kuran Kadınlar (The Women who Established Foundations in Our History, simplification, in collaboration with Fethi Kayalı, 1991).

Besides, he translated many works from Arabian and Persian.