An Ottoman Historian: ʻUthmān Fütūḥī and His Work ʻAjāʼib al-Meḥārib ve Gharāʼib al-Meʻārik

This study is on a less-known Ottoman historian ʻUthmān Fütūḥī and his works, particularly his chronicle about the Yemen expedition (1569-1571). The author wrote two books. The first, titled ʻAjāʼib al-Meḥārib ve Gharāʼib al-Meʻārik, is about this Yemen expedition. The scribe committed this work to paper upon request of Kūjā Sinān Pasha who was the chiefcommander of the Ottoman troops dispatched to Yemen to suppress the Zeydī uprising. We now have two copies of this work (full and incomplete), which are accessible. ʻUthmān Fütūḥī benefited to a considerable extent -as a reference- from Nāme-i Fütūḥ-ı Yemen by Muṣṭafá Rumūzī. However, we have additionally found out that Fütūḥī narrates some specific information that Rumūzī doesn’t. Fütūḥī’s second work with religious content is called Kenz al-Mewâʻiẓ. As far as we know, the sole copy is in the Egyptian National Library and Archives. Fütūḥī submitted this manuscript to Khādim Mesīḥ Pasha, the then-Egypt Governor.