Salih Zeki's Methodology in Âsâr-ı Bâkiye

Yavuz Unat

History of science studies both the historical development of science and the instruments used by scientists. Two factors were decisive in the emergence of History of science: The accumulation of scientific knowledge from 16th century onwards, and the Enlightenment. History of Science, as an academic discipline, was founded by George Sarton (1884-1956) at Harvard University in 1936. In Turkey, Aydın Sayılı (1913-1993), a student of George Sarton paved the way for the institutionalization of this discipline. History of science studies in Turkey started at the turn of the 20th century: Salih Zeki (1864-1921) and Adnan Adıvar (1882-1955) were the first scholars who researched in the field.

The present article aims to study the methodology used by Salih Zeki in Asâr-ı Bâkıye, one of the major works he compiled, to highlight the contribution of "Oriental scholars" to mathematical sciences. Published in 1913 in Istanbul, the first two volumes of Asâr-ı Bâkiye reflect Salih Zeki's studies based on Islamic mathematical manuscripts as well as on the histories of mathematics published in the West. Thus, Salih Zeki who combined the knowledge he deduced from original mathematical works with that of the studies made by European historians of mathematics, can be considered as a pioneer in the Turkish historiography of science.

Key words: History of mathematics, History of science, Salih Zeki, Asâr-ı Bâkiye; Anahtar kelimeler: Bilim tarihi, Matematik tarihi, Salih Zeki, Asâr-ı Bâkiye.