Ahmed III

Ahmed III’s 1727 decree allowed İbrahim Müteferrika to establish the first printing press in Ottoman lands, but made that permission conditional: a panel of religious and legal scholars had to vet what the press produced. The measure cautiously opened a door that had been closed to Muslim printing in Arabic for more than two centuries, while ensuring that the new technology remained under close supervision.

A Belated Permission

The Ottoman restriction began well before Ahmed III’s reign. In 1485, Bayezid II issued an edict expressly forbidding Muslims from printing in Arabic; Selim I reinforced the rule in 1515. It was not until 1727 that an Ottoman ruler authorized a press. Ahmed III’s decree granted Müteferrika permission to set one up, a late departure from the policy that had kept printing out of the empire.

The decree presented the innovation in celebratory terms, describing “the fortunate day this Western technique will be unveiled like a bride and will not again be hidden.” Yet that promise of emergence came with an immediate qualification: Müteferrika’s work would be closely monitored. The image of a technique unveiled, only to be placed under supervision, captures the guarded character of the authorization.

Religious and Legal Supervision

The decree justified oversight as a way to prevent printing mistakes. Proofreading was assigned to three Kadis—the religious and legal scholars Mevlana İshak of Istanbul, Mevlana Sahib of Selaniki, and Mevlana Asad of Galata—along with Mevlana Musa, the Sheykh of the Kasim Paşa Mevlevihane. Their named participation made scholarly review part of the press’s operating conditions, rather than a general aspiration to accuracy.

Müteferrika could establish a press, but he could not print without this panel’s vetting. The arrangement therefore admitted the technology while restricting its reach through institutional control. The account notes the irony: the Kadis’ wisdom and knowledge might themselves have increased faster if printing had been more readily available, but Ahmed III’s permission did not remove the constraints that limited access.

Limited Reach and Lasting Consequences

The press began operating in 1729. By the time Müteferrika stopped working in 1743, it had printed only seventeen books. His family tried to carry on the tradition but produced just seven more before giving up in 1797. Ahmed III’s decree thus marked a significant change in policy without bringing printing into widespread use.

The broader consequences are set against literacy figures around 1800. Only about 2 to 3 percent of Ottoman citizens were probably literate, compared with 60 percent of adult males and 40 percent of adult females in England; the Netherlands and Germany had still higher rates. The book presents opposition to printing as having consequences for literacy, education, and economic success. Ahmed III’s authorization ended the prohibition in principle, but its limits left the Ottoman lands far behind the more literate countries of Europe.