This is a critical edition of the biographical work Sullam al-Wusul by Kâtib Çelebi (d. 1657), one of the most important Ottoman scholars of the 17th century. The book is arranged in two editions (Arabic-English and Arabic-Turkish) of 6 volumes each. The main body is in Arabic in both editions, whereby the comprehensive Introduction by Prof. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu is also provided in English in one of the editions and also in Turkish in the other edition. The sixth volume altogether is the Index.
In this work, Kâtib Çelebi records the lives and works of important statesmen and scholars in Islamic history and also of renowned personalities from pre-Islamic times who held a place in learning and literature. In the second part of the book Kâtib Çelebi gives information about the personalities’ names derived from their places of origin or their genealogy. In the prologue, he explains the method he followed in the book, comments on the science of history, and adds information on names derived from places or genealogy. In this regard Sullam al-Wusul is also a book on genealogy.
The Index section has been added to the edition. It is composed of four parts: personal names, place names, publication titles, names of institutions.
