THE ZADAR MARITIME ZONE IN PIRI REIS' BOOK OF NAVIGATION OF 1526: MARITIME AND GEOGRAPHICAL IMAGES OF PART OF THE CROATIAN ADRIA

This paper contains the analysis of maps and textual geographical descriptions (pilot) of the Zadar maritime zone from the work Kitab-i Bahriye (Book of Navigation) by Piri Reis, an Ottoman seafarer, pirate and later admiral. Comparative analysis was made of several examples of that navigational manual from Istanbul sources known to date and also from a lesser-known example from The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The objective was to compare the information obtained by the Ottomans regarding wide Zadar area based on the secretive work of a foreigner from ranksof the enemy, Piri Reis, with that shown in the works of his contemporary Venetian cartographers, his 'hosts' on the eastern Adriatic coast. Providing either the historical-cartographical or imagological-geographical perspective, the research reveals that Piri Reis managed to balance the demand for production of high quality navigation and geographical materials with his position as a foreigner on the east Adria. Cartographic and narrative images of the Zadar maritime zone by Piri Reis represent a reflection of the scope and possibilities of Ottoman cartography, enabling its reappraisal. The reason lies in the fact that the quality of the cartographic and narrative output of Piri Reis was not achieved in the navigational manuals of that time. The toponyms employed indicate that Piri Reis used other accessible sources, for example, navigation instructions, but he combined them with numerous observations of his own. Therefore, his work represents a totally original description of the Zadar maritime zone which, due to a lot of new information it contains, provides completely new scholarly cognisance.