44
visuals and sheets were printed for the first time in Turkish
printing history.
73
Making considerable progress until the turn of the
20
th
century, Iranians entered a competition against
Armenians and Greeks in this field. Iranians who were
involved in printing and publishing in
Ahter, Hurşit, Şark
and
Şems printing offices formed a group and established a
great printing office called
Şirket-I Sahaf-I İraniyan and
became a monopoly in printing religious books.
74
There
were complaints by Ottoman printing circles for unfair
competition against Iranians as they disregarded
copyrights
75
and there were several charges of printing illegal Shiite
books and copies of Quran.
76
However, while operating their
own offices, Iranians also printed and distributed books for
anonymous Young Turks.
77
For instance, Ibrahim Temo, one
73
For Valide Hand and Iranian community in Istanbul who were based
around it, see “Büyük Valide Hanı”,
İstanbul Ansiklopedisi, Yay. Haz.
Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Vol: VI, İstanbul, 1961, p. 3307 et al.; Semavi Eyice,
“Büyük Valide Hanı”,
Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Vol: 6,
İstanbul, 1992, pp. 516-517. For Moharram ceremonies, see Sasani,
Yadbudha-yı Sefaret-i İran, pp. 108- 111; Dorina L. Neave,
Eski
İstanbul’da Hayat, İstanbul, 1978, p. 96 et al.; Max Müller,
İstanbul’dan
Mektuplar, İstanbul, 1978, p. 137 et al.; “Leyli Aşure”,
Tercüman-ı
Hakikat, 4 Mart 1905; Thierry Zarcone, “La Situation du Chiisme à
Istanbul au XIX
e
.et au début du XX
e
. Siècle”,
Les Iraniens D’Istanbul, p.
97 et al.; Erica Glassen, “Muharram-Ceremonies (Azadari) in Istanbul at
the End of the XIX
th
and the Beginning of the XX
th
Century”,
Les Iraniens
D’Istanbul, p. 113. For Iranian printing offices’ printing illegal copies of
Quran and Ottoman government’s attempt to print with photolithography
in order to stop it, see Cevdet Paşa,
Tezakir, 3. Edition, Ankara, 1991,
Vol: 40-Tetimme, s. 128; for an example of complaints for Iranian
printers’ illegal printing activities see Tevfik Ebuziyya’s journal in Asaf
Tugay,
İbret: II. Abdülhamid’e Verilen Jurnaller ve Jurnalciler, İstanbul,
1961., pp. 128- 130.
74
Ahmet İhsan Tokgöz,
Matbuat Hatıralarım, İstanbul, 1993, p. 105.
Servet R. İskit mentions the name of “Tebaa-yı İraniye Şirketi” in Valide
Han in the state yearbook of 1883 on the list of printing offices as well as
the book seller İsmail
(Şirket-i Sahafiye-i İranî) among the book stores.
The same author lists more than ten Iranians among the old book sellers in
the list of book stores in Istanbul in a list dated 1936. See.
İskit,
Türkiye’de Neşriyat Hareketleri Tarihine Bir Bakış, 2. Edition, Ankara,
2000, pp. 72, 82, 175.
75
Tugay,
age., ss. 129- 130; Ahmed Rasim,
Muharrir, Şair, Edib -
Matbuat Hatıralarından-, İstanbul, 1980, s. 96.
76
B.O.A
A.MKT., 453/60; B.O.A
Y.PRK.A., 66/95; B.O.A
Y.PRK.EŞA.
40/87.
77
Mirza Riza Kirmani who shot Nasreddin Shah was a freelance book
seller during the time he stayed in Istanbul. He was in close contact with
Young Turks of the Medical School (Tıbbiye) who were pioneers of the
Committee of Union and Progress and he provided them with publications
of Iranian libertarians and other Young Turks. For Mirza Rıza’s these