The Ottoman Empire's 1840s Tribute to the Islamic World's First Printing Press

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the surprising story of the first printing press in the Islamic world, which was established by Jewish refugees in the Ottoman Empire in the late 15th century—decades before the European colonization of the Americas. They trace the origins of Hebrew printing in Istanbul, the role of the Gutenberg diaspora, and the limited impact on Ottoman society until the İbrahim Müteferrika press in the 18th century. The episode also covers the 1840s Tribute to the Islamic World's First Printing Press, a statue erected in Istanbul to commemorate the Jewish printers. Lucas explains why the Ottoman sultans were more tolerant of minority printing than many European rulers, and how this early technology transfer predates the more famous Müteferrika press by over 200 years. #OttomanEmpire #PrintingPress #JewishHistory #Istanbul #Gutenberg #HebrewPrinting #Diaspora #SultanBayezidII #DavidNachmias #Müteferrika #NicolausII #Woodcuts #Incunabula #TechnologyTransfer #ReligiousTolerance #History #FexingoHistory #MiddleEast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo