IBRAHIM MUTEFERRIKA

born c. 1670, , Kolozsvr, Transylvania [now Cluj-Napoca, Rom.] died 1745, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Tur.] Ottoman diplomat known for his contributions to the 18th-century reform movement in the Ottoman Empire; he sponsored the introduction of printing into the Turkish domains. A Hungarian by origin, Ibrahim converted to Islam and entered the Ottoman diplomatic service. He took part in negotiations with Austria and Russia and was active in promoting the Ottoman-French alliance (173739) against Austria and Russia and Ottoman-Swedish action against Russia. In 1727 Ibrahim established a printing press on which he printed works on language, history, geography, and the natural and physical sciences. In 1731 he wrote a treatise that showed the causes of Ottoman decline, described European forms of government and military organization, and proposed reforms in the Ottoman system.