[FIRST TURKISH MACBETH] Makbes (Kütübhane-i Ictihad 23). Translated by Abdullah Cevdet [Karlidag], (1869-1932).

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, (1564-1616)., Kütübhane-i Içtihad, Cairo - Egypt, 1909. In modern, handsome full brown morocco. Foolscap 8vo. (18 x 12.5 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Arabic letters). 159 p.Extremely rare first Turkish translation of Macbeth, printed in Ottoman Cairo.Macbeth reflected Abdullah Cevdet's reaction against Hamidian despotism and his love and advocacy of liberty. One must also remember him as one of the founding members of the Party of Union and Progress - a secret organization that conspired to overthrow Abdülhamid's absolutist regime. The argument that Abdullah Cevdet's translation of Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Macbeth reflected his opposition to Abdülhamid II's absolute monarchy could be justified with the fact that the themes of the translated plays were perceived by the political authorities as threatening since they were about the murder of kings and heads of state. In Abdullah Cevdet's view, Macbeth is famous as a drama of "ambition for status" (hirs-i