LONDON, ENGLAND.- The finest library of its kind to come to auction in two decades will be offered for sale at Sotheby’s London on Tuesday, May 28 to Thursday, May 30, 2002. The spectacular collection of books, manuscripts and watercolours relating to the Ottoman Empire is expected to raise £4 million. The library, rich in striking colour-plate books, handsome bindings and much sought-after titles, was amassed with the greatest tenacity and discernment over a period of some 40 years by Sefik E. Atabey – a bibliophile with a fascination for the Ottomans. The library has subsequently been added to by the present owner. Charting the Empire’s genesis in the 14th century through to its demise in the 20th century, the collection encompasses much of the Near and Middle East from Persia to the gates of Vienna and Arabia to North Africa, incorporating the great civilisations of Greece, Mesopotamia and Egypt. This great Islamic state held centre-stage in world history for half a millennium and the collection documents the topography, history, achievement and splendour of the Ottoman world from which the collection takes its theme. The 1,600 lot sale comprises many of the greatest books relating to the empire by authors and artists such as Melling, Dodwell, Cassas, Young, Flandin, La Chapelle, Preziosi, Dupré, Le Hay, Choiseul-Gouffier, Tatikian, Layard, Brindesi and Thevenot. Other highlights include rare historical accounts of battles, stunning colour-plates depicting magnificently attired emperors, landscapes and the exotic costumes of the Empire. The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 marked a turning point in the history of this great dynasty. Their occupation of this imperial city gave them a base from which dreams of unlimited expansion could be pursued. Under Mehmed the Conqueror (1451-1481), Constantinople was transformed into a wealthy and fashionable capital, which was to act as a lure to travellers, writers, ambassadors and merchants for the next 500 years. It was Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566), however, who brought the Ottoman Empire to its zenith. A remarkable military strategist, he more than doubled the Ottoman lands inherited from his father, creating a multi-national empire stretching from Vienna to Arabia, the Crimea to the Sudan. Upon Süleyman's demise, the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire began, finally ending 300 years later when Kemal Ataturk founded the Republic of Turkey in 1924. The reigns of Mehmed and Süleyman are chronicled throughout much Sotheby’s sale with one of the most notable commentaries featuring in John Young’s Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey. Depicting Sultans of the Ottoman dynasty from its foundation in the 13th century to 1815, this magnificent work was commissioned by Selim III. Production was halted in 1807 when the Sultan was assassinated and it was not until 1810 that his successor, Mahmoud II, gave Young permission to continue publication. The book with its fine colour-plates executed after paintings by a Greek artist working in Constantinople, is estimated at £50,000-70,000. A copy of Louis Dupré’s Voyage à Athènes et à Constantinople, one of the most beautiful books ever produced on Greece and Turkey, is estimated at £50,000-70,000. In this celebrated work, Dupré records his experiences in the Levant in 1819, providing a fascinating insight into the characters of the people he met on his travels. The text serves as a commentary to the spectacularly vibrant colour-plates depicting personalities such as Ali Pasha of Ioannina, princes and dignitaries as well as Greeks, Turks and Albanians who acted as guides, hosts or patrons.