Neşri

Mevlânâ Mehmed Neşri (born c. 1450 – died circa 1520), also commonly referred to as Neshri (نشري), was an Ottoman historian, a prominent representative of early Ottoman historiography.

Very little is known about Neşri, which suggests that he was not a major literary figure during his lifetime. Contemporary sources refer to him with the modest title of muderris (teacher), which further suggested that he did not hold a high office. He witnessed the death of Mehmed II in 1481 and the Janissary riots that followed it. He is known as the author of the universal history Cosmorama or Cihan-Nümâ. Only the sixth and final parts of this work are preserved today. He probably completed it between 1487 and February 1493.

According to the historian Paul Wittek, Neşri based his work on the early Ottoman historian work of Aşıkpaşazade, a chronological list of the mid-15th century and an anonymous chronicle of the late 15th century, amalgamating the three primary historiographical traditions which were then popular. His text became a principal source for many later historians, both Ottoman and European.