And salutations of joy and songs of peace be ascribed to our Prophet, the Lord of Creation, Mohammed Mustaffa, (upon whom be the peace of God!) who, by the divine Oracle, “_The cities shall be opened to you_,” preached his glorious religion, which he has bequeathed as an invaluable treasure to his illustrious household and posterity till the day of the resurrection. Thus, in confirmation of his divine prediction, in the year one thousand and fifty-five from the flight of the Prophet (A.D. 1645), amongst other victories, he vanquished the island of Candia; so that in the space of ten years its capital and all the other forts and towns came, one by one, into the hands of the Faithful. By these means several circumstances having transpired, which on some occasions, through negligence and want of management, tended to the advantage of the Infidels, the author of these pages, Haji Khalifeh, according to the verse of Muttanabbi, the prince of poets, “Thou hast no squadrons to bring forward, nor property to present; if therefore thy state is not happy, let at least thy words be acceptable,” in order to manifest a zeal for religion, and the defence of the Faithful; and having in view the establishment of the Ottoman power, and the destruction of the Unbelievers, has related how the ancient kings spoke with maledictions on this subject, and the reasons of their rage and hatred; the battles of celebrated admirals and captains; the opinions and deliberations of the experienced and wise; and several other matters pertaining to expeditions and fleets. These he called, “A Gift to the Great respecting Naval Expeditions;” and having completed it, he presented it at the feet of the Lord of Munificence, the Illustrious of the World, the Sovereign of the Land and Ocean, Attendant of the two Holy Cities (Mecca and Medina), Sultan Mohammed Khan, son of Sultan Ibrahim Khan, (may God perpetuate his kingdom, and continue his power to the end of time!) with the hope that, considering its usefulness, he would be pleased to bestow his approbation. This Epitome then consists of an Introduction, two parts, and a Conclusion. INTRODUCTION. Respecting the difficulties we have had in this work, the fixing of the boundaries, and drawing the maps of places: Be it known, that to those engaged in the affairs of state, no science is so necessary as that of geography. If they are not acquainted with the whole surface of the earth, they ought at least to know the figure of the Turkish empire and the neighbouring states; that, when it may be necessary to undertake a journey, or to send an army into any country, they may be properly directed; and by this knowledge it will be easy to enter the enemy’s territory, and defend their own frontiers. Persons ignorant of this science are not competent to be counsellors, even should they be natives; for there are many natives who are ignorant even of the figure of their own country and its boundaries.