THE TWIN BOOKS FOR TWO OTTOMAN PRINCESSES:
AN EXAMINATION ON THE MAṬᾹLİʻÜ’S-SAʻᾹDE MANUSCRIPTS (1582)
The Twin Books for Two Ottoman Princesses:
An Examination on the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde Manuscripts (1582)
The sultanate of Murād III (1574-1595) was an era of artistic advancement in terms of book production. The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Paris BnF Suppl. Turc 242 & New York Morgan M. 788), as a compendium that includes astrology, physiognomy, oneiromancy and prognostication, is one of the products of this period. These twin books titled Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (The Ascensions of Felicity) must be the Ottoman Turkish adaptation of the fourteenth-century Arabic miscellany, the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133), as their text and illustrative cycles are identical. The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies must have been produced as a result of a cumulative Ottoman imperial household interest in the fields that the book presents as well as a contemporary atmosphere surrounded by millenarian fears.
Apocalyptic excitements and anxieties were highly influential throughout the sixteenth century. Alongside the impact of this phenomenon and of social-political dynamics on contemporary literary genres and book arts, this thesis also considers the commission of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde manuscripts in relation to the image-making process of the sultan Murād III. Twin copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde are dedicated to the daughters of the sultan, whereby both princesses are directly mentioned with their names in these manuscripts. This thesis explores the attribution of the books to the sultan’s daughters as a sign of Ottoman royal women’s interests in occult sciences.
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ÖZET
İki Osmanlı Prensesi için İkiz Kitaplar:
Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde Yazmaları (1582) Üzerine Bir İnceleme
III. Murad’ın saltanatı kitap üretimi açısından sanatsal ilerlemenin olduğu bir dönemdi. Astroloji, fizyonomi, rüya yorumu ve kehanet içerikli bir icmal olarak Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Paris BnF Suppl. Turc 242 & New York Morgan M. 788), bu dönemin ürünlerinden biridir. Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde olarak adlandırılan bu ikiz kitaplar, metin ve resim döngüsüyle özdeş olan on dördüncü yüzyıldan Arapça bir derlemenin, Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133)’ın Osmanlı Türçesine uyarlanmış halidir. Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, Osmanlı saray halkının kitabın içerdiği alanlara karşı duyduğu kümülatif ilginin yanı sıra bin yılcı korkularla çevrili olan dönem atmosferinin de bir sonucu olarak üretilmiş olmalıdır.
On altıncı yüzyıl boyunca kıyamete dair hazırlıklar ve endişeler oldukça etkiliydi. Bu olgunun ve sosyal-politik dinamiklerin dönemin edebi türleri üzerindeki etkisini göz önüne alan bu tez çalışması, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde yazmalarının ısmarlanmasının da sultan III. Murad’ın imaj oluşturma süreciyle ilişkili olabileceği önerisinde bulunmaktadır. Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde’nin ikiz yazmalarının, padişahın kızlarına adanmış olmaları bu kitapların ilginç bir yönüdür, ve bu kitaplarda her iki prenses de doğrudan isimleriyle anılır. Bu tezde, kitapların padişahın kızlarına atfedilmesi, Osmanlı saray kadınlarının okült bilimlere olan ilgisinin bir işareti olarak incelenmektedir.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Çiğdem Kafescioğlu whose patience, moral support and intellectual guidance always encouraged me during this long, tiring journey.
I feel lucky for meeting such a great scholar like Serpil Bağcı and receiving her advices about which path I should follow while examining the paintings of these manuscripts. Attending the classes of Derin Terzioğlu helped me learn about the millenarian fears in the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire and its reflections through the reign of Murād III. I am grateful that they both accepted to be a committee member. I would like to express special thanks to Lale Uluç for her contributions to this study. During my master’s studies her classes provided me a great deal of knowledge about the Islamic art and illustrated manuscripts. I also want to thank Günsel Renda who gave me one of the rare copies of The Book of Felicity at the very beginning of this thesis project.
I feel grateful to my colleagues, Hüseyin Göçen, Halil İbrahim Binici, Ayşe Tuba Silahtar. Each of them helped me willingly by sharing sources and giving critics at the different levels of this research.
Last but not least, thanks to my lovely family, to my parents Sertap and Mehmet and my brother Utku Yıldırım and to my dear sister Selin Yıldırım Delaune. This work would not have been completed without their endless support. I dedicate this study to the memory of my dear aunt, Serap Polat Yeşil whose untimely death was a turning point in my life.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….…1
1.1 Primary sources…………...………………………………………….12
1.2 Secondary Sources……………………………………………………21
CHAPTER 2: THE REIGN OF MURĀD III (1574-1595): RESEARCH IN OCCULT SCIENCES AND RELATED GENRES IN OTTOMAN MANUSCRIPTS………………………………………………………………….27
2.1 Research on Astrology (ʻİlm-i Nucūm) (1575-1580)………………....28
2.2 The golden age of illustrated manuscripts………………………….....41
CHAPTER 3: CONTEMPORARY OTTOMAN ROYAL WOMEN AND THEIR INTEREST IN OCCULT SCIENCES.………………………………………..….67
3.1 Contemporary Ottoman royal women and occult activities in the imperial harem……………………………………………………………………...69
3.1.1 Talismanic shirts and prognostication……………………………....75
3.1.2 Oneiromancy: Dream interpretation……………………………...…78
3.2 Daughters of Murād III and Safiye Sulṭān……………………..……...82
3.3 Occult books in the waqf libraries of the royal women…………..…...90 CHAPTER 4: MAṬᾹLİʻÜ’S-SA’ᾹDE (ASCENSION OF FELICITY): QUESTIONS OF VISUAL TRANSLATION……………………………………………….…..99
4.1 The sections that are absent in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodleian Or. 133) and present in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies (Morgan M. 788, Paris Suppl. Turc. 242)……………………………………………………………….............101
4.2 The sections that are absent in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies (Morgan M. 788, Paris Suppl. Turc. 242)………………………………………….….104
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4.3 Stylistic differences between the illustrations of the two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Paris, Supl. Turc. 242 and Morgan M. 788) …………………………………………………………………………..107
4.4 Iconographical and stylistic differences between the illustrations of the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde …………………………….…………………………………………….114 4.5 Paintings for prognostication (Bodleian Or. 133, fol. 35v-50v; Paris Suppl. Turc. fol. 75v-85v; Morgan M. 788, fol.74r-83v)……………….125
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION………………………………………………….138
APPENDIX A: CONCORDANCE OF ILLUSTRATIONS………....................145
TABLE 1 Images that are absent in the Bodleian Copy………………...145
TABLE 2 Images that are absent in the Ottoman Copies…………….…146
TABLE 3 Features of the Sixteen Prophets………………………….….147
TABLE 4 Features of the Eleven Demons……………………………...148
APPENDIX B: TABLE OF FIGURES…………………………………………149
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………….157
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LIST OF APPENDIX FIGURES
Figure B1. Portrait of the sultan………………………………………………….149
Figure B2. İskender and Ḫiżr (İskender Zū’lḳarneyn ẓulmete gitdüği)…………..149
Figure B3. The Laughing Snake (Şekl-i Mār-ı Ḳahḳaha ve Ayna)………………150
Figure B4. Umayyad Mosque (Şekl-i Cāmi-i Binā-yı Ümeyye)………………….150
Figure B5. Divination of prophet Ẕekeriyyā (Fāl-ı Ẕekeriyyā Peyġāmber)………………………………………………………………………151
Figure B6. Baths of Tiberias (Ḥammām-ı Teberiya)…………………………….151
Figure B7 Sinbad and the old man of the sea (Pīr-i deryā bir ῾Arabı tutduğudur)……………………………………………………………………….152
Figure B8 The Ship of Sorcerers (Şekl-i Keştī-i Sāḥiran)………………………………………………………………………….152
Figure B9 A man with a family (Ehl-i ῾İyāl Olan Kimesnenin Şeklidir)………………………………………………………………………….153
Figure B10 The Lighthouse of Alexandria (Şekl-i Menāre-i İskender)………………………………………………………………………….……..153
Figure B11 Church of The Idol (Şekl-i Kilise-i Ṣanem)………...........................154
Figure B12 The Wall of Gog and Magog (Şekl-i Sedd-i Ye’cūc ve Me’cūc)…………………………………………………………………………154
Figure B13 The Wall of Gog and Magog……………………………………....155
Figure B14 The Planet Mars (Merrīḫ) and The Zodiac Sign Aries (Ḥaml)……………………………………………………………………….…155
Figure B15 “The Red King” (Al-Melīk al-Aḥmer)……………………………..156
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
In the lower garden of the Topkapı Palace, there was a grove of boxwood trees which had been standing there since the ancient times. When they were destroyed in the late 1880s, an old servant called Memiş Efendi was said to have lamented as: “Alas! In that grove every Wednesday night the king of the jinns held council. Where will he go now?”1
Stories about supernatural creatures, jinns and angels, all sorts of related talismans and various ways of fortunetelling had always been an undeniable part of Ottoman daily life. Moreover, the rulers and the members of the imperial household had been tempted by fortunetellers, oneiromancers (dream interpreters) and tended to look for a meaning in their natal charts. This timeless wish led the occult sciences to flourish at particular junctures, an interest that also found reflection in the emergence of new literary genres, and in the manuscript production of the imperial ateliers.
The subject of this research is the two identical manuscript copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, a text about astrology and occult sciences, dedicated to two daughters of Murād III (r. 1574-1595) and Safiye Sulṭān, ῾Āyşe (d. 1605) and Fāṭima Sulṭāns (d. 1617). These highly luxurious copies are both dated 990/1582. Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is the only version of its kind as a book dedicated to the daughters of a sultan, whereby they have been directly named in the opening sections of the respective manuscripts. As indicated in the frontispiece of both copies Seyyid Muḥammad ibn Amir Ḥasan al-Su῾ūdī (d. 1591), commonly known as Su῾ūdī, is the
1 Freely, Inside The Seraglio, 326.
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translator of the books from the Arabic original. Although Su῾ūdī does not mention this in the frontispiece, the project must have been making twin books from the start. Su῾ūdī clearly wrote that Murād III wanted him to translate the text from Arabic to Turkish.2 Although Su῾ūdī does not specify the title of the original Arabic book, scholars have agreed that Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is almost identical to a 14th-century Jalayirid copy of a famous book, Kitāb al-Bulhān (The Book of Wonders), written in the 9th century.
The Kitāb al-Bulhān copy, Arabic original of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, is preserved in the Oxford Bodleian Library (Or. 133) and is available online. It is composed of two main sections. The first section is a compilation of different treatises written by the Arab astronomer Abū Ma῾shar al-Balkhī (d. 886) on various scientific branches such as astrology, oneiromancy, physiognomy etc. These sections that compose the first half of the book were collected from different studies of Abū Ma῾shar, especially from his book, Kitāb al-Mavālid (Book of Nativities).3 The second section is the divination text, which includes elements of fālnāme that has been famously attributed to the sixth Shiʻite imam, Ja‘far al-Ṣādiḳ (d. 765). Two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Paris Suppl. Turc 242 and Morgan M. 788) must be the Turkish adoption of this Bodleian copy regarding to the identical text and illustrative cycle.
To explore the story of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies through a discussion on their textual and visual interpretation and translation of the Kitāb al-Bulhān, I first outline the social-political background of the period they were produced in. Therefore, for a better understanding of the content of the twin books, I aim to
2 Paris copy, fol. 5v-7r, 8v; Morgan copy, fol. 4v-6r,7r
3 BnF, Arabe 2583
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examine the overall interest in the astrology and occult sciences during the reign of the sulṭān Murād III and discover how contemporary royal women might have been involved in book production and reading practices.
The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde manuscripts are important as examples of the growing curiosity in the imperial household towards the translated and illustrated versions of older Arabic and Persian books. This continuous curiosity towards the illustrated recreation of old prototypes of the occult books can be seen through the translation projects that were later commissioned by Mehmed III, and even by his son Aḥmed I, such as Terceme-i Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (İÜK 6624), Aḥmed I’s Fālnāme (TSMK H1703).4 The motivation to produce these illustrated luxurious books which follows similar stylistic and iconographical features was not limited to specifics of contemporary artistic taste.
The first reason for the growing demand for the astrological, eschatological books and ancient histories is clearly the accumulated knowledge and the improved Ottoman artistic style that facilitated the new projects in the arts of the books. However, towards the end of the century, the growing tensions with the Safavids, uprisings, rumors of bribery and the unease among the office holders became influential in the political atmosphere.5 In this period, the rising interest in occultism might have related to mounting anxiety about the future. Therefore, the second reason for the demand in these works might stem from the contemporary need for having information about the approaching Islamic Apocalypse that was also an indispensable part of these anxieties.
4 Bağcı, Çağman, Renda, Tanındı, transl. E. Yazar, Ottoman Painting, 188-212; Bağcı, “From Translated Word to Translated Images”, 162-176.
5 Akdağ, Türk Halkının Dirlik ve Düzenlik Kavgası, 265-315.
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In this study, I suggest that the decision to translate the content of the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133) into the Ottoman Turkish, the production of two copies dedicated to the princesses, and consequently the presentation of these luxurious manuscripts must have been a part of the image-making project of the sulṭān Murād III. This commission clearly strengthened the narrative highlighted in the contemporary imperial history, the Şehinşehnāme (İÜK FY 1404), which depicted the sulṭān as a pious man and a leader who initiated the astrological research that had been neglected for a long time by his predecessors. Besides the narrative of the Şehinşehnāme (İÜK FY 1404) which stresses these virtues of the sultan, another imperial book titled Ḳiyāfetü’l-insāniyye fī şemāili’l-Osmāniyye (Human Physiognomy Concerning the Fine Features of the Ottomans),6 depicts the sultan as a bibliophile ruler who has a book in one hand. The first illustrated pages of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies presents the portrait of Murād III by following the same iconography. In addition, the sultan portrays himself as an introvert and humble sūfī in his Dīvān.7 Therefore, Murād III may have wished to strengthen this crafted image as an intellectual patron of arts of books, by commissioning the simplified versions of an occult encyclopedia for his daughters.
According to the Şehinşehnāme (İÜK FY 1404) narrative, the motivation behind the sultan’s encouragement for the astrological research with the establishment of an observatory in Istanbul (1575-1580) was closely tied with religious practices and the need for predicting the earthly affairs by means of reading stars. At the very beginning, it is essential to note that there is a fine line between the field of ʻilm-i hey’et or ʻilm-i felek (“science of the figuration of the entire universe”) and ʻilm-i nucūm (“science of the stars”) although the two entwine in the sixteenth
6 TSMK H1563. 7 Kırkkılıç, Muradi divanı: (inceleme - tıpkıbasım).
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century context. Both of these disciplines deal with astronomical investigation of the heavens and depend on mathematical calculations of celestial knowledge. However, in the Islamic world, ʻilm-i nucūm was subjected to polarization since the ninth century. The main reason for this opposition was related to the use of celestial knowledge as a means of foretelling the future. Therefore, ʻilm-i aḥkām-ı nucūm (“science of the judgements of the stars”) was regarded as being against Islamic principles.8 Abū Ma῾shar al-Balkhī (d. 886),9 whose treatises were partly included in the content of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde manuscripts, was a famous astronomer who appeared as the advocate of a group who manifested that ʻilm-i nucūm was not against Islam and moreover there was a need for adopting the astrological algorithms of ancient Greece, -like the works of Ptolemy (Batlamyus)- to the Islamic terms. These ideas started a new tradition that does not exclude ʻilm-i aḥkām-ı nucūm and its ancient Greek sources and, in his defense, Abū Ma῾shar defined this discipline as the new tradition of ʻilm-i hey’et.10
Ottoman perception towards ʻilm-i hey’et and ʻilm-i aḥkām-ı nucūm is a complicated matter. When the curriculum of the Ottoman madrasas until the end of Murād III’s reign, and even the later ones, are examined, one can state that making auguries out of stars was mostly criticized and highlighted as unacceptable according to the principles of ʻilm-i hey’et. According to Tashkopruzada’s Mevżūʻāt-ul ʻUlūm the move of planets and stars cannot be accepted as a sign of its own and there is an agreement among the learned men who studied in the field of ʻilm-i hey’et that it is a sin (ḥarām) to act according to the predictions that were made through reading stars.11
8 Şen, Astrology in The Service of the Empire, 28-29.
9 Yamamoto, K. and Burnett, C. Abū Maʿshar on Historical Astrology.
10Şen, Astrology in The Service of the Empire, 131-136; Saliba, “Islamic Astronomy in Context: Attacks on Astrology and the Rise of the Hay’a Tradition”, 25-43.
11Tashkubrizadah, Mevzuatü’l Ulum, 363.
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Later in Netāyic al-Funūn (1598-9), Nev῾ī Efendi stresses the fraud of astrological assumptions (ʻilm-i aḥkām-ı nucūm):12
There is no straight causal relation as there is between fire and smoke. There is no indication for that the stars cause fortune or misfortune either by calculation, by reasoning [akl] or through hearing, and from what one feels it is clear that most of these [astrological] rulings are not right.
On the contrary to these statements, not only the sultan himself but also the bureaucrats and overall, the imperial household must have been highly fond of astrological assumptions. At the end, however, the fate of the imperial chief astronomer Taḳıyyuddīn (d. 1585?) and his observatory were determined by the perception that labeled the reading of stars as a sinful act. However, even after the demolishment of his observatory in 1580, Taḳıyyuddīn’s research continued to be praised. The best example for this contradictive attitude is seen through an augury that the astronomer made upon a comet that appeared in the sky of Istanbul on Ramadan 985 (November 12, 1577). The augury of Taḳıyyuddīn, which explains the appearance of the comet as the sign of the victory against Safavids, was celebrated in Āṣafī Pasha’s Şecā῾atnāme (1586),13 and in Muṣṭafā Ālī’s Nuṣretnāme (The Book of Victory, 1584)14 along with eulogies to the wisdom of the astronomer. In the sixteenth-century Ottoman mentality, astrological calculations were not accepted as totally reliable. Nevertheless, the field of astrology gained a considerable respect since it inevitably evoked attention among those who wished to have signs of a future event. 12 Schmidt, “The Occult Sciences and their Importance in Ottoman Culture; Evidence from Turkish Manuscripts in Dutch Public Collections”, 225; Şen, “Authoring and Publishing in the Age of Manuscripts”, 353-377.
13 İÜK T. 6043.
14 TSMK H1365.
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The commission of a book like the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is also significant since the twin copies present a solid example for the use of astrological information in the service of prognostication. I will start by presenting a general outlook for the manuscript production and the occult interests during the sultanate of Murād III. After this introductory first chapter, in the second chapter I will question which new genres entered the court studio’s agenda during this period and what contemporary social-political dynamics might have been influential in the astrological research as well as in the production of manuscripts focused on cosmography and eschatology. The Great Conjunction as much as the anticipated Islamic Apocalypse which were influential in the sultanic image of Murād III will be discussed as the possible factors that increased the interest in the fālnāme genre and its sub-branches such as divinatory texts (melheme), texts on bodily spasms (iḫtilācnāme) and physiognomy (firāset).
Cornell Fleischer has argued that the annual calendars as well as the annotated horoscopes of the sultan and the members of the imperial family are valuable documents which have to be examined by considering the contemporary political agendas. For instance, Bistāmī’s chronicle, Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (İÜK 6624), which was first ordered by Suleyman I, then recommissioned to be illustrated during the reign of Murād III and completed in the time of his son Mehmed III, was “absorbed into the fabric of private life at the Ottoman palace and into the new imperial culture of which Suleymān had been the architect.”15
Fleisher stated that similar reflection can be seen in the function of the Ahmed I’s Falnāma:
15 Fleischer, “Ancient Wisdom and New Sciences”, 243.
8
The two copies of this work [Terceme-i Miftāhu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ ] produced in the royal ateliers contain lavishly illustrated apocalyptic events, such as the advents of the famous Beast of the earth and of Dajjal (the Antichrist), and also include identifiable persons and geographies, such as Selim, Constantinople, Rome, and Egypt. Incorporating many of the themes and structures that informed Bistāmī’s project as well as traces of the deeply intertwined but ever more distinct histories of the emergence of Ottoman Sunnism and Safavid Shiʻism, the Falnama then became a private, and secure, means -together with the more public annual astrological calendars- for discerning the lineaments of the present and futures of the Ottoman sultan and his family.16
As also been exemplified with the augury of Takıyuddin above, celestial events, the star tables (zīc), almanac-prognostications (taḳvīm) and personal natal charts were casted under the influence of the changing social-political conditions and thus, they should be evaluated altogether with these manuscripts as the chronicles that reflect the imperial culture of the given period. As much as the Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ, Fālnāme copies (TSMK H1702, H1703) and Aḥvāl-i Ḳiyāmet17, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies as the compendiums of astrology and prognostication should be considered in relation to the political-religious reflections of the Islamic Apocalypse and the Conjunction (ḳırān) of Jupiter and Saturn.
Another main aspect that makes the case of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies exceptionally valuable is that the books dedicated to women are rare in the Ottoman history of art. Thus, the second chapter will seek to substantiate the argument that imperial women might have played a role in the increased commissions of occult books during the reign of Murād III. By doing so, I hope to add a new perspective to the studies that have been made about Murād III’s personal interest in occult sciences through the related books he commissioned, and highlighting that this interest was not limited to the sulṭān himself. This discussion will be helpful in providing an idea
16 Fleischer, “Ancient Wisdom and New Sciences”, 243.
17 Berlin Staatsbibliothek (MS. Or. Oct. 1596).
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about the artistic, social, political atmosphere in which this occult book, which was described by its translator-writer as “appealable, understandable for everyone”18, was produced.
Murād III’s reign was marked with the rising power of his family members and their agents, power struggles among the bureaucrats, problematic appointments of the court eunuchs, short-tenured viziers and the greedy actions of the sultan which contradict the mystical tone of the poems he wrote in the Murādī Dīvānı. The contemporary historian Muṣṭafā ʻĀlī noted that the eunuchs were preferable than the viziers since they were deprived of having their own family and would eventually leave their possessions to the sultan.19 Moreover, the chief black eunuch Mehmed Agha’s privilege of building relations with imperial women like Nurbānū Sulṭān, Safiye Sulṭān and ῾Āyşe Sulṭān challenged the hierarchical order and enabled him to assume the role of the grand vizier, especially after the problematic death of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha (d. 987/1579). He received such a strong administering power on the court studio that he was able to have himself depicted almost in the same size with the sultan, as is seen in the imperial manuscript Gencīne-i Fetḥ-i Gence (1590).20 In addition to the court eunuchs Mehmed Agha and Gazanfer Agha, the women attendants who had high hierarchic status such as Canfedā, the head housekeeper, Rāziye, lady-in-waiting and the kira Esther Handali, Esperenza Malchi, the assistants of Safiye and Nurbānū in the state affairs became prominent through their actions and their architectural patronage.
The third chapter of this study suggests that rising power of the sultanas and of their confidences can be a considerable point while discussing the commission of
18 BnF, Paris Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 7r
19 Ali, The Descrioption of Cairo, 73.
20 TSMK R. 1296, fol. 8b.
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these twin books for the two princesses. The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde manuscripts might have been one of the gifts which were designed for the sisters in honor of their brother and the young heir, prince Mehmed’s ostentatious circumcision festival in 1582.21 There is no certain information about the ages of the sisters at the time they received these gifts. Most probably, they were younger than the prince Mehmed who was 16 years old at the time he was circumcised.22 It is not possible to make an estimation about ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s age, however Fāṭima Sulṭān must have been a child in 1582, since Selānikī noted that her first marriage was celebrated in 1593.23 Since the princesses must have been too young to demand it at that time, their grandmother, Nurbānū Sulṭān and/or their mother Safiye Sulṭān might have played a role in the commission of the translation project of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde. To discuss this possibility, questioning whether these women had a proclivity for reading about the subjects of these books can be a useful starting point.
After presenting other contemporary books that share similar content with that of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde and showing that harem members also attracted to such subjects, in the last chapter I will compare the two Ottoman manuscripts with their Arabic original, the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān copy, and discuss the visual transformation of the paintings.
In the Islamic world, since the medieval times, artistic principles had a close connection to those of the literary copying. The reader/viewer enjoys the artwork more when he/she finds a recognizable phrase/image in an entirely new form.
21 And, “Büyü, Canlılık ve Sanat / Magic, Animatism and Art”, 10; Bağcı, Çağman, Renda, Tanındı, transl. E. Yazar, Ottoman Painting, 191-3.
22 Solakzade narrates that Ḳānūnī was in Zigetvar, when the news arrived from Manisa to inform the old sultan that his grandchild Mehmed was born. Therefore, Mehmed must have been born in 1566. Solakzade Tarihi, 63.
23 Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki II, 861-862.
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Therefore, the principles of the literary and artistic creation applied to various methods of remaking and copying. One of these methods is giving respect to the old master and/or to the past model by “imitating” (taḳlīd) the figures and other compositional elements that has already been made.24 Another term that is used to enlarge the method of imitation is “pastiche” (tetebbuʻ) which implies the claim of superiority while artfully emulating, pursuing the path the famed predecessor pointed to.25 Among a number of terms that define the details of artistic copying process, I think these two are the main methods of which examples can be traced in the connection between the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies, which present a visual translation of the images from the medieval Jalayirid original into the early modern Ottoman rework.
Finally, in this last chapter, I will also present an analysis on the full-page paintings (75v-85v), including the talismanic jinns (85r-90r) and explore their differences from their prototypes. This comparison will also show the reason why the common theme in the entire content of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is astrology. The Ottoman artists who created these manuscripts were used to repaint the identical themes that were widely known and circulated in the Islamic geography. Each new representation underwent a cultural translation according to the established artistic canons and taste of the sixteenth-century Ottoman tradition. During the visual translation process of a certain manuscript, the task of the Ottoman court artists was not solely copying the given images but creating a new version by interpreting and refurbishing the visual components.26
24 Adamova, “Repetition of Compositions in Manuscripts”, 74.
25 Dickson and Welch, “Appendix 1: Canons of Painting by Sadiqi Bek”, 264.
26 Bağcı, “From Translated Word to Translated Images”, 162-176.
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1.1 Primary sources
My main primary sources in this study are the mentioned copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133) which is available online in the archives of the Oxford Bodleian Library and the twin books of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde. Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy, or so-called the Paris copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde which is available online in the archives of the Bibliothéque Nationale (Suppl. Turc 242). ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy, the so-called Morgan copy (M. 788), is preserved in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. Unfortunately, I received the entire digitalized copy in black and white. It enabled tracing the sequence of the treatises and images to compare it with that of the Paris copy and that of their Arabic original. However, the color images of the Morgan copy, that I used for presenting a comparison, are not taken from this digitalized version.
Other primary sources of this study are the library catalogues of Nurbānū Sulṭān (Hacı Selim Ağa Kütüphanesi, Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş) and İsmihan Sulṭān (Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Yazma Eserler, İsmihan Sulṭān Koleksiyonu; Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān) which are also available online in the database of ISAM (Centre for Islamic Studies). ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s testament Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, (TSMA D6932) is another document that I used as an auxiliary primary source for exploring possible interest of the princess’ in occult sciences. Lastly, Şehinşehnāme (İÜK FY 1404), Terceme-i ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt (TSMK A3632), Terceme-i Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (İÜK 6624), Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (BDK 4969), The Topkapı Persian Fālnāme (TSMK H1702), Aḥmed I’s Fālnāme (TSMK H1703) are the illustrated imperial manuscripts whose prefaces and/or illustrations have been consulted in this study.
Kitāb al-Bulhān is composed of the texts excerpted from the Arab astronomer
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Abū Ma῾shar’s treatises and the Shiʻite imam Ja῾far’s text on divination, Ḳurʻa-yı Ja῾fariyya (The Divination of Ja‘far). The compilers of the Bodleian copy were identified on fol. 163r by stating that “this book of divination was completed by the hands of this humble man…” The scribes’ names, given at the colophon here and repeated on fol. 169r are: “Diyāeddīn Hüseyin ibn Aḥmed ibn Muḥammad Erbilī and Ḥaydar ibn al-Hācı ʻAbdulkerīm ibn al-Cevād al-Mavsilī.” On fol. 34r the scribes mentioned Abū Ma῾shar as a highly talented astronomer among the contemporary scientists in Baghdad. It is also added that Abū Ma῾shar ibn Ja῾far ibn Muḥammad came to Baghdad in the time of the Caliph Me’mūn.27
The first half of the book is composed of astrological treatises and the other half is all about fortunetelling. In this part of the book, three main methods for prognostication are given in order. The fırst is Ḳurʻa-yı Ja῾fariyya (fol. 92r-124v): “It is an auspicious augury, and it has been transmitted by the imam Ja῾far al-Ṣādiḳ”.28
The first method of fortunetelling is reading fortune according to the triple combinations of four letters, ج (cim), ع (ʻayn), ف (fe), ر (rı) (fol 92v-124v). The second is the auguries of the prophets (fol. 125r-133r) which presents prognostication through the characteristic features of the sixteen prophets and the last one is another form of augury which requires two people who read each other’s fortune according to the depicted shapes that were made with fingers (fol. 134-140v).
Ja῾far was the sixth imam according to the Twelver branch of Shiʻism and he was also associated with texts on dream interpretation and talismans.29 A well-known hadith in the Islamic tradition tells about the “pençe-i āl-i abā” which represents five
27 Bodleian Or. 133, fol. 34r; Bozkurt, “Me’mûn”, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/memun (28.12.2019)
28 Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text”, The Book of Felicity, 333.
29 Gördük, “İmam Cafer es-Sâdık’a İsnat Edilen Tasavvufî Tefsir ve Metodu”, 51-58, 96.
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people including prophet Muhammad who received the divine knowledge. According to that, a new verse (al-Aḥzāb 33/33) was sent to the prophet Muḥammad when he was at the house of Ümmü Seleme: “Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity of [sin], O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification”. Thereupon the prophet Muḥammad took four family members under his cloak, ʻAlī, Fāṭima, Hasan and Hüseyin and specified his household (ehl-i beyt).30 Shiʻites believe that Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, ʻAlī’s sons and imams have the knowledge of occult sciences and that the sixth imam, Ja῾far al-Ṣādiḳ gathered that sacred knowledge.31 The symbol of “pençe-i āl-i abā”, has also been recognized as “the hand of Fāṭima”, and occupies a prominent place in the pictorial program of the fālnāme genre. All the fortunetelling practices in the Islamic tradition are believed to be derived from the texts gathered by Ja῾far al-Ṣādiḳ.32
Even in the fālnāme books, the text of each image of prognostication was derived from the divination texts which were ascribed to Ja῾far al-Ṣādiḳ. This assumption is dependent on the information received from the introduction of some of the earliest copies of the fālnāme. Moreover, the one of the earliest Fālnāme-i Ja῾far that would set the basis of the content of the illustrated fālnāme manuscripts can be the one in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Book of Wonderment).33
In the words of Su῾ūdī, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is a collection of all sorts of sciences (kitāb-ı cāmiʻ ul-leṭāʼif)34. Therefore, a summary of the content of the
30Uludağ, “Âl-i Abâ”, 306-307.
31Demirci, Hoş Gör Ya Hu, 65; Duvarcı, Türkiye’de Falcılık Geleneği ile Bu Konuda İki Eser, 12-13.
32Uludağ, “Batın İlmi”, 188-189. 33 Afşār, “Fāl-Nāma”, 175-176; Farhad and Bağcı, “The Art of Bibliomancy”, in Falnama: The Book of Omens, 20-25.
34 BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 8r; the word leṭāʼif refers to human faculties that helps to comprehend the divine truth in the Sūfī mysticism. Human have ten faculties, five of which are from ʻalem-i emr;
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Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde which is organized in the same sequence in both copies should be given, to introduce it as a book that shortly informs the reader about various branches of contemporary science. According to the sequence of the Paris copy of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, Abū Ma῾shar’s treatise starts with illustrations of each horoscope with their decans (8v-30v), professions associated with seven planets (32v-33r), exaltation (şeref) and dejection (hubūt) of the seven planets and lunar node (33v-35r), twenty-eight mansions (menāzil) of the Moon (35v-36v), seven climates on 37r, astrological assumptions based on geographical events and location of the cities on fols. 38v-41r; 42v-44r, mansions of the moon in four seasons (41v-42r), continuing astrological assumptions until the informative tables for physiognomy on fol. 62v.
Among the tables that offer an analysis of human temperament upon the physiognomy, Ottoman copies both have an interesting addition. This is a separate table on the physiognomy of womankind on fol. 65v. In the Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān the page containing the table on physiognomy might have been lost. If not, Ottomans might have added the chart. Other copies of the Kitāb al-Bulhān can be checked to figure the answer out. After the charts of physiognomy, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies continue with İḫtilācnāme (Book of the Bodily Spasms) on fol. 66r, dream interpretation (66v-68r), the portens of the comets (72r) phlebotomy (72v) auspicious times (uġurlu sāʻat) (73v), Kaaba as the qibla of the world in Mecca and the sacred resting place of Prophet Muḥammad in Medina (74v and 75r).
The Paris copy of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde continues with full sized paintings between the folios 75v and 85v. Some of these illustrations can be clearly identified
the heart, the soul, the secret, ḫafī and ahfā. Five of them are from ʻalem-i ḫalḳ: nefs, fire, air, earth and water.
For further information about the human faculties, Bakar, Classification of Knowledge in Islam, 48-69.
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as referring to the Ḳur’ān, Book of Alexander (İskender-nāme), A Thousand and One Nights etc. All of these have been considered as scenes from popular mirabilia and legends that were recognizable to the medieval Arab world and to Ottoman readers. Stefano Carboni stated that the compiler of Kitāb al-Bulhān was aiming to present the wonders of the world through these full-page illustrations.35 Underlining the meaning of Bulhan as to marvel, or wonder, he argued that these paintings that follow one another without a connective link could be perceived as scenes from marvels and legends.36
My research will not necessarily go into the details of astrological tables but cover the full-page paintings in these manuscripts (75v-85v). Demons as talismanic images were also depicted in the full-page size. These bear astrological connotations and signs of magic that is composed by numbers and letters (85r-90r). After that an illustration of “The Laughing Snake” (Şekl-i Mār-ı Ḳahḳaha ve Ayna) and two blank pages take place. The last section is the divination text of the sixth Shiʻite imam Ja῾far al-Ṣādiḳ, (90v-125r) labeled as Ḳurʻa-yı Ja῾fariyya (The Divination of Ja ‘far) and those of other prophets (fāl-ı enbiyā’) along with illustrations of their symbolic houses (125v-133r).
Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is bound in red leather with gold decoration and has 71 miniatures. Two of these miniatures have 14 scenes (“The Type of People and the type of professions related to each of the seven stars”, fol. 32v-33r). Two of them have 28 scenes (“The forms and deeds of the mansions of the moon”, fol. 35v-36r) and four of them have four scenes (the exaltation and dejection of the planets, fol. 33v-35r). The full title of the book is Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde
35 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 69-196.
36 Carboni, “Description of the miniatures”, 108.
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ve yenābiʻü’s-siyāde (The Ascensions of Felicity and the Sources of Sovereignty). The Paris manuscript was brought by Monge from Cairo and brought to France in honor of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1898 and since then has been preserved in Paris at the Bibliothéque nationale de France.37
The other copy, made for her sister, ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, has a relatively short dedication which indicates that the copy was dedicated to her. Like its twin, the Morgan copy contains 71 miniatures, two of them having 14 scenes (fol. 31v-32r), two with 28 scenes (fol. 34v-35r) and four with four scenes (fol. 32v-34r). The Morgan Library manuscript follows the same texts and illustrative cycle with Paris copy. They are identical except a few differences such as some details that were excluded from Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy. “The Circles of the Different Shapes of the Moon” (Paris copy, fol 69r), Su῾ūdī’s second dedication (Paris copy, fol 124v) and the epilogue (Paris copy, fol 141r) are absent in the Morgan copy. In 1935, this manuscript was purchased from Demotte and Company and is still preserved in New York Pierpont Morgan Library. Morgan copy (MS M. 788) bears the same title with the copy that was produced for Fāṭima Sulṭān, except a little difference. The words “yenbū” (plr. yenāb) and “menbā” (plr. menāb) both means origin, source, spring and therefore the title of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy refers to the same meaning: Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde ve-menābiʻü’s-siyāde (The Ascensions of Felicity and the Sources of Sovereignty).
In the Paris manuscript (Suppl. Turc 242), Su῾ūdī clearly states the completion date of the manuscript as 990 (1582) on fol. 140v, under the heading, “tārīḫ el-kitāb:”
Praise be to God that this beautiful compilation/ Is approaching
37 Blochet, Catalogue des manuscrits turcs, 297-8.
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completion and finding an end/ It is under the auspices of the Shah of the refuge of the universe/ That this treatise found such a title/ For all that its outward form is our arrangement/ In its inner meaning this Dīvān is the Shah’s/ It is for that reason that Su῾ūdī pronounced this chronogram/ This is the book of the Shah of the age 990.
On the following page, fol. 141r, also a hidden chronogram (abjad) is given in the lines: “... yetmiş iki ῾ilmi oldı bu...” corresponds to 990/1582. The sentence that reveals the chronogram was written in red ink.
In the Morgan manuscript (῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy) the completion date is given on fol. 137v, which has exactly the same text with the date on the Paris copy’s fol. 140v. Therefore, it was completed at the same year, 990 (1582). However, the following page was left empty. On the last page, unlike in the Paris manuscript, abjad calculation is given. The Morgan copy that is titled as Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde ve menābiʻü’s-siyāde (Morgan MS M. 788) and is dedicated to ῾Āyşe Sulṭān presents a problematic situation which stems from the portrait of Murād III on fol. 7r. In this scene, all the elements are placed in more or less the same way with those of the scene depicting Murād III in Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy. However, the face of the sulṭān seems to have been erased and clumsily repainted. This has driven the scholars to an argument that the copy might have been later given to ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s niece, another ῾Āyşe Sulṭān who was the daughter of Aḥmed I (r. 1603-1617) and as the consequence of it, the face of this portrait may have been repainted by aiming to make it look like the current sulṭān. The sulṭān whose face was meant to be painted could be Aḥmed I or, if ῾Āyşe Sulṭān took over the book in the time of the next sulṭān, her brother, Osman II (r. 1618-1622).38
38 Carboni, “Description of the miniatures”, 72; Minaz, “Paris Ulusal Kütüphanesi Suppl. Turc. 242 Numaralı Metâliü’s Saâde yazma eserdeki yaratık ve cin tasvirlerinin 16. yy. muhtelif eserdeki örneklerle analizi”, 65.
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Dedication to ῾Āyşe Sulṭān is provided on the first page, on fol. 4r:
For the library of the mistress of esteem and honor, the possessor of nobility and magnificence, the exalted queen, the beneficent and veiled one of the harem of the auspicious sultanate, the protector of the palms of the garden of the sultanate, rose of the rose-garden of the realm and glory, precious pearl of the diadem of magnificence and lustrous jewel of the necklace of felicity, the select one of the House of Osman; Her Highness the Princess ῾Āyşe.
Most distinguished for munificence, companion of felicity and supreme fortune.
In sublimity higher than the Sun and Moon, in chastity the glorious stronghold. Amen.39
Ber semere-i ḫazāne-i ṣāḥibet’ül-῾izz ve’l-iḳbal ve māliket’ül şerīf ve’l-iclāl melīke-i muʻazzama-i nikukār ve muḫaddere-i ḥarīr, salṭanat-ı saʻādet āster-i nihāl, bostan-ı salṭanat ve gul-i gulizār devlet ve ῾izzet durre-i girān-māye-i tāc-ı celālet ve gevher tāb-nāk-ı ῾uḳde-i sa῾ādetlerinde nesl-i āl-ʻOsmān ḥażret-i ʻĀyşe Sulṭān.
Beyit: Ter-ābāda bi-fāżıl-ı lā-yezālī sa῾ādet yāver ve iḳbāl-i ῾āla
bi-rifʻat-ı ber-teraz-ı mihr ü māh, bi-ʻiṣmet der-penāh-ı zevāl-i celālī
Āmīn
The Paris copy that is titled as Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde ve yenābiʻü’s-siyāde (Paris Suppl. Turc 242) and is dedicated to Fāṭima Sulṭān includes similar expressions with the dedication that describes her sister. In the preface, Su῾ūdī dedicates the book to Fāṭima Sulṭān:
In the name of the treasury of the possessor of happiness and felicity, the queen of greatness and honor, the pearl of the royal crown, the star of the imperial forehead, the first fruit of the orchard of glory and gentleness, the crop of the tree of the caliphate, the sapling of the rose garden of the sultanate, the cypress of the garden of the county, the ornament of the family of the Ottoman dynasty, the adornment of the world-guarding clan, the glorious queen, the illustrious daughter, the pure scion of the Ottoman dynasty, Her Highness the Princess Fāṭima -may God make her prosperity perpetual and may He make her glory and felicity last until the Day of Resurrection by the grace of the Prophet, may prayers and peace be upon him. Amen, O Lord of the Universe.
Couplet: May good fortune be your companion and happiness your sibling
May your life last long, and so your honor and power40
39 Morgan MS. 788, fol.4r; Schmitz, “(M.788). Maṭāliʻ al-saʻāde wa manābiʻ al-siyāda”, 71-72.
40 Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text”, 206.
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Ber semere-i ḫazāne-i ṣāḥib’ül- saʻādet ve’l-iḳbāl ve māliket’ül-῾izzet ve iclāl, durre-i tāc-ı şāhī, ġurre-i cebhe-i pādişāhī, nev-bāve-i bāġ ʻizzet ve rifʻat, semere-i şecere-i ḫilāfet, nihāl-i gulizār-ı salṭanat, servi-i bostan-ı eyālet, zīnet-i ḫānedān-ı āl-i Osmānī, zīver-i dūde-mān-ı cihān bānī, melike-i muʻazzama, maḫdūme-i mufaḫḫama, nesl-i pākīze-i āl-i Osmān ḥażret-i Fāṭima Sulṭān -hālledallāh Teʻālā devletḥa ve ebbede῾izzetḥa ve sa῾ādetḥa ilā yevm’ül-ḳiyām bi-ḥurmet’ün-nebī aleyhü’s-salavāt-ı ve’s-selām. Āmīn yā Rabbü’l-ālemīn.
Beyit: Baḫt-ı bā’de’t-ḥemnişīn ve sa῾ād bā’de’t-ḥemḳarin
Ömr-ü bā’de’t ber devām ve῾izz ü devlet ḥem-çinin. (Paris Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 5r)
Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy includes another dedication which is not present in ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy: As we dedicated it to the sulṭān. Make his augury good fortuned, O God also make his ascendance fortunate. And repel his enemies from your door. Its station is like the sun, at the highest summit. Make his days one better than the other. Until the Last Day Make the life of the princess long. Raise heads with the existence of the Sulṭān. He is an old servant (of God and the Sulṭān), Su῾ūdī May he always see happiness in his augury41 (Paris Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 124v)
At first glance, the most interesting difference between the fourteenth-century Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is their size. The size of the ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Morgan M. 788, 24,6x13cm, 276 pages) is close to that of the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān (24,5x16 cm, 176 pages). However, they are relatively small books, comparing to Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy (Paris Suppl. Turc 242, 32 cm, 301 pages). The reason for making the copy of
41 Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text”, 398.
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῾Āyşe Sulṭān in the same size with the Arabic prototype and making the other copy relatively bigger is unknown.
1.2 Secondary Sources
On the subject of social, religious, political crisis in the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Akdağ’s book, Türk Halkının Dirlik ve Düzenlik Kavgası must be noted since it gives an overall background information about the politically tumultuous sultanate of Murād III that is conversely depicted as the time of prosperity and wealth through the contemporary imperial books and ostentatious festivities. The mission of the imperial şehnāmeci as the spokesman of the Ottoman sultans and how the imperial books were written according to the changing political agendas have been explored in the detailed study of Emine Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court as well as in the articles by Woodhead, “An experiment in official historiography: The post of şehnāmeci in the Ottoman empire c. 1555-1605” and “Murad III and the Historians: Representations of Ottoman Imperial Authority in Late 16th Century Historiography”. In her dissertation, “Re-creating Image and Identity: Dreams and Visions as a Means of Murād III’s Self-Fashioning”, Özgen Felek explored the humble sufi image of the sultan Murād III by drawing from the dream letters that were attributed to the sultan himself and were compiled after his death.42 Besides, in a relatively recent article, “Power, patronage and confessionalism: Ottoman politics through the eyes of a Crimean sufi”, Derin Terzioğlu argues how a Halveti sheikh could achieve prominence with personal ties upon the case of Kırımi who became the spiritual guide of Murād III after his former mentor Şeyh Şucā died. In Caliphate Redefined, Hüseyin Yılmaz presents a
42 Kitābu’l-Menāmāt, Nuruosmaniye Library, 2599.
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discussion on the mystified sufi identities of the Ottoman rulers. Though focusing on distinct topics, these studies support the idea that the project of these luxurious translated occult books would serve at best to the political, religious imagery that was aimed to be manifested during the reign of Murād III.43
In the late medieval and early modern Islamic context various scholars directed criticism at astrology’s claims to predict earthly affairs.44 Tunç Şen’s dissertation entitled “Astrology in The Service of the Empire: Knowledge, Prognostication, and Politics at the Ottoman Court, 1450s-1550s.” deals with the astrological books that were produced and circulated in the Ottoman court between the mid-fifteenth century and the mid-sixteenth century. This study was highly influential for me, as it provides a general discussion about the terminology of astronomy in the Ottoman context. This is also the source where I first came across the issue of planetary conjunctions and how they were related to turns of dynasties in the historical astrology. Other than these, two books by Stephen Blake, Astronomy and Astrology in the Islamic World and Time in Early Modern Islam are the sources I referred to, in order to have an idea about the function of observatories in the Muslim empires and how astrological research was connected with religious motivations on the one hand, and the ruler’s curiosity about what the future holds, on the other. The two-volume Treasures of Knowledge: An Inventory of the Ottoman Palace Library, edited by Gülru Necipoğlu, Cemal Kafadar, and Cornell H. Fleischer is a recent publication that examines the inventory registers of manuscripts in the reign of Bayezid II (d. 1512) who was also highly interested in astrological
43 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 149-191.
44 Şen, “Rasattan Takvime”; “Authoring and Publishing in the Age of Manuscripts”; “Practicing Astral Magic,”; Fazlıoğlu, “Between Reality and Mentality”.
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interpretations when the related calculation was used for prognostication. In the first volume, Noah Gardiner’s article “Books on occult sciences” is particularly interesting for the subject of this study. Not only does it note the cumulative knowledge about this field at the beginning of the sixteenth century but also represents the way the Ottomans classified various kinds of occult sciences with their sub-branches. Osman Bakar’s Classification of knowledge in Islam: A study in Islamic Philosophies in Science, the book Islamicate Occult Sciences in Theory and Practise ed. by Liana Saif, Francesca Leoni, Matthew Melvin Koushki, Farouk Yahya and Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu’s study, Science, Technology and Learning in the Ottoman Empire are the sources that help understanding how the occult sciences might have been categorized and perceived in the Islamic world and how the Ottomans applied to these fields.
Besides various studies that focuses on the lives of Safiye and Nurbānū Sulṭān, Ottoman women builders: The architectural patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan by Lucienne Thys-Şenocak and Leslie Pierce’s The Imperial Harem are the sources I essentially turned to, to picture the prominence of the imperial women during the reigns of Murād III and Mehmed III. Maria Pedani’s articles are particularly important in terms of the information given about the personal backgrounds of the women confidents Esperanza Malchi, Esther Handali as well as the political and commercial networks they helped the sultanas to build.
We do not know much about the illustrated manuscripts produced for royal women by the Ottoman court atelier throughout its history. Zübeyde Güneş Yağcı and Mustafa Akkaya published ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s deed (tereke)45 and presented
45 Yağcı and Akkaya. III. Murat ve Safiye Sultan’ın Kızları: Ayşe Sultan.
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information about her life in a recent study, III. Murat ve Safiye Sultan’ın Kızları: ῾Āyşe Sulṭān. Fāṭima Sulṭān’s endowment deed is lost yet in 1999, a master thesis was written about it by providing the transcription of the document.46 None of these two studies mentioned the books attributed to these princesses in their research. Thus, owing to the lack of studies on lives of two princesses, we do not have information about the possible interest of ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭāns in treatises of astrology and divination.
I tried to note a number of luxurious books which were produced in the court atelier and contained references to the names of imperial women, to the degree that they were noted in Fetvacı’s Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, and Lale Uluç’s Türkmen valiler, Şirazlı ustalar, Osmanlı okurlar: XVI. Yüzyıl Şiraz elyazmaları. Putting the imperial books aside, by paying attention to the categorization of the various sub-branches of the Islamic occult sciences, this study attempts to present the books that are found in the waqf library catalogues of the Nurbānū Sulṭān and her daughter İsmihan Sulṭān, which have never been a research subject on their own. Needless to say, waqf libraries’ catalogues changed a lot in time and maybe the imperial women were not even aware of any of these books. However, while I was searching about the waqf libraries of the Ottoman royal women, I learnt that Nurbānū Sulṭān was the first Ottoman sultana who founded a library.47 This information sounds important to me considering the fact that there are luxurious imperial books that were directly dedicated to her granddaughters and these books still stand as exceptional works in Ottoman art history.
Barbara Schmitz is the only scholar who examined ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy. This
46 Sarıaltın, “Sultan III. Murad’ın Kızı Fatma Sultan Vakfiyesinin Metni ve Transkripsiyonu”.
47 Bayraktar, Üsküdar Kütüphaneleri; Erünsal, Osmanlılarda Kütüphaneler ve Kütüphanecilik, 141; Sabırlı, Vakfiyesi ve muhasebe kayıtları ışığında Nurbanu Atik Valide Sultan vakfı.
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is a largely descriptive study, which carefully examines the content along with the order of the illustrations. It reveals that except the order of the pages M. 788 does not have anything different from the texts of Turc 242. ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy has neither been subject to any study on its own nor has been mentioned in comparison with Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy. Barbara Schmitz has made a very useful chart that lists the illustrations from Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān, Paris and the Morgan copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde with their changing folio numbers.
A complete transcription of the contents of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde has never been published. In this study, all of the transcribed excerpts from both copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde and those from the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān are provided by myself. In 2007, Yorgos Dedes translated the entire book into English in the edited volume and facsimile of the Paris Suppl. Turc 242 titled The Book of Felicity, yet since then no other close reading has been suggested for its texts. Furthermore, transcription of the Ottoman text is not currently available. A second article published in the same volume is about the consolidation of women in Ottoman politics by Miguel Ángel de Bunes Ibarra. Another co-writer of the same collection is Günsel Renda who contributed to the collection with an article that briefly presents Ottoman court atelier in the sixteenth century. The Book of Felicity also includes an iconographical and stylistic analysis of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde by Stefano Carboni, who also had examined the content of Kitāb al-Bulhān in detail in his master’s thesis, Il Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, published in 1988.
Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde was also mentioned in Ottoman Painting by Serpil Bağcı, Günsel Renda, Filiz Çağman, Zeren Tanındı. They attributed the paintings of these twin books (both Fāṭima’s copy, Paris Suppl. Turc 242 and ῾Āyşe’s copy, Morgan M.
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788) to Ustād Osman.48 The subject matter of some of the paintings which are present among the full-page paintings of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies are recognizable from the pictorial programs of the monumental fālnāmes. I assume the full-page paintings without any related text is a part of prognostication. The reason why I include the full-page paintings that had been labeled as “marvels and legends”, or “wonders” is the idea that they might be referring to bad or good omens rather than merely indicating “wonders of the world” as Carboni had suggested.49 The content of the monumental fālnāmes were studied by Massumeh Farhad and Serpil Bağcı in Falnama: The Book of Omens and this study helps interpreting the iconographical and stylistic features of the full-page paintings of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde.
48 Bağcı, Çağman, Renda, Tanındı, transl. E. Yazar, Ottoman Painting, 192.
49 Carboni, Il Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, 70-92; “Description of the Miniatures”, 69-196.
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CHAPTER 2
THE REIGN OF MURĀD III (1574-1595): RESEARCH IN OCCULT SCIENCES
AND RELATED GENRES IN OTTOMAN MANUSCRIPTS
The reign of Murād III (1574–95) witnessed an increasing demand on production of books in both literary and scientific genres. In this period, Islamic cosmography, wonderous events, new expeditions to and from distant lands and occult sciences became promoted subject matters in Ottoman literary and scientific writing. Before trying to comprehend the content of Su῾ūdī’s translation, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582), other works with similar contents and contemporary research on cosmography need to be covered to emphasize the rising interest towards both cosmography and eschatology during the sultanate of Murād III.
Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582), Cevāhirü’l-Ġarāʼib (1582),50 Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (1583-4),51 Topkapı Persian Fālnāme (1570s),52 Terceme-i Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (1597-8),53 Aḥvāl-i Ḳiyāmet (1596)54 are particularly comparable as far as both their style and their iconographies point to a redundancy and large-scale rendering of the outlined compositions. The reign of Murād III is marked with reproduction of such old books which were inspired from the subjects of their Arabic and Persian prototypes yet manifested through a unique, distinguishable Ottoman artistic style. The reasons for their production may be understood better with a look at the 50 LACMA M.85 237.24; Milli Kütüphane, 566470.
51 BDK No. 4969.
52 Topkapı Palace Library (TSMK) has two monumental examples of the fālnāme that reflect the millenarian view. One of them is in Persian and thus is referred to as the Topkapı Persian Fālnāme, (TSMK H1702), which has been considered to have been copied in the reign of Murād III. It is attributed to the third quarter of the sixteenth century and accepted as a bound copy of the Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme, which is thought to have been produced for the Persian shah Ṭahmāsp during the mid-1550s and early 1560s in Ḳazvīn. The second one, which is referred to as the Ahmed I’s Fālnāme (TSMK H1703 (1614-16)] is in Turkish.
53 TSMK B. 373.
54 Berlin Staatsbibliothek (MS. Or. Oct. 1596).
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contemporary political and social conditions that expanded the interest in illustrated books, particularly those in occult sciences such as prognostication.
In this chapter, I will dwell on some illustrated manuscripts that relate to the scientific branches that are included in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133) and therefore, in its Turkish translation of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, Morgan M. 788), which are cosmology, physiognomy, oneiromancy, prognostication. Before getting into an examination of the production of such books, I will begin with the contemporary interest in cosmology and question the reasons why the sulṭān Murād III had encouraged astrological researches in this field. By doing so, the political and cultural background, which paved the way for the production of these books, will also be examined. This way we can have an idea about the reasons for the production of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies.
2.1 Research on Astrology (ʻİlm-i Nucūm) (1575-1580)
The development of the science of astronomy in the Islamic world had started with the translation of ancient Greek treatises, especially those of Ptolemy (Ptolemaios, Almagest, BC 100-178) into Arabic. Abū Maʻshar al-Balkhī (787-886), al-Birūnī (973-1048), Nasīruddin Tūsī (1202-1274) were the primary people, who studied these old treatises and went on to do further research.55 In the imperial book Şehinşehnāme-i Murād-ı Sālis (İÜK, FY 1404), written in Persian and completed in 1582, there is a separate section, only for the story of the Istanbul observatory.56 As the narration in the Şehinşehnāme indicates, the learned
55 As been indicated in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582), the astrological treatises were compiled works, borrowing largely from various kinds of information given by Abū Maʻshar, wise Hermes (Hz. İdrīs), wise men of India without specifically naming any and Muhyiddin al-Arabī. BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 69v-70r.; Morgan MS. M788, fol. 69v.; Pingree and Brunner, “Astrology and Astronomy in Islam,” 858-871.
56 İÜK FY. 1404. It was written in Persian by Şehnāmeci Seyyid Luḳmān. The copyist (mustensiḫ) is Alāuddin Mansur. It covers the events until 1581; see Sayılı, “Alauddin Mansur’un,” 79. Throughout
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men were looking for someone to revise the currently used Zīc-i Uluġ Bey57 and Ḫōca Sādeddīn (d. 1008/1599) talked to the sulṭān in person and introduced Taḳıyyuddīn (d. 1585?)58 as a wise man, who was capable of managing the task. According to the information we get from the Şehinşehnāme, revising the star tables from the beginning to the end was clearly the one and only mission Taḳıyyuddīn assumed and this was the only reason to build an observatory on his request. Therefore, Taḳıyyuddīn was appointed as the chief imperial astronomer (or the head astronomer, müneccimbaşı) by Murād III in order to fix and update the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey.59 In the sixteenth century, Ottomans had multiple star tables (zīc) as reference, particularly the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey, while casting the annual horoscopes. Zīc functioned as a comprehensive star table. It was an almanac composed with the arrangement of the astronomical tables that record daily situations and transitions of the planets and stars during the time that Saturn completes one tour. Saturn completes its move across all twelve signs of the zodiac approximately in 28-30 years.60 Therefore, completing an accurate zīc was a lengthy affair. The Zīc-i İlhānī made in the Maraga Observatory, founded in 1259, had been started by Nasīruddin Tūsī (1202-1274) and finished after thirteen years. Until the preparation of the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey at the Semerkand Observatory, Zīc-i İlhānī had been the most reliable reference in the
the article, Sayılı mistakenly notes the name of Alāuddin Mansur as the person who wrote the book and never mentions Seyyid Luḳmān.
57 Unat, “Zîc-i Uluğ Bey,” 400-401. 58 Süleyman Efendi, Tabakat-ı Müneccimin: Giriş/Metin, 190.; Ünver, İstanbul Rasathanesi, 3.; Şeşen, “Takiyüddin El-Râsıd'ın Soyu,” 165-171. For Taḳıyyuddīn’s own statements about his personal background see Taḳıyyuddīn, Reyḥānetü’r Rūḥ fī Resmi’s-Sāʻat Alā Musteviʻü’s-Sutūh (975/1567-8), Kandilli Rasathanesi, Nr. 51, 58, 132/3.
59 Taḳıyyuddīn’s book, Sidretu’l-Munteha’l-efḳar fī Melekuti’l-felekü’d-devvār, written in Arabic, gives the corrected version of the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey and the operations conducted in the Istanbul Observatory. Nuruosmaniye Library, No. 2930.; Kandilli No.208; TSMK, H465/1.
60 Unat, “Zic-i Uluğ Bey,” 397-8.
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Islamic world.61 What made the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey special was its being the first astronomical treatise the operation of which had taken thirty years, since the Almagest of Ptolemy (Batlamyus).62 One of the famous scientists, who contributed to the studies at the Semerkand Observatory that produced the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey was ʻAlī Kuşçu (ʻAlāuddin ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad, d. 879/1474).63 ʻAlī Kuşçu visited Istanbul for a diplomatic mission and Mehmed II was so impressed that he assigned ʻAlī Kuşçu to the Ayasofya Madrasa in 1472. ʻAlī Kuşçu kept this post until his death in 1474. His grandson, Mīrim Çelebi (d. 931/1525)64 translated his treatise on astronomy, The Victory Treatise, from Arabic to Ottoman Turkish.65 İ. Hakkı Uzunçarşılı writes in the Osmanlı Devleti’nin İlmiye Teşkilatı that until the end of the sixteenth century, the madrasa curriculum included lectures for philosophy (ʻilm-i ḥikmet) and during these lectures the books of ʻAlī Kuşçu and Mīrim Çelebi were used. However, from that time on the madrasa institution started to decay owing to the dominance of the religious education (naḳl-i ilimler) over the rational sciences (aḳl-i ilimler).66 Mehmed II was clearly interested in adding broader educational programs for rational sciences in the curriculum of the madrasas, yet we have no information on whether Mehmed II offered ʻAlī Kuşçu to direct an observatory in Istanbul. Treatises related to the rational sciences did not remain limited to the reign of Mehmed II. For example, Ibn-i Kemāl (d. 1534), as a prestigious scholar who had been a part of the intellectual entourage of Bayezid II, Selīm I and Suleymān I, wrote a text titled as “Treatise on Talismans” (Risāle-i Ṭılsım)67 where he highlighted the urgent need for
61 Blake, Astronomy and Astrology, 74.
62 Encyclopedia Britannica, “Almagest”; Aydın and Aydın, “Batlamyus.”
63 Aydın, “Ali Kuşçu.” 64 Fazlıoğlu, “Mîrim Çelebi,” 160-1.
65 Blake, Astronomy and Astrology, 99. 66 Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devleti’nin İlmiye Teşkilatı, 21, 67; İzgi, Osmanlı Medreselerinde İlim.
67 SK Hacı Maḥmūd Efendi, MS 5584.
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a new observational program since even the talismans cannot have efficacy unless the applied celestial degrees were precisely fixed.68 One can easily say that Murād III was proud to be the first Ottoman sulṭān who founded an observatory and had confidence in Taḳıyyuddīn, who received 3000 gold ducats in addition to a piece of land in Rumeli as salary. The document of the sulṭān’s order (zeʻāmet berātı) is also valuable for reflecting Murād III’s personal opinion for Taḳıyyuddīn’s mission.69 According to this document decision for the establishment of an observatory that would enable the updating the zīc was made with an agreement including the approval of the ʻulemā’.70 Ottoman archives verify the support of the state for supplying various books about mathematics, astrology, astronomy:71
İstanbul ḳāḍīsına ḥukm ki,
Muteveffā Luṭfullah’ın vaḳfı olan muneccim kitābları maḥmiyye-i mezbūrede Miʻmār Sinan maḥallesinin imāmı ve mu’eẕẕinlerinde olduġu iʻlām olunmaġın alınub raṣad-ḫāneye verilmek emredüb buyurdum ki varduḳda te’hīr itmeyüb muteveffā-yi mezbūrun nucūma ve ʻilm-i hey’ete ve hendeseye muteʻallik olan kitābları eger mezkūrun ellerindedir ve eger āḫardadır her kimde ise ẓuhūra getürüb daḫī bi’l-fiʻl raṣad ḫidmetinde olan Mevlānā Taḳıyyuddīn’e cümlesin teslīm etdüresün fī 12 Ṣafer 986.
Verdict to the qadi of İstanbul,
I commanded without a written decree, the astrologer books that belonged to the deceased Lutfullah’s waqf to be taken from the imām and muʼeẕẕins of Mimar Sinan district in İstanbul, and be given to the observatory. If the deceased’s books in astrology and astronomy and mathematics are kept by the aforementioned people or by someone else, whoever have the books, you should have them brought the books and, without a delay, handed all of the books over to Mevlānā Taḳıyyuddīn who himself is in the service of observation. 12 April, 1578. (“my translation”).
Ᾱlāt-ı Raṣad-ı Zīc-i Şehinşāhīyye (TSMK H452; İÜK, 1404; Paris Bibliothéque Nationale, Ms. Or. Suppl. Turc, 1126) is an illustrated book that introduces the
68 Şen, “Practicing Astral Magic,” 78.
69 Mordtmann, “Das Observatorium des Taqi al Din zu Pera,” 126-127.
70 The statement of “şerʻī sunnet ve icmāʻ-yı ummet” points to having approval from the sharia law. Four necessities of the sharia law (Edille-i Şerʻīyye: Ḳur’ān, sunnet, icmāʻ, ḳıyās) were essential in the implementation of a state matter. Dönmez, “İcmâ,” 417-31.
71 Miroğlu, “İstanbul Rasathanesine Ait Belgeler,” 80-82.; BOA, Mühimme Defteri, nr. 34, s. 125.
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astronomical instruments of the Istanbul observatory and their function. Although the book lacks any date or colophon, the detailed depictions of all instruments make it possible to consider the author as a knowledgeable person, who was personally involved in observations. Thus, one can assume that the book was written and illustrated between 1575-80 to record the operations in the observatory. It is a remarkable source with fine illustrations of all the instruments and it provides a comparison among the instruments of previous observatories in the Islamic world as well as those of Tycho Brahe’s observatory in Uraniborg (Denmark),72 which was contemporary with the Istanbul observatory.73
Nevertheless, in just five years, the observatory was mysteriously destroyed in 1580 [4 Ẕi’l-ḥicce 987 (January 22, 1580)].74 The largely accepted argument for the reason of its destruction is the fetvā of Şeyḫu’l-İslām Ḳaḍīzāde Aḥmed Şemseddin Efendi (d. 988/1580), which pointed to astrological research as an action against Islam:
In no kingdom where [such observations] were begun did [the kingdom] not get destroyed while it had once been prosperous and the edifice of its fortune did not become laden with the earthquake of revolutions75
The narrative tone throughout the poem in the Şehinşehnāme seems to suggest that the research here would merely serve as a sevāb since Ottomans regulate the times of prayer, fasts and detect the exact direction of qibla besides the auguries for daily activities based on the calculations in the zīc. The imperial book seems to imply that motivation behind building an observatory was solely this religious mission and any further research would have been a dangerous attempt for obtaining
72 Kaçar, Acar and Bir, Takiyüddin’in Gözlem Araçları, 8-11.
73 Tekeli, “Âlât-ı rasadiye,” 1-30. 74 Atā’ī, Hadāi’ḳü’l-ḥaḳā’iḳ’inden, 287. 75 Ata’i, Hadaikü’l-hakaik’inden, 286.
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God’s hidden knowledge. Therefore, it is implied that as soon as the necessary calculations were made to complete the zīc, the observatory was demolished. The narration in the Şehinşehnāme draws a fine line between using astronomy as a means of receiving limited information that can suffice to ease the daily work and of achieving God’s knowledge (maybe like a kind of Faustus syndrome). This religious motivation strongly appears towards the end, after describing the demolition of the observatory:
Nothing remained of the Observatory but its name and memory;
And verily, the fate of the world itself shall be a similar one
. . .
Do not make decisions concerning the affairs of the firmament
For who, beside God, knows the gait and the revolution of the heavens?76
These lines represent a parallel motivation with the fetvā of the Şeyḫu’l-İslām Aḥmed Ḳaḍīzāde.
Besides the religious motivation there is also a secular argument on the demolition of the Istanbul observatory, which promotes the idea that the observatory was the victim of a power struggle more than religious fanaticism. Sokullu Mehmed Pasha (d. 987/1579), who was a strong and powerful grand vizier, maintained his dominance in politics during the first years of the reign of Murād III. Sokullu and Ḫōca Sādeddīn were great supporters of Taḳıyyuddīn. Nurbānū Sulṭān, Safiye Sulṭān, and the Şeyḫu’l-İslām Ḳaḍīzāde Aḥmed had formed an alliance to weaken the influence of Sokullu. Between 1577-8 Murād III reassigned or removed most of his alliances and eventually in 1579 Sokullu was assassinated. Three months after his
76 Sayılı, “Alauddin Mansur’un,” 483.
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death the sulṭān gave the order for destruction of the observatory following Ḳaḍīzāde’s fetvā.77
In Koca Sinan Pasha’s (d. 1004/1596) epitome, Koca Sinan Paşa Telhisleri, which covers the events from 1506 to 1596, there is a report written by him to the sulṭān on 20 Rebīʻuʼl-āḫir 988 (5 May 1580) in which he suggests Murād III to send Taḳıyyuddīn to Egypt to be saved from the ulema who insisted on his execution:78
Ḥāṣil, aḥsen-i tedāruk bu fehmolunur ki; kat’ī Mısır’a gitmesi fermān olunub baʻdehū ḥıfyeten bu dā’ileri getürdüb “ʻUlemā’ cemī’an iṭbāḳ ve ittifāḳla haḳḳında maḥżar yazub ḳatline fetvā virüb devletlu pādişāhdan teftīşini istemişlerdir” . . . deyüb . . . ḥāżir gemi vardır, fil-hāl içine ḳoyub gönderevüz. (Sahillioğlu, 2004, pp. 215-6)
The letter clearly underlines that Murād III was not willing to punish the chief astronomer. The sulṭān must have been hesitating even for the demolition of the observatory. In Kitābu'l-Menāmāt, he asks Şeyḫ Şucā’s opinion about the case: “… şol raṣadı ḳaldurmaḳ isterüz, siz ne buyurusız, rūḥum?”79 The reason for the exile of Taḳıyyuddīn and the demolition of his observatory still lacks a solid answer.
In the Istanbul Observatory, there were fifteen specialists working with Taḳıyyuddīn. We have this information from an illustration in the Şehinşehnāme that shows sixteen people -including Taḳıyyuddīn himself- working in the observatory (İÜK FY. 1404, 57a). In this illustration, a text in Persian under the roof of the building saying:
On the other hand, a little observatory / They built near that center
[the observatory must be made of two buildings side by side. The huge instruments and the observation well are thought to be in the main building which was mentioned as “center” (makarr?)]
Fifteen scientists started working there / To be in service of Taḳıyyuddīn
After that each of them started to observe / Five of them became more specialized80
77 Tezcan, “Some Thoughts on,” 135-156.
78 Sahillioğlu, Koca Sinan Paşa’nın Telhisleri, 215-6. 79 Felek, Kitābü'l-Menāmāt, 342, (Tezkere 1837). 80 Sayılı, “Alauddin Mansur’un,” 478; Şehinşehnāme-i Murād-ı sālis, İÜK, FY.1404, fol. 57a.
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The Şehinşehnāme gives more detailed information about the division of labor among these fifteen scientists: In the observations made with each instrument Five wise and witty men of science cooperated There were two or three observers, and the fourth was the clerk, And there was also a fifth person who performed miscellaneous work.81
Stephan Gerlach (d. 1612) who lived in İstanbul as a priest of the Austrian embassy and noted the events he had witnessed during this time,82 claimed that a Jewish scientist had come from Selānik to teach ʻilm-i nucūm to the son of Ḫōca Sādeddīn at the time Taḳıyyuddīn’s observation program was still active.83 In Turcograecia,84 contemporary German historian Martin Crusius (d. 1607) wrote that Taḳıyyuddīn had a Jewish assistant from Selānik.85 Salomon Schweigger (d. 1622), another priest contemporary to Gerlach also implied that his assistant was translating European sources to him.86 Thomas Goodrich (1990), who examined the copies of a contemporary geography book, Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (History of the West Indies) which was derived from Italian and Spanish texts, has suggested that in the Şehinşehnāme illustration of workers, Taḳıyyuddīn’s assistant who was portrayed beside him in a relatively bigger size than the other figures can be a Sephardi astronomer. Furthermore, he also might be the one who translated the texts that composed the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī.87 In the sixteenth century, like today’s space expeditions, geographical expeditions were at the center of political and economical competition. A map that
81 Sayılı, “Alauddin Mansur’un,” 478.
82 Gerlach, Türkiye Günlüğü.
83 Arseven, Eski Galata ve Binaları, 94.
84 Crusius, Turcograecia, Munich Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. https://opacplus.bsb-muenchen.de/title /BV001400750.
85 Quoted in Mordtmann, “Das Observatorium des Taqi al Din zu Pera,” 119.
86 Schweigger, Sultanlar Kentine Yolculuk.
87 Quoted in İhsanoğlu, “Some Remarks on,” 60.; Goodrich, The Ottoman Turks and the New World.
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depicts anything about the new world was a priceless treasure.88 Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (History of the West Indies), completed in 1583-4 (BSL, No. 4969), was an illustrated book, which introduces marvelous creatures, animals and plants from the new world. The copy has only five illustrations along with four maps. It has a world map, and a map that shows climates that is similar to the one in Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582)89 and includes a scene that portrays Columbus. The compiler of this book of wonders upon the order of Murād III, could be Su῾ūdī (d. 999/1591), the same copyist who composed Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) since the same name is found in the colophon, Muḥammad ibn Amir Ḥasan al-Su῾ūdī.90 Su῾ūdī might have started the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī around 1580 and compiled it based on some Spanish books and their Italian translations.91 Thus, as is mentioned above, the text was translated from Spanish and Italian, yet the translator was not identified.92
However, the colophon of the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (BSL, No. 4969) points Su῾ūdī as the author:
This base slave, a follower of the path of Mas’udi, Muḥammad ibn Amir Ḥasan al-Su῾ūdī, spend much time and abundant effort in the organizing and writing of this slender book until it became full of light and joy like the gold tablet of the splendid sun, until it was made to reach completion and to find a form of consummation with the blessings of the exalted benevolence of His excellency, . . .93
There are three more Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī or so-called Hadis-i Nev manuscripts, which were dedicated to sulṭān Murād III. These are, Topkapı R1488,
88 İhsanoğlu, “Some Remarks on,” 59.; Goodrich, “Sixteenth Century Ottoman Americana,” 88-90.; Casale, “Seeing the Past,” 80-99.
89 The maps showing the climates were used both in the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (1583) and Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) Morgan MS. M788, fol.35v.; BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, fol.37r.
90 BDK No. 4969. This is the oldest copy of the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī, dated to 991 (1583-4). Another copy that includes a dedication to Murād III is TSMK Revan Collection 1488, which bears no date yet must have been produced between 1595-1622. Thomas Goodrich asserted that both of the Hind-i Ġarbī copies were compiled by Su῾ūdī based on their colophons.
91 Goodrich, “Sixteenth Century Ottoman Americana,” 196. 92 Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 121-123.
93 Goodrich, “Sixteenth Century Ottoman Americana,” 547.
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(on fol. 3a), American Oriental Society, JKn/N22 (on fol. 3b), and Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris, Turc. No. 521 (on fol. 2b).94 No author or scribe is indicated in any of these copies yet they bear dedications to the same sulṭān – albeit with some differences in expression – with BSL No. 4969 (on fol 6a-6b):
the auspicious omen of illustrious name, the sulṭān of the fortunate future, and the successful padishah of the Saturn, Heaven’s throne, ruler of the sulṭān of exalted sulṭāns, a quantity of pious and religious shahinshah and occupier and inheritor of the greatest caliphate, the majesty of the great sultanate, may the Solomon of the time be ornamented by the excellency Ebū’l fetḥ sulṭān Murād ibn Selīm Han, and may he be the object of envy of flower-gardens and the companion of those who publish.95
In Şerh-i Divan-ı Hafız, Su῾ūdī noted that he was attending the classes of “rāṣid” (the observer) in the time of Murād III. The scientist whose name was not mentioned must be Taḳıyyuddīn or perhaps another scientist, who was involved in the observation program.96 Kātip Çelebi praised the writing skills and knowledge of Su῾ūdī and added that he presented another compilation, Ravżatü’l-ʻUlūm ve Devḥatü’l-Fuhūm to Murād III.97 Neither in Su῾ūdī’s Şerh-i Divan-i Hafız nor in the secondary sources that mention him such as Keşfü’l-zunūn by Kātip Çelebi, or Su῾ūdī’s short biography written by Nazif Ḫōca, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is not noted among the scientific books he compiled. Therefore, whether the writer of the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī, who was assigned to compile scientific books attended the classes of “rāṣid” and the one who compiled the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies are the same person is not certain. However, giving the fact that the same full name is written in the colophon of the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (1583) and those of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) copies, Muḥammad ibn Amir Ḥasan al-Su῾ūdī who was interested in
94 Available online https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84150123.
95 Goodrich, “Sixteenth Century Ottoman Americana,” 545. 96 Ḫōca, Sudi, 14; İzgi, “Mehmed Suûdi Efendi,” 526-7.
97 Katip Çelebi, Keşf-el-zünun I, 928.
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contemporary astrological researches might be the writer of the both of these books.
During the reign of Murād III, research on astronomy might have been promoted since updating the zīc was an important matter, as been underlined in the Şehin-şehnāme. As much as this common intention, the sultan’s enthusiasm for learning about the mystical impacts of the celestial events was effective in the establishment of the observatory. In addition to updating the Zīc-i Uluġ Bey, observing the comet that was expected to appear in 1577 and interpreting effects of this event on the on-going Ottoman-Safavid war could also be reasons for building an observatory.98 There might be another expected cosmographical event that caused a rising curiosity towards the research on astronomy. This event could have been the Great Conjunction of the two heaviest planets, Saturn (Zuhal) and Jupiter (Müşteri) which was expected to occur in 1582-3.99
The year 990/1582 was seen as a time for change, a turning point in the Islamic world. Prognostication upon astrological conjunction theories was a huge phenomenon both in Europe and in the Islamic world during the middle ages and the early modern period.100 Conjunctionist astrology deals with the impacts of four trigons, that is to say four Aristotelian elements (fire, earth, air, water) and three associated zodiacal houses for each of them (Aries-Leo-Sagittarius; Taurus-Capricorn-Virgo; Gemini-Libra-Aquarius; Cancer-Scorpio-Pisces). As has also been indicated in one of the astrological tables of the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde, Saturn (Zuhal) traverses the whole sphere in thirty years, while Jupiter (Müşteri) does this in twelve years.101 The two planets meet once in every twenty years. Passing together from a
98 Mustafa Ali, Nusretname, 9-10.; Mustafa Ali, Künhü’l Ahbar, 508a, 508b.
99 Blake stressed that although the Grand Conjunction must have happened in 991/1583, some sources indicated that it was in 990/1582 owing to a miscalculation. Blake, Time in early modern Islam, 144. 100 Blake, Time in Early Modern Islam, 166-173.
101 The movements of the planets were given under the heading, “Eflāk-ı sebʻanın ḥareketi beyānındadır”: BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 61v; Morgan MS. M788, fol. 61v.
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single sign (one trigon) and meeting in the next one takes about 200 years. Therefore, nearly eight hundred years -as approved by Abū Maʻshar and many other Islamic astronomers, the exact duration was 960 years - are needed for the complete circuit of the two highest planets’ meetings. The effects of conjunctions in each sign were believed to have been marked by revolutionary events, notable changes like the birth of the prophet Muhammad (575 CE), or the foundation of Abbasid Empire (749 CE). Full circuits of planet conjunctions (great conjunctions) were therefore heralding good or bad, yet enormously important events. In his several astrological treatises, Abū Maʻshar underlined the importance of the year 990 /1582, which would correspond to the first full circuit of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions since 622 CE, the beginning of the hicrī calender.102
Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions attracted interest in Europe as much as the Islamic world. Tycho Brahe, the astronomer contemporary to Taḳıyyuddīn warned about the year 1583 in his studies. European history, produced especially during the middle ages, has countless examples for the prognostications concerning the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions. Among many of these events pointed by astrologers, for instance, was the bubonic plague, which spread throughout Europe in 1345, was largely related by astrologists to the current Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Aquarius.103 Additionally, the impact of these conjunctions inspired many literary works. In Divine Comedy’s second chapter Purgatorio, Dante Alighieri (d. 1321) alluded to the idea that the arrival of the Messiah was to happen during a big conjunction.104 102 Blake, Time in Early Modern Islam, 143-4.
103 Geneva, Astrology and the Seventeenth Century Mind. 104 Woody, “Dante,” 119-134.; Aston, “The Fiery Trigon Conjunction,” 158-187.
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Like the Ottoman and Safavid rulers, the Mughal Emperor Akbar was also fond of astrology and eschatology. Emperor Akbar fashioned himself as a flawless, cosmic ruler, who received the mystic knowledge of universe.105 Akbar was informed by his astrologers that the year 1582-3 (990-1) was a significant time because of the great Jupiter and Saturn conjunction of which effects had been assumed to herald apocalyptic transformation that leads big turning points in life.106 Akbar, who even had the ceiling of the devlet-ḫāne-i ḫāṣṣ in Fatehpur Sikri’s red palace designed in a model that signifies the 12 zodiac signs,107 like his father Humayun and like his contemporary Murād III, patronized professionals who were excelled at talismanic arts and astrology. Furthermore, Akbar commissioned a history book, Tārīḫ-i Elfī (Millenial History), completed in 1582 and another illustrated astrological manuscript (Rampur Raza Library, Album No.2), which must have been produced between 1580 and 1585.108
Considering its timing, just as Emperor Akbar, Murād III might have been attracted to contemporary prophecies about the impact of the Great Conjunction while commissioning the book. This coincidence has been neglected so far, while questioning the purpose of the production of the Matāliʻü’s-sa’āde copies. Taking the possible impact of the approaching Great Conjunction into account is a new suggestion, yet up to now, essential reason that has been suggested to justify the production of occult books in this period, is another significant event, the awaited Apocalypse which corresponded to 1000/1591. Therefore, contemporary interest in esoteric information and the boom in the production of the related books should also
105 Rice, “Cosmic Sympathies,” 88.
106 Rice, “Cosmic Sympathies” 93.
107 Orthmann, “Court Culture and Cosmology,” 211-12.
108 Schmitz and Desai, Mughal and Persian Paintings, 20-27.; Salvatore, Tottoli and Tabak The Wiley Blackwell History of Islam, 365-7.
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be evaluated with the impact of political and religious agenda of the sulṭān, that were shaped with the millenarian thoughts.
2.2 The golden age of illustrated manuscripts
The boom in manuscript production can be read as the continuation of a cultural and political process that aimed at shaping a cumulative knowledge through the reading practices of the court members. That is to say, contents of the books circulated in the imperial palace offer a glimpse of the shared high culture. Tendency for composing a common courtly cultural identity was stimulated during the era of Suleymān I (r. 1520-1566) through growing numbers of books on history, biographical accounts, geographies, religious and scientific treaties. In this period, history writing became the prevailed theme due to the need of the forming of Ottoman court historiography along with a unique artistic canon, which distinguished itself from the Persian and Arabic heritage.109
Ottomans followed the Persian Şehnāme (Book of Kings) tradition to praise the contemporary sulṭān in the imperial books by narrating the social, and political events, receptions, campaigns etc. The head of the court atelier was the official historiographer, named “Şehnāmeci.”110 Fetḥullah ῾Ārif Çelebi was the şehnāmeci during the reign of Suleyman I when this title became institutionalized.111 The Şehnāme-i Āl-i Osman (TSM, Hazine, nr. 1517) in five volumes was a production of this period. The first volume was Anbiyā’nāme (History of the Prophets), with the following three volumes composed of sulṭān biographies, and the last and fifth volume being the Suleymānnāme which is about the events of the reign of Suleymān
109 Fetvacı, Picturing History, 59-101.; Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 92-158.
110 The name of the post is deriving from the Persian Şehnāme (Book of the Kings) tradition.
111 Atasoy and Çağman, Turkish Miniature Painting, 26-28.
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I. Overall, this project of the Şehnāme-i Āl-i Osman presents the Ottoman imperial lineage as if the Ottoman sulṭāns relate to prophets. All of the five volumes were written in Persian, by ῾Ārifī (d. 969/1561-2) and completed in 965/1558. Suleyman I also commissioned the Selīmnāme (TSM, Hazine, nr. 1597),112 to rectify his father, Selīm I (r. 1512-1520)’s cruel, and ruthless image, with an attempt to glorify the victory over Şāh İsmaʻīl (Safavid ruler r. 1501-1524) and the conquests of holy cities.113 Like the Selīmnāme114 and Suleymānnāme,115 the later Şehnāme-i Selīm Han,116 Şehinşehnāme I (events of Murād III)117 and Şehinşehnāme II (events of Murād III and Mehmed III)118 served as a part of an acculturation program and a tool for dynastic propaganda by praising each sulṭān with his own merits, while reporting the contemporary events. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries these epic biographies of the sulṭāns with mystic powers kept emphasizing the Ottoman superiority over contemporary empires.119
Not only manifesting a respected status for the Ottoman lineage and providing an overall knowledge on the world history but establishing a distinctive Ottoman artistic style was also essential in the book production. Based on the recorded nationalities in the Ehl-i Ḥiref120 registers, in the sixteenth century, the court atelier had members from all corners of the empire. Talented devşirme and
112 It lacks a colophon, presents political events from the time of Selīm I (1512-20), commissioned by Suleymān I.
113 Woodhead, “An Experiment in Official Historiography,” 172.; Atıl, Sultan Süleyman, 78-96. 114 TSMK H1597. 115 TSMK H1517.
116 TSMK Ahmed III 3595; TSMK Revan 1537; BL Or. 7043.
117 İÜK, FY. 1404. It was dated 990/1582.
118 TSMK B200. This volume was started in the time of Murād III and completed in 1592-93 (1001) yet presented to Mehmed III in 1597-8 (1006).
119 Yılmaz, Caliphate Redefined, 8.
120 The organization that undertook all the arts and crafts commissioned by the state. The notion of Ehl-i Ḥiref stands for both producers and sellers since it encompasses all occupations. see Kanar, Osmanlıca Türkçe Sözlük, 111, 187.; Uysal, Zanaatkarlar Kanunu, 99.; Kazan, XVI. Asırda Sarayın Sanatı Himayesi.
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pençik boys from annexed lands were chosen to be trained in the court atelier.121 Whenever an Ottoman sulṭān invaded a land, he transferred skillful painters to İstanbul or to major provinces. However, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the court atelier had Persian painters in majority since Ottomans were following the Persianate (Timurid-Turcoman) aesthetics, which had an admitted, longtime superiority in the Islamic world. To illustrate, after defeating the Aḳḳoyunlu Turkmans in Otluḳbeli, Mehmed II brought artisans, and scientists to İstanbul from Iran. Moreover, when the Ottomans defeated the Safavids in Çaldıran (1514), Tabriz painters in Selīm I’s Ottoman court workshops were paid higher wages than the local artists.122 This situation remained the same until the Ottomans created their own authentic style distinct from the Persian artistic tradition. Last quarter of the century was the time when Ottoman manuscript painting reached an apogee. Disciplined work during the reign of Suleymān I followed by Murād III’s multicultural, intellectual interests that enlarged the chosen subject matters established a ground for this development.
What we identify as the unique Ottoman style emerged in the manuscripts produced in the time of Suleymān I, yet the artistic vocabulary of the court studio was codified and developed under his grandson, Murād III’s rule. The primary concern of Suleymān I was exhibiting the Ottoman dynastic power to the public and thus he preferred to put more emphasis on architectural patronage than the arts of books, the audience of which would have been limited to the inner circle of the sultanate. At that time, the best efforts of the court atelier were concentrated on the decorative and industrial arts due to the contemporary request for confirmation of the official imperial image. As Gülru Necipoğlu noted:
121 Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devleti’nin Saray Teşkilatı, 462.
122 Uzunçarşılı, “Osmanlı Sarayında, 23, 24.
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Like the Suleymāniye complex, which made allusions to the temple of Solomon to promote the sulṭān’s image as the second Solomon, the Suleymānnāme begins with verses from the Koran referring to the justice and generosity of Solomon, with whom Suleymān not only shared his name but also his concern for justice that earned him the title for ‘Lawgiver’ (Ḳānūnī).”123
Murād III’s architectural patronage, on the other hand, was concentrated in the palace124 and his kulliyye in Manisa. The Murādiye Mosque was planned by Sinan and completed in 1592.125 Overall the sulṭān preferred restoration rather than newly constructed monumental mosques that would stand as the symbols of imperial power. Instead of spreading his name through triumphal monuments, Murād III featured arts of the books heralding an artistic development with no prior example in the Ottoman world and became a palace-based enthusiastic patron of the arts and literature rather than an attentive military leader.126
During Murād III’s reign manuscript production increased as it never had before. Once the şehnāmeci Seyyid Luḳmān (active in 1569-1597) even asked the paper supervisor (şehremīni or kāġıd emīni) to supply more paper for the book projects his crew was working on.127 Zubdetü’t Tevārīḫ (1583),128 Şehnāme-i Selīm Han (1580-81),129 Şehinşehnāme (1582),130 Sūrnāme-i Humāyūn (1589),131 Ḳiyāfetü’l-insāniyye fī şemāili’l-Osmāniyye (1579),132 two volumes of the Hunernāme (Book of Skills)133 and Muṣṭafā ʻĀlī’s Nuṣretnāme (1584),134 Rumūzī’s
123 Necipoğlu, “A Kânûn for the State,” 212-213.; Atıl, Süleymanname, 87-89.
124 Necipoğlu, Architecture, Ceremonial and Power, 164-175. 125 Goodwin, A history of Ottoman Architecture, 317-21.; Necipoğlu, The Age of Sinan, 256.
126 Froom, “A Muraqqa,” 315-316.
127 BOA KK. Ruus 230, 319. The document is dated 27 Rebiülahir 983/1576.; Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 71.
128 Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, No. 1973. It is dated 991/1583.
129 TSMK Ahmed III 3595; TSMK Revan 1537; BL Or. 7043.
130 İÜK FY. 1404.
131 TSMK H1344. Sūrnāme was reporting events from the circumcision festivities of Mehmed III. İntizami was the writer.
132 TSMK H1563. See Atasoy, “Nakkaş Osman'ın Padişah Portreleri Albümü,” 2-15.
133 TSMK H1523 (1584), TSMK H1524 (1588).
134 TSMK H1365.
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Tārīḫ-i Fetḥ-i Yemen (1594),135 Āṣafī Pasha’s Şecā῾atnāme (1586),136 Gencīne-i Fetḥ-i Gence (1590),137 Ḍarīrī’s Siyer-i Nebī (1594-5),138 are among the manuscripts produced in this period by the contributions of Seyyid Luḳmān and his crew.
In the contemporary manuscripts, which were concentrated on Ottoman victories, like Tārīḫ-i Fetḥ-i Yemen (1594),139 Nuṣretnāme (The Book of Victory, 1584),140 Şecā῾atnāme (1586)141 viziers were mentioned as the commanders of the battles, instead of the sulṭān himself, while Murād III was depicted in reference to his philanthropy and intellectual interests.142 In the Şehinşehnāme (İÜK FY 1404), Ḳiyāfetü’l-insāniyye fī şemāili’l-Osmāniyye (Human Physiognomy Concerning the Fine Features of the Ottomans),143 Zubdetü’t-tevārīḫ (Quintessence of Histories ),144 Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde the sulṭān was repeatedly portrayed with a book in his hand.145
The reign of Murād III witnessed more books, which are worth mentioning to presenting the continuous curiosity in cosmographical and geographical studies. Cevāhirü’l-Ġarāʼib ve Tercüme-i Baḥru’l-ʻAcāʼib,146 written by Abū Muḥammad Muṣṭafā b. Ḥasan Hüseynī, (d.1590) had the aforementioned concepts. The illustrations of Cevāhirü’l-Ġarāʼib pursue the iconographic and formal plans utilized
135 İÜK T. 6045.
136 İÜK T. 6043.
137 TSMK R. 1296.
138 Five copies were produced based on the text of Ḍarīrī of Erzurum in fourteenth century: TSM H1221, H1222, H1223; New York Public Library, 157 and Dublin Chester Beatty Library, 419 of which colophon shows the date, 1003 (1594-5) yet the illustrations were completed in the time of Mehmed III.
139 İÜK T. 6045.
140 TSMK H1365.
141 İÜK T. 6043.
142 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 191-239; Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 166-178.
143 The manuscript is also known with the title Şemā’ilnāme (Book of Fine Features). TSMK H1563.
144 Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, No. 1973; TSMK H1321; Dublin Chester Beatty Library, No. 414.
145 İÜK FY. 1404, fol. 25a; TSMK 1563, fol. 73a; Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, No. 1973, fol. 88b; BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 7v.; Morgan MS. M788, fol. 6v. For the portraits of Murād III, printed or painted on canvas by European painters see Reyhanlı, “The Portraits of Murād III,” 453-468. 146 LACMA M.85 237.24; Milli Kütüphane, 566470, dated 1582.
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by court artists for the paintings of Zubdetü’t-tevārīḫ.147 It was presumably prepared on the same solicitation, which lead to the production of the Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī148 and later the ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt. 149
In 1595, the court physician and diplomat Solomon Ashkenazi150 wrote a report in Italian, addressing the English ambassador Barton to inform him about the death of Murād III and the accession of Mehmed III. In this report, Ashkenazi described Murād III as a vivid, cheerful person, whose disposition was not suitable for the rage of war. He did not join his commanders in battles, and his mother Nurbānū Sulṭān was constantly guiding him towards keeping peace. The sulṭān was very fond of literature and history, especially in the entertaining stories. He liked to spend money and kept rewarding whomever informed him about new, amusing stories, poems and interesting events, and music.151 For instance, he assigned Cinānī (d. 1595), who was a contemporary poet-author famous for his narrating aptitude, to aggregate fantastical stories,152 to gather some unheard of, new, and surprising stories for amusement:153
Mervīdür ki merḥūm sulṭān Murād Han tevārīḫ ve āsār u nevādir-i aḫbār istimāʻına mā’il olmagın emr iderler ki nā-enīde ḥikāyāt ile bir mecmūʻa-yı hātır-firib cem’ ü tertīb iyle ki leyāli-i ʻitāda eglenmege ḳābil ‘iber ü ʻacāʼibi muʻtemil ola.
Cinānī compiled various stories upon this request and his book, Bedāyiü’l-āsār (990/1590)154 was prepared at the court atelier under the supervision of the chief
147 Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 189-190.
148 BDK No. 4969, dated 1583.
149 TSMK A3632. The illustrated manuscript was the Turkish translation of Ḳazvīnī’s ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt. Surūrī started composing the book for prince Mustafa, the son of Mehmed III. It also includes zodiac signs besides the content related to the genre of “ʻacāʼib and ġarāʼib.”
150 Deutsch and Rosenthal, “Ashkenazi, Solomon Ben Nathan,” 201.
151 Bon, The Sultan’s Seraglio, 62.
152 Kınalı-zâde, Tezkiretü’-şuarâ, 266.; Aşık Çelebi, Meşâ’irü’ş-şu ‘arâ, 494.
153 Atā’ī. Şakāyık Zeyli, 396-397.
154 BnF, Ancien Fonds Nr. 385; Yapı Kredi Sermet Çifter Research Library Yz. 842; Germany Gotha Library Dou Manuscripts Nr. 231; Dr. Emel Esin Library Nr. 601; Ankara National Library Yz.
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white eunuch, Ġażanfer Agha (d. 1603). The book includes sexual stories of tricky, instigator women; jinns, fairies and sorcery; religious stories, battles and legends; marvels and mirabilias (ʻacāʼib and ġarā’ib). The content, thus clearly reflects the fondness of Murād III for the genre of ʻacāʼib.155
As a book reporting wonderous creatures and events with a vivid pictorial program ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt, had a widespread fame in the Islamic world. Although the book has been labeled as a geographical book, it also includes cosmographical knowledge with images of planets, supernatural creatures and precious stones. Before his enthronement, Murād III had commissioned an illustrated Arabic copy of Ḳazvīnī’s (d. 1283) ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt ve Ġarā’ibu’l-Mevcūdāt (The Wonders of Creation and the Marvels of Existence), which was completed on 5 Receb / 10 October 1575.156 Ḳazvīnī’s ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt has several copies commissioned by different Ottoman sulṭāns and Murād III’s wish for a copy reflects his interests in such subjects even while he was still a young prince.157 Although we have no information whether this copy still exists or not, there is another copy which has been stylistically attributed to the end of the sixteenth century, corresponding to the reign of Murād III (TSMK A3632). Terceme-i ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt was meant to be given to Prince Muṣṭafā by his tutor Surūrī (d. 1562) yet the translation of Ḳazvīnī’s book was interrupted when Suleymān I executed his son Muṣṭafā.158 The manuscript does not have colophon, but it is highly possible that it was completed at the end of the reign of Murād III.
It is interesting that the medium of discourse became the Turkish language in
A.2122; Hungarian Academy of Sciences Turkish Manucripts Török. O.190; BnF Suppl. No:401; Cambridge Library Or. 680.
155 Okuyucu, Cinani; Cinani, Bedâyiü’l-âsâr.
156 Kazan, XVI. Asırda Sarayın Sanatı Himayesi, 119.
157 Kut, Acâib’ül-Mahlûkât, 1-9.
158 Kut, Acâib’ül-Mahlûkât, 7.; Bağcı and Farhad, “The Art of Bibliomancy,” 124.
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the newly introduced genres, while Arabic and especially Persian continued to be used for poetry and romantic epics. Like the case of the Kitāb al-Bulhān, one can state that Murād III fancied illustrated old books in Arabic and Persian and requested the court artists to produce Turkish adoptions. His son Mehmed III (r. 1595-1603) and then Aḥmed I (r. 1603-1617) ordered reproduction of the books in new genres with eclectic artistic styles that had firstly been promoted in the time of Murād III.159
The targeted audience of this scholarly initiative and artistically creative books was not limited to the sulṭāns themselves. Although explicitly dedicated to Murād III, these books must be viewed as a part of the thematic variety and artistic development at the Ottoman court. The viziers’, the court eunuchs’ and royal women’s contemporary proclivity to occult sciences supports the idea that such literary and esoteric genres became popular among the court elites. Explosion of these subjects, which were introduced via the translated versions of old treatises in Arabic, Greek, Persian as well as contemporary adoptions from Italian, and Spanish texts functioned for shaping a new shared knowledge and values within the existing court culture.
The content of the books that were commissioned and collected by learned upper classes reflect the acculturation program that dealt with Ottoman genealogy and dynastic propaganda. To illustrate, Sokullu Mehmed Pasha was a highly influential grand vizier, who supported the court artists. The historian Aḥmed Feridun who was a member of the court atelier during the reigns of Suleymān I and Selīm II, was the right-hand man of Sokullu. Seyid Luḳmān was another protégé of the grand vizier. After Sokullu, Sinan Pasha (d. 1486) who served as grand vizier in 1590-6, was inclined to the arts of the book and commissioned several manuscripts
159 Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 191-211.
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including a copy of the Şemāʻilnāme.160 He had a large collection of illustrated Persian manuscripts. Sivāyuş Pasha (d. 1656) was also an avid collector of books. Becoming a patron of art was undoubtedly a sign of prestige among the bureaucrats.161
After Sokullu’s assassination, Mehmed Agha was appointed as the chief black eunuch and the political power of the viziers was transmitted to the court eunuchs. Thus, a new period started with the rising power of the eunuchs, who emulated the earlier vizierial patronage.162 Beginning in 1577, Mehmed Agha, the chief black eunuch (dārʻü’s-saʻāde ağası) gained a political superiority over the court bureaucrats. As a consequence of the enlarged authority of the members of the harem, the reign of Murād III witnessed a power struggle between the imperial household and the imperial council.
Imperial women had a network of patron-client relationships with the court eunuchs. Until the reign of Murād III, duties of the chief black eunuch was restricted to the overseeing of the residential part of the harem whereas the chief white eunuch (bābʻü’s-saʻāde ağası) was chosen from the pages who had been educated in the Enderūn and therefore had a chance to get an appointment in the imperial administration or in the military.163 The reign of Murād III was the time of another power-struggle as well. This was between two court eunuchs, the chief white eunuch (bābʻü’s-saʻāde ağası) Ġażanfer Agha and the chief black eunuch (dārʻü’s-saʻāde ağası) Mehmed Agha. We have evidence that demonstrates the power they achieved in the court atelier as well.
160 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 234. 161 See Uluç, Türkmen valiler, Şirazlı ustalar, Osmanlı okurlar.
162 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 149-191.
163 Tayyarzade, Tarih-i Ata, 259.
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White eunuchs like Ġażanfer Agha always had a potential to have alliances with the devşirme viziers and bureaucrats owing to the shared ethno-cultural identities. For example, Ġażanfer Agha was an enslaved Venetian, who chose to be castrated with his brother Cafer to be able to reach the highest possible positions in the court. Ġażanfer Agha had a considerable network with the local elite along with a lot of supporters among the bureaucrats.164 Ġażanfer Agha’s appointment as the chief white eunuch was approved by Selīm II, who had built a friendship with the brothers during his princedom.165
Ġażanfer Agha was known as the close attendant of Nurbānū Sulṭān as well. He was also among the most famous bibliophile eunuch aghas in Ottoman history. For instance, he was instrumental in the summary/translation of Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (Key to the Comprehensive Prognosticon)166 by Bistāmī who specialized in the sciences of letters and divine names (ʻilm-i hurūf, ʻilm-i esmāʼ). This was completed in the time of Mehmed III, the son and successor of Murād III.167 Later, Ġażanfer Agha commissioned a book titled, Ferrūḥ and Humā for his personal library. Naḳḳāş Ḥasan was assigned as one of the illustrators of this book. It shows strong relations between Ġażanfer Agha and a painter like Naḳḳāş Ḥasan who was the most famous one in the making of the imperial books, after his contemporary, Ustād Osman.168
Mehmed Agha, on the other hand, was responsible for every kind of organization in the palace from weddings to funerals.169 Mehmed Agha’s privilege of building relations with imperial women like Nurbānū Sulṭān, Safiye Sulṭān and
164 Tanındı, “Bibliophile Aghas,” 335.
165 Tezcan, Children of the Ottoman Seraglio, 155.
166 İÜK 6624.
167 Fleischer, “Seer to the Sultan,” 292-3.; (MSS. TKSM Bağdat 373, İÜK 6624; a copy of the original in Arabic, MS. Süleymaniye 1060.) 168 Bağcı et al, Ottoman Painting, 208-210.
169 Altınay, Kızlar Ağası, 12.
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῾Āyşe Sulṭān challenged the hierarchical order and enabled him to almost take the role of the grand vizier. He played an intermediary role in the patronage activities of imperial women as well as the sulṭān.170
Mehmed Agha must have a considerable role in overseeing the production of the imperial manuscripts. The best evidence of his influence in the court atelier is hidden in the words of İntiẓāmī, who was the author of the imperial festival book, Sūrnāme-i Humāyūn (1588). İntiẓāmī, who was assigned to the Sūrnāme instead of Seyyid Luḳmān as a personal demand of Mehmed Agha, expresses that the dwarf Zeyrek Agha and Mehmed Agha supervised the work by giving their precious comments. İntiẓāmī used “the impure coin in the market of explanation” as a metaphor of his words, which were refused and changed by the two eunuchs while writing the text: Mehmed Agha [may his grandness endure], who is known for his brightness and intelligence and who possesses goodness and integrity and devotion, and the leader of the illustrious and honorable Zeyrek Agha [may his illustriousness endure], were often consulted. Those [coins/words] that were of perfect refinement would be accepted by them and used appropriately, and those that had to be refused because they were impure currency in the market of explanation were changed for perfect goods.171
This example points out that high government officials were allowed to inspect and even interfere with the making of the royal manuscripts. Contemporary and future court elites were the primary target audience of these books where the sulṭān’s accomplishments were manifested. They have been allowed to observe the imperial manuscripts during their production and that was one of the primary reasons why şehnāmeci and his crew had an atelier in the Topkapı Palace. 170 Elbirlik, “Sınırlar Ötesi Bir Diyalog,” 63-99.
171 Fetvacı, “Viziers to Eunuchs,” 212.
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The imperial şehnāmes were composed in a way to be eulogies to the sulṭān, more than accurate chronicles which would shed light on the events of a certain period of the dynasty. Essential motivation in their production must have been claiming Ottoman hegemony in the Islamic geography and beyond, by proving the political power of the empire. Besides, they were instrumental in defining and justifying the contemporary sulṭān’s policies. For instance, as is mentioned above, this biased attitude is visible in the narrative of the Şehinşehnāme of which given verses about the Istanbul observatory does not objectively report what had happened in fact. Moreover, while the former imperial Şehnāme books usually depict accomplishments of the sulṭāns in military campaigns and/or legislative and diplomatic matters, the Şehinşehnāme surprisingly praises the less formal aspects of the reign of Murād III.172
As the spokesman of the sulṭān, the mission of the şehnāmeci was to supervise the imperial books which explain the contemporary implementations to the court elites and manifest certain features of the sulṭān according to how he wanted them to be seen. In the case of the sulṭān Murād III, the content of the Şehinşehnāme enabled him to be seen as a sensitive, introvert yet a bibliophile ruler who let the production of the books in new genres flourish and as a wise man who encouraged occult activities.
His interest in the occult sciences and his patronage of the books in related subjects can be accepted as a part of the image-making process. Another aspect of this process was the sulṭān’s need for earning a reputation as a sūfī murid. The reign of Murād III was marked with the sulṭān’s political image that was intentionally shaped as a ruler who is a humble sūfī, great patron of arts of books and supporter of
172 Woodhead, “An Experiment in Official Historiography,” 157-182.
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occult practices. The production of the twin books for the daughters of such a sulṭān with claimed intellectual and sūfī character could have fit this political agenda.
In the textual and visual narratives of the contemporary imperial books, the sulṭān Murād III is depicted as a renowned bibliophile, calligrapher, poet, patron of arts of the books. Besides being a calligrapher, Murād III is accepted as the most productive poet-ruler after Suleymān I (reign. 1520-1566), who wrote his dīvān with the maḫlaṣ, Muḥibbī.173 In addition, through his poetry, the sulṭān portrayed himself as a humble man, a sūfī murīd. A couplet from his own divan also shows this modesty:
You have seen us as the sulṭān from our exterior
At the mystical level, we are just a helpless beggar
Do not think a leader can be anyone whose head carries a crown
A leader may be the one, who can forego a throne and a crown (“my translation”)
Bizi ṣūretde gördün pādişāyuz
Velī maʻnāda bir kem-ter gedāyuz
Sen ana dime server kim ola anun serinde tac
Serīr ü tacı serden terk idenler belki serverdür174
Murād III ascended to the throne (1 Ramazan 982 / 15 December 1574), when the millenarian fears were growing in the Islamic societies since the end of the First Islamic Millennium (1000/1591) was impending.175 His predilection for arts of the books as much as his humbleness might have been especially promoted features to craft the image of the sulṭān as an intellectual sūfī murid. The increase in manuscript production related to divination and Ḳur’ānic sciences -either with or without illustrations can also be associated with the apocalyptic concerns that
173 Kırkkılıç, Muradi divanı. Murâdî Divanı can be found in multiple manuscript libraries: Süleymaniye Library, Fatih Kitaplığı, No 3874; Ayasofya Kitaplığı, No. 3972; Millet Kütüphanesi, Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Kitaplığı, Ali Emiri, Manzum Eserler Bölümü, No. 625, No. 401; Eyüp Hüsrev Paşa Kütüphanesi, Mihrişah Sultan Kitaplığı, No. 359; Topkapı Revan Kitaplığı No. 740; Bibliotheque National, No. 1030, Bibliothéque Nationale, Levā’iḥ-i Ṭayyibe No. 274.
174 Kırkkılıç, Muradi Divanı, 49. 175 Fleischer, “The Law-Giver as Messiah,” 159–177. See also Sachedina, Islamic Messianism.
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surrounded contemporary Islamic societies and the intention of Murād III for showing his status as the restorer of Islam.176
To begin with, the interest in esotericism was not limited to the reign of Murād III. For instance, Bayezid II was an Ottoman sulṭān renown with his proclivity for occult sciences. Topkapı Palace Library has an inventory of manuscripts, composed by Atūfī, the royal librarian of Bayezid II, in 909 (1503-4). In the inventory registers, there are more than 200 books under the category of occult sciences; which were organized with the headings, oneiromancy (ʿilm-i taʿbīr), physiognomy (ʿilm-i firāset), alchemy (ʿilm-i kīmiyāʾ), stones with occult features (ʿilm-i aḥcār), omens (al-fāl) and related geomancy (ʿilm-i reml), arts of talismans (al-ṭilsimāt); siḥr, sīmiyāʾ the adjuration of jinns (ʿazāʾim), automatas (ṣināʿat al-ʿacāʾib, al-ḥiyal) and wondrous subjects (ʿacāʾib).177
The reign of Suleymān I witnessed the use of eschatology for his messianic claims in politics. In the mid-sixteenth century, Suleymān I and his contemporary the Safavid ruler Shah Ṭahmāsp (r. 1524-1576) were both declaring their own superiority in the Islamic world by claiming spiritual power. The Safavid ruler Shah Ṭahmāsp manifested his claim appearing as an ʻAlid saintly king in his diary that included his spiritual journey through dreams.178 Shah Ṭahmāsp was highly interested in astrology and eschatology. In his youth, he had taken lessons from his father’s soothsayer, known as remmāl179 Haydar to improve his skills in the art of divination and to learn about astrology (ʻilm-i nucūm) besides its theoretical foundation, astronomy (ʻilm-i hey’et, mathematical cosmography). After falling into
176 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 43. 177 Gardiner, “Books on Occult Sciences,” 735-765. 178 Ṭahmāsp I, Tezkire / Şah Tahmasb-ı Safevi.
179 “Reml” was one of the methods of fortunetelling, geomancy. Remmāl was deriving from the word “reml,” which means sand in Arabic, therefore the title was referring to the one who reads future by using sand.
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conflict with Shah Ṭahmāsp, the remmāl Haydar was protected by Suleymān I and became a consultant at the Ottoman Palace. In an anonymous treatise that is preserved in the Topkapı Palace Library, a messianic persona was crafted for Suleymān I by glorifying his conquests. The remmāl Haydar was most probably the author of this treatise.180
In the sixteenth century, Sūfīstic visions of Ottoman caliphate became apparent in the politics. According to this new narrative that was expressed by various Sūfī sheikhs, “rulership (pādişāhluk) was manifested to be an attribute of God whereas prophethood (nubuvvet) and knowledge (ʻilm) were considered as human attributes, therefore below in rank to rulership.” Messianic discourse is not applied in the reign of Murād III as much as it had been in the Suleymanic era when the Sulṭān Suleyman was systematically cultivated as Mahdi. However, the notion of the sultanate must have been continued to be conceptualized with the said divine power of the sulṭān.
According to Özgen Felek, Kitābu’l-Menāmāt,181 the compilation of dream letters that were written by Murād III to his mentor, Şeyḫ Şucāʻ from Ḫalvetī order, was written to put him in the center of the apocalyptic expectations. “Murād the dream-teller” was representing an allegory of a religious restorer through his dreams as the protagonist of these letters, while “the historical Murād III” was contributing to the restoration of the holy sanctuaries.
As a pious ruler, Murād III ordered the repair of the domes of the Harem-i Şerīf (the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem), the cleaning of water channels, and the
180 Fleischer, “Seer to the Sultan,” 296; Babayan examines the role of contemporary millenarian concern in the Safavid context in the fālnāme genre. Babayan, “The Cosmological Order,” 246–55.; Yılmaz, Caliphate Redefined, 251-266.
181 Nuruosmaniye Library, 2599.
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renovation of the Kaaba walls.182 The chief black eunuch Mehmed Agha was in charge of managing the Ḥarāmeyn Waqfs and dealing with these services. In 1586-87, as the first court eunuch to act in this capacity with his extended political power, his first task was in Medina, rebuilding a fountain (sebīl) with an upper-storey library, sebīl-kuttāb, and an elementary school from the Mamluk period.183 Therefore, the reign of Murād III is also marked with the restoration of already existing sanctuaries rather than building new masterpieces of architecture.
After Şeyḫ Şucāʻ, another Ḫalvetī sheikh, Kırımī became the advisor of the sulṭān Murād III and the letters continued between the two. Kırımī gave advises to the sulṭān in almost all cases that varied from condemnation of some dervishes as heretics (zindīḳ, mulḥid) and declaring ġazā’, to manumit Safiye Sulṭān for marrying with her. It can also be noted that the sheikh was partaking in politics through his close relations with grand vizier and through his involvement in the contemporary court division which include Ḫōca Sādeddīn, Safiye Sulṭān and her confidents such as Ġażanfer Agha.184 As Derin Terzioğlu noted, all these attempts for guiding the sulṭān through the spiritual progress seem to have served for his public image:
On the one hand, he drew on the Sūfī, and particularly Akbarian, idea of the body politic as a mirror image of the cosmic order to describe the Sulṭān as the soul (rūḥ) and sometimes the heart (ḳalb) of the body politic and the guarantor of order in this world. On the other hand, he also drew on the juridical discourse of Islamic rulership to emphasize the duties of the Sulṭān to dispense justice, to enforce the sharia and the Sunna of the Prophet, and to wage war in the name of religion. (Terzioğlu, 2019, pp. 172-3).
The Ottoman sulṭān’s self-declaration as the true representative of the Islam is reflected by means of the dream letters and his contributions to the holy lands. At the same time, this is the way to defy Shiʻi Islam of which threat was subjected to an
182 Felek, “Re-creating Image and Identity,” 263.
183 Necipoğlu, Age of Sinan, 555.
184 Terzioğlu, “Power, Patronage and Confessionalism,” 170.
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ongoing tension between the two empires. Furthermore, the portrayal of the Ottoman sulṭāns as not only the prophet’s but also Adams’s successors in the Şemā’ilnāme or the Zübdetü’t-tevārīḫ manuscripts served to the purpose of manifesting the House of Osman as God’s chosen dynasty in the Islamic world.
The same attitude is seen in the pictorial program of the monumental fālnāme which was adopted from the Persian tradition. Monumental fālnāmes offer an advanced version of bibliomancy since their folios consist of an illustration on one side and a page of text on the other. Each painting has its corresponding text on the page facing it. That means that the text reflects the bad or good omen that the image signifies. The Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme (the Dispersed Fālnāme), commissioned by Shah Ṭahmāsp in mid-1550s and early 1560s, is largely accepted as the first of all monumental fālnāmes.185 Topkapı Palace Library has two examples of monumental fālnāme books. A Turkish fālnāme, commissioned by Aḥmed I (TSMK H1703) and an earlier, Persian fālnāme, which has been considered to have been ordered in the reign of Murād III. The Topkapı Persian Fālnāme (TSMK H1702) is attributed to the third quarter of the sixteenth century and considered as a bound copy of the Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme.186
The Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme included moral advice and therefore the illustrations differ from the two Ottoman fālnāmes (H1702, H1703). As the interest in the matter of the apocalypse and resurrection increased, Ottomans adopted the images and didactive language of Shah Ṭahmāsp’s monumental fālnāme to fulfill their own need for expressing the superiority of Sunnī-Islam.187 Christiane Gruber (2014) argues: As the year AH 1000 drew into closer sight, paintings of the Last Judgment, heaven, and hell were included in the pictorial programs of Safavid and
185 Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 43.
186 Babayan examines the role of contemporary millenarian concern in the Safavid context in the fālnāme genre: Babayan, “The Cosmological Order,” 246–55.
187 Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 53-58.
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Ottoman fālnāmas. Although sharing in common popular religious traditions, Safavid pictorial auguries could forward a Shiʻi millenarian agenda while Ottoman manuscripts containing eschatological themes and imageries could help promote a Sunnī apocalyptical worldview instead. The signs of the hour thus contributed to the greater project of constructing Sunnī-Shiʻi differential identities in Persian and Turkish lands during the early modern period.188
During the reign of Suleymān I, another significant work on eschatology and apocalypses was an Arabic compendium (malāhim) by Bistāmī (d. 1454), Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (Key to the Comprehensive Prognostication).189 The book was initially commissioned in the time of Suleymān I. By considering the presence of two Turkish copies, which bear later dates, one can easily assume that curiosity towards occult sciences must have continued among Ottoman court elites. The chief white eunuch, Ġażanfer Agha was assigned to overseeing the production of an illustrated version of the Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ in Ottoman Turkish,190 which must have been ordered by Murād III but could only be finished during the reign of Mehmed III.191
In this translation, in the scenes illustrating the enthroned mehdī, the face of the expected mehdī immediately recalls the depictions of Mehmed III. Although it once has been meant for praising Murād III, the book eventually suggested the new sulṭān as the “renewer” of Islam.192 Thus, its pictorial program kept changing according to the current needs of the ruler, yet translating occult books did not lose its popularity throughout the sixteenth century. During the same period, production of the Siyer-i Nebī (1594-5) which provides the bio-apocalyptical narration of the prophet Muḥammad’s life was also constituted by the same religious and political
188 Gruber, “Signs of The Hour,” 49. Contemporary tensions around Shiʻi-Sunnī polarization can be traced in some illustrations from the Sūrnāme that show the mocking of the Safavid, kizilbaş headgear during the festivities in 1582, see Terzioğlu, “The Imperial Circumcision Festival,” 86.
189 Fleischer, “Seer to the Sultan,” 295-296.
190 Terceme-i Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ, (TSM, B. 373). Another copy, İÜK TY 6624, was made in the reign of Ahmed I.
191 Fleischer, “Seer to the Sultan,” 293.
192 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 246.
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motivation. By commissioning six volumes of Siyer-i Nebī, the sulṭāns must have aimed at presenting themselves as a devout Muslim ruler.193 Even later, Aḥmed I, the grandson of Murād III, commissioned the aforementioned monumental fālnāme in Ottoman Turkish (H1703), that is derived from esoteric knowledge. Knowledge on practices of divination was crucial to be ready for the trials of the end of the time. Adding to the fālnāme books, there is another type of illustrated manuscripts that directly relates to the millenarian fears; these were the copies of the Aḥvāl-i Ḳiyāmet (The circumstances of the Day of Resurrection). A contemporary copy of the book is currently preserved in Berlin Staatsbibliothek (MS. Or. Oct. 1596). The Berlin copy of Aḥvāl-i Ḳiyāmet is in Turkish yet bears no date, and no note on its provenance. However, it is thought to be made in the time of Murād III owing to its stylistic similarity with a Ḳıṣṣa-i Ferruḫrūz (London, British Lib. Or. 3298), which has an inscription (on fol. 36b) praising Murād III. Furthermore, a similar iconographical cycle with those mentioned above is visible for the case of four detached Aḥvāl-i Ḳiyāmet miniatures from Philadelphia, Free Library (Lewis Ms. O. T4-T7) yet they were attributed to the Jalayirid Baghdad school of the last quarter of the sixteenth century owing to their stylistic features.194
Overall, commission of these translated books show continuing interest of the sulṭāns in occult books such as ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt, Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ, Aḥvāl-i Ḳiyāmet, Aḥmed I’s Fālnāme of which illustrations relate to each other and those found in the Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies.195 Sulṭān Murād III must have been attracted to the fālnāme genre, the sub-branches of which became popular through Turkish reproductions. The fālnāme genre was encompassing a wide range of scientific
193 Tanındı, Siyer-i Nebi, 28-30.
194 Milstein, Miniature Painting, 95-96.
195 Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 124. See Chapter 4.
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branches including the occult sciences with related esoteric knowledge, oneiromancy and the science of physiognomy.196 Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) includes various sub-branches of this genre. At this point, the content of the fālnāme genre should be briefly introduced to recognize its sub-branches that are found among the scientific treatises of the Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde.
The fālnāme has its root in the tradition of bibliomancy, which was confined to using a text for divination by a reader directly or through a fortune teller. The most popularly used texts for this activity have been the Ḳur’ān, the works of Ḥāfiẓ (d. 1390), Mevlānā (d. 1273), Saʻdī (d. 1291) or Cāmi (d. 1492) throughout the Islamic world. The method of bibliomancy is simply based on opening a random page and drawing guidance or inspiration for divination from the first verse or passage.197 Such books were consulted for making a choice when the ruler was unsure of initiating a campaign, constructing an imperial building, or simply looking for an augury (tefe”ul).198 In Safavid Iran, Mughal India and Ottoman Turkey, another traditional way of bibliomancy was using illustrated books or pamphlets that were designed solely for divination.
Muṣṭafā Ālī’s Nuṣretnāme has an illustration depicting a scene of the ser-dār (commander in chief) Lālā Muṣṭafā Pasha in Konya, visiting the tomb of Mevlānā Celāleddin Rūmī on his way to his campaign in Georgia and Shirvan. According to Muṣṭafā Ālī’s narrative, he was present beside Lālā Muṣṭafā Pasha, while he was looking for an augury from Mevlānā’s Mesnevī by opening a random page. The sheikh of the dervish lodge interpreted the chosen page as a sign of victory.199 The scene documents the common practice of bibliomancy among Ottoman bureaucrats.
196 Uzun, “Fāl-nāme,” 141-145. 197 Afşār, “Fāl-Nāma,” 172-176.
198 Şen, “Practicing Astral Magic,” 69.
199 TSMK H1365, fol. 36r. Bağcı, “Images for Foretelling,” 125.
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The existence of Hüseyin Kefevī’s Rāznāme (Book of Secrets), which was commissioned within the same time period (1585 and 1588), is worth a mention since the book was a non-illustrated yet highly popular example of bibliomancy.200 Hüseyin Kefevī’ re-composed his book Sevāniḥu’l-Tefe”ul in which he compiled fortune-telling stories and dedicated it to Murād III in 1585, under the name of Rāz-nāme. (Millet Yazma Eser Library, Ali Emiri Efendi, Şerriye nr. 1086).201 There is another copy of Hüseyin Kefevī’s Rāz-nāme, which was commissioned by the same sulṭān and dated 996/1588 (Süleymaniye Library, Laleli, nr. 1677).202 Rāznāme must have evoked a considerable attention since the Süleymaniye Library houses six more copies ascribed to the next sulṭān, Mehmed III.203
Physiognomy was a branch of science which grasped the members of the Ottoman household during the rule of Murād III. The scientific treatises that analyze the signs of bodily spasms (iḫtilācnāme)204 or the shapes inside the palm (palm reading, chiromancy; ʻilm-i keff) were sub-branches of physiognomy which is therefore indispensable to fālnāme genre. Physiognomy (ʻilm-i firāset) was providing analysis for inner character based on close observations of a person’s bodily features and therefore also informing about the differences of man and woman. Even though the books in ʻilm-i firāset and related ḳiyāfetnāmes have been neglected and seen as pseudo-scientific works, they reflect general observations, stereotypes, social and political concerns that put a mirror to the time period in which they were produced.
In the field of physiognomy, height, weight, color, beard, hair, wrinkles and all bodily features in detail were referring to some abilities, deficiencies, skills, evil
200 Katip Çelebi, Fezleke I, 177-8: “Dīvān-ı Ḥāfıẓ ve ġayrından naḳl idenlerin ḥikāyetin cemm ü fālnāme tesmiye eylemiştir. Muʻteber ve laṭīf eserdir.”; Katip Çelebi, Keşf-el-zünun I, 830.
201 Akpınar, “Kefevi Hüseyin Efendi,” 187.
202 Aksolak, “Kefevi Hüseyin’in Raz-name adlı eserinde”, 32-39.
203 Fatih, no. 3892; Lala İsmail, no. 505; Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa, no. 539; Hacı Mahmut Efendi, no. 5011, 5394; Yazma Bağışlar, no. 2287.
204 BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol 66r; Miró et al., The Book of Felicity, 315.
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and bad manner of one’s soul. The judgements of appearances were used not only for making inferences about a person’s character traits but also destiny. The scientific treatises that analyze the signs of bodily spasms (iḫtilāc-nāme)205 or the shapes inside the palm (palm reading, chiromancy; ʻilm-i keff) were also sub-branches of physiognomy which is therefore indispensable to fālnāme genre. Besides, physiognomic assumptions were also expressed thorough astrological knowledge.206 In the Matāli’ü’s-sa’āde (1582) each of the twelve zodiac signs was introduced by emphasizing specific physical and characteristic features. For example, on fol. 10r:207
When the favor of Venus is on the sign of Aries (Ḥaml) in the third decade: The wise Abū Ma῾shar says: the natal born in this decade will have a pale complexion and deep blue eyes. He will be of medium height and sweet speaking. He will have a beautiful face. He will not be of a vile disposition. He will wish other people well. He will have a mark on his body caused from an iron instrument. He will have a mole on his face. He will be quick to get infuriated and quick to calm down. He will have a fine voice and will have an inclination for the saz, poetry and the art of music.
The science of physiognomy was serving to facilitate choosing right servant in the slave market, choosing the best companion in marriage or detecting the criminals.208 Ottoman sulṭāns must have favored such books for they helped determining who might have perfectly suit to a certain official position. Seyyid Lūkmān Çelebi’s Ḳiyāfetü’l-insāniyye fī şemāili’l-Osmāniyye (TSMK, H1563 and İÜK T. 6087, dated 1579) is the most famous of all books in this genre. The illustrated manuscript offers a connection between personalities of the Ottoman sulṭāns and their outlook.209
205 BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol 66r; Miró et al., The Book of Felicity, 315.
206 Mengi, “Kıyafetname,” 513.
207 BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol 10r; Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text,” 214.
208 For example, in MS, fol. BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol 65r includes a statement: thick ancle tendones are the sign of violence; thin ones are the sign of being scared; on fol 64v: thin, short hand with short fingers are the sign of thievery and misconstruing; on fol 64r: a round face with small eyes are the sign of liking to kill and ignorence etc.
209 Luḳmān completed the text in 987/1579. Illustrations were made by Ustād Osman. See Luḳmān Çelebi, Ḳiyāfetü’l-insāniyye fī şemāili’l-Osmāniyye; Carboni, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 297-8.
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The court scribe Tāʻlīḳīzāde dedicated a treatise on physiognomy, Firāset-nāme, (BnF, MS Turc. 1055) to the sulṭān, so as the contemporary author Muṣṭafā b. Bālī who presented Risāle-i Ḳiyāset-i Firāset, (MS Nuruosmaniye 4100).210 Fahruddīn Rāzī’s treatise Kitāb al-Firāset, Ibn Sīnā’s al-Ḳānūn fī’l-ṭibb and Aristotle’s Physiognomy were fundamental sources both Ottoman author applied while composing their works.211
Muṣṭafā b. Bālī points physiognomic analysis of women in this way:
First sign: female bodies are soft (gevşek) and fleshy (etli). Their thighs are fleshy (uyluḳları etli), their faces are fine and slender (laṭīf), their chests weak. Their ribs are slender (laṭīf) and small and their feet, too, are fine and slender (laṭīf). Their nerves are mild and soft (mulāyim). Because the meat that contains the soft tissues (tendons, sinews, nerves) of the body (āʿşablar) is predominantly humid the body’s soft tissues are also soft (līnet). Second sign: the female of every species has a small head. Furthermore, their hips and thighs are fleshy (ucaları ve uyluḳları etli), and their calves are thick (sāḳı ḳalın olur). Third sign: women are passive (sükūn) and move little. Their souls (nefs) are inert (murde) and they lack strength and vigor (ḳuvvet u şiddet). They easily submit and obey (inḳiyād). Fourth sign: they lack irascibility (ġażab) and have little inclination for vengeance (intiḳām). However, deception (mekr), brazenness (bī-ḥayālik) and transgression of every ordered prohibition are predominant (artuḳ) amongst women. Fifth sign: they are deficient (eksik) in acts of the spirit (efʿāl-i nefsāniyye), in the improvement of moral qualities (maḥāsin-i aḫlāḳ), and in the ennoblement of actions (mekārim-i efʿāl).212
In Firāset-nāme, Tāʻlīḳīzāde stated that “because women lack corporeal and bodily strength, their power is their world-conquering intellect (ʻaḳl).” The superiority of the said woman intellect is however explained as a natural talent for deception and manipulation. Furthermore, the female intellect was associated with Satan (inne’n-nisā ḥabā’ilu’s şeyṭān).213 Tāʻlīḳīzāde added an interesting story in which Satan disguised as a woman and taught self-gratification to her fellows and
210 Mustafa bin Bali, Risâle-i kiyâset-i firâset.
211 Lelic, “The Greatest of Tribulations,” 268-270, 276.
212 Lelic, “The Greatest of Tribulations,” 275.; Muṣṭafā b. Bālī, Risāle, fol 54b.
213 Lelic, “The Greatest of Tribulations,” 278.; Tāʻlīḳīzāde, Firāset-nāme, fol 30a.
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when they did not need a man anymore the world was driven into chaos.214 Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) includes a table for female physiognomy (Paris, Suppl. Turc. 242, fol 65v) which evaluates the bodily features solely in terms of sexual relationship and the information given is entirely based on the gender role which goes with definitions of Tāʻlīḳīzāde and Muṣṭafā b. Bālī.
In both copies of the Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582), there is a section of physiognomy (62v-65v), including one page separated for the “physiognomy of womankind” (avrat cinsine muteʻallıḳ olan firāset) on fol. 65v. As observed in the Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān (Oxford Bodleian Library, Or. 133), Arabic original of Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde, does not have an extra table for the womankind. The page might have been removed from this particular Bodleian copy or it might have been lost in a later date. If not, Ottomans added that chart.215 The information given in the physiognomy section is hardly understandable. Thus, a brief introduction about the function of physiognomy and contemporary discussions on the nature of woman would help to have an idea about the place of the chart on fol. 65v.
In Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, the table of female physiognomy comes after six tables that generally examines bodily features regardless of gender (Paris, Suppl. Turc. 242, 62v-65r) yet some of these determinations keep revealing the contemporary perspective towards feminine characteristic by alluding to timid, fragile attitude along with cold temper and high intelligence. For example, a “straight, bettle-browed” man must have a “womanly character.” Having eyes of which inner corner is small is a sign for “womanly disposition” or having large and trembling eyes is the sign of fondness for women.216 Eyes looking attentively also recalls womanly
214 Lelic, “The Greatest of Tribulations,” 289-290.; Tāʻlīḳīzāde, Firāset-nāme, fol. 33a-33b.
215 BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 65v.; Morgan MS. M788 fol. 65v.
216 BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, 63r.; Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text,” 309.
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character217 and if one’s voice reminds the voice of a woman, he has a kind soul.218 Having big nipples or a big seat alludes to womanly disposition.219
Emin Lelic whose PhD thesis is a study of the scientific branch of physiognomy in the Ottoman world, introduced the books of Muṣṭafā b. Bālī and Tāʻlīḳīzāde by proposing an argument that they were written as an advice for the sulṭān to warn him against the dangerous nature of women.220 Lelic interprets the motivation for these books by relating to contemporary political concerns:
. . . distaste for female participation in state politics, especially at the imperial level, was backed by a complex intellectual tradition, the roots of which stretched back to antiquity. It was furthermore intensely intertwined with Ottoman ethics. Although the physiognomic treatises made allowances for exceptions, they worked out a scientific system that essentially presented women as constitutionally unfit to justly wield power. Women’s innate proclivity for submission to males was, however, immensely complicated by their intelligence, which, if turned to scheming, could garner them great power and thus threaten the most fundamental building block of the Ottoman socio-political fabric—justice. Justice, by definition, prevailed only when the male-choleric-irascible element disciplined the female- phlegmatic- concupiscible element and the two merged into a hierarchical whole.221
At this point, contemporary changes in the power balance should be evaluated to explain why these authors possibly warned the sulṭān about dangers of women’s participation in politics by means of the physiognomy books that compare the nature of woman to that of man.
The sultanate of Murād III was an era of artistic advancement in terms of the book production. The project of the Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582), as a compendium that includes astrology, physiognomy, oneiromancy and prognostication, was one of the products of this period. It was undoubtedly created as a result of a cumulative
217 BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, 63v.; The Book of Felicity, 310.
218 BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, 64v.; The Book of Felicity, 312.
219 BnF, Suppl. Turc 242, 65r.; The Book of Felicity, 313.
220 Lelic, “Ottoman Physiognomy.”
221 Lelic, “Ottoman Physiognomy,” 292.
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Ottoman household interest in related fields as well as a contemporary atmosphere surrounded by millenarian fears. The Millenarianist view set a ground for the messianic claims of the contemporary rulers including that of Murād III. However, the sulṭān Murād III’s reign and the production year of the Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (990/1582) books was coinciding with another millenarian event before the expected Islamic apocalypse in 1000/1591. It was the Great Conjunction of the planets Jupiter (Müşteri) and Saturn (Zuhal) that was expected in 991/1583. The impetus for the translation of the book and the meanings of its text have not been evaluated from the perspective of Conjunctionist theories, which were as important as the Millenarianist view.
The improvement of the custom of delineating amazing legends, supernatural beings, romantic tales, strange creatures of far-off terrains, promoted elucidations of astrology and prognostication were also possibly connected to the increasing political prominence of the elite ladies and eunuchs and their expanded authority over the royal residence. The simultaneous creation of numerous and almost indistinguishable duplicates of books demonstrates that the interest for such genres was rising. The twin books of Matāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) seems to be a great example of this interest. Thus, adding to the argument that this project served to the political agenda of the sulṭān, one can assume that his daughters might have wished to learn about esoteric information.
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CHAPTER 3
CONTEMPORARY OTTOMAN ROYAL WOMEN
AND THEIR INTEREST IN OCCULT SCIENCES
In 1570 an Italian diplomat, Vincentio Alessandri visited the Safavid Empire. He observed Shah Ṭahmāsp as an old ruler who isolated himself from the state affairs by giving most of his time to his interest in astrology and fortunetelling. Alessandri related a surprising scene that he witnessed at the palace:
The Shah was constantly casting geomantic figures in the company of his female companions. When his prognostications appeared to come true, the women lavished praise on him as God’s chosen recipient of divine revelation.222
Alessandri’s depiction can be interpreted as an exaggerated scene from the eye of an outsider. However, what he witnessed makes one think whether women were attracted to divination methods as much as the shah himself. Likely, one wonders whether the contemporary Ottoman harem had been a stage for similar rituals of fortunetelling. At this point, presence of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582), as a book made for ῾Āyşe Sulṭān (d. 1605) and Fāṭima Sulṭān increases the possibility of royal women’s attraction to occult sciences.
Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde as the main subject of this study is the Turkish adoption of Abu Masher’s book, Kitāb al-Bulhān. It is partly a scientific treatise with the given knowledge on dreams, talismans, astrology and partly a book of divination. Whether Murād III gave the order for its translation on personal requests of his daughters ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭān remains a mystery. Unfortunately, we have very few information on the lives of ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭāns. However, their grandmother
222 Fleisher, “Ancient Wisdom and New Sciences,” 241.
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Nurbānū Sulṭān (queen mother 1574–1583) and their mother Safiye Sulṭān (queen mother 1595-1603) were both strong-willed women whose activities marked the reign of Murād III as the rise of so-called “sultanate of women” (1566-1651).223
Following the given information about the interest of Murād III in astrology and occult sciences, and other contemporary books that share close contents with Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde in the first chapter, the second chapter explores the role of occult sciences among the harem members. This chapter aims to point out the occult sciences as a shared interest at the Ottoman household during the reigns of Selīm II (1524-1574), Murād III (1546-1595) and Mehmed III (1566-1603). To strengthen this argument, in the first part of this chapter, contemporary royal women, that is to say, the queen mother Nurbānū Sulṭān and khaseki Safiye Sulṭān and some occult activities in the harem, that vary from dream interpretation, fortunetelling to relying on auspicious times, ordering talismanic shirts, will be introduced. By suggesting that neither dream interpretation nor fortunetelling were the activities that only limited with Murād III’s interests, women’s intermediary role in the sulṭān’s connection to his sheikh, Şucāʻ along with their place in sulṭān’s dreams will be exemplified. After drawing the outline of the environment, they grew up and lived in, information about the princesses ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima, will be given along with dedication parts that were written by Su῾ūdī in each copy prepared for them.
In the second part of this chapter, beyond exemplifying occult activities which appear as a general Ottoman imperial household interest, existence of the books that cover the secrets of Ḳur’ān in the waqf libraries of Nurbānū Sulṭān and of her daughter İsmihan Sulṭān will be underlined. Overall, I will try to make an analysis of possible interests of royal women in related subjects of Kitāb al-Bulhān
223 Altınay, Kadınlar Saltanatı.
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and therefore suggest a close examination for its Turkish translation, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde as a product of this period.
3.1 Contemporary Ottoman royal women and occult activities in the imperial harem
Initially, picturing the changing political dynamics that marked the period with active participation of the members of the imperial harem in state matters is essential. During the reigns of Selīm II, Murād III and Mehmed III women manifested their power through their influence in state administration, architectural patronage and their waqf libraries with the assistance of their confidants.
During the reign of Murād III (1574-1595), Nurbānū Sulṭān was the titular head of the harem. There is no certain agreement on her nationality, yet she was a captured slave who was introduced to Selīm II at the sancak of Konya or Manisa. She remained as the favorite of Selīm II and bore four daughters, Hace Gevheri, İsmihan, Fāṭima and Şah Sulṭān.224
While Nurbānū Sulṭān was the queen mother, Safiye Sulṭān was holding the title of the first wife, as the mother of Mehmed III (born on 26 May 1566), Murād III’s eldest son and heir. She was the concubine of Murād III while he was a young prince at Manisa.225 Murād III was married to Safiye Sulṭān like his father Selīm II, and the grandfather Suleymān I who committed legal marriages. Both Nurbānū and Safiye became dominant royal favourites and effective political figures throughout the reign of their sons.226
In 1577-78 Topkapı Palace underwent some architectural alterations which brought the residences of the black eunuchs and royal women closer to the Council
224 Uluçay, Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları, 40-42.
225 Uluçay, Padişahların Kadınları ve Kızları, 43-44.
226 Kayaalp, The Empress Nurbanu; Kumrular, Haremde Taht Kuranlar; Rossi, “La Sultana Nur Banu”; Arbel, “Nurbanu.”
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Hall. Gülru Necipoğlu argued that in the harem even a secret aperture was added to one of the corridor walls through which royal women listened state matters.227 Both architectural facilities and the elevated status of their confidants provided an unusual power for Nurbānū and Safiye Sulṭāns behind the throne. They achieved a considerable control over state affairs with the assistance of certain harem servants. Nurbānū and Safiye Sulṭān had been assisted by multilingual Jewish kirāʼ women who played significant roles in royal women’s participation in political and financial matters. Briefly introducing these confidantes will help to see how the harem members elevated their status in the power hierarchy in this period. Additionally, Ked-ḫudā Canfedā as the mistress housekeeper, forewomen Rāziye Ḫātūn became prominent figures in the royal service for Selīm II and Murād III.
Kirāʼ kadın is an umbrella term that implies to Jewish women who served as financial advisors and political assistants of the sulṭānas. The title of kirāʼ is not apparent in the sources before the sixteenth century. In the sources from sixteenth-century, the said label anonymized these women by specifying them through their only common characteristic, Jewishness. This brought a confusion while distinguishing one from another. However, three exceptional Jewish women related to the palace were mentioned by their names in the European and Ottoman sources. First of these prominent courtiers is Hürrem Sulṭān’s assistant Stronghyla. The other two are, Ester Handali who served initially to Nurbānū Sulṭān and then to Safiye Sulṭān and Esparanza Malchi who became the loyal servant of Safiye Sulṭān as she became the queen mother.228
227 Necipoğlu, Architecture, Ceremonial and Power, 174.; Ergin, “Ottoman Royal Women’s Spaces.”
228 Ibarra and Türkçelik, “The Ottoman Empire of Murad III”; Kaya, “Osmanlı Sarayında Kira Kadınlar.”
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Esperanza Malchi, as the diplomatic agent of Nurbānū Sulṭān, and later of Safiye Sulṭān facilitated the diplomatic communication between the Ottoman state and the doges of Venice. Beginning by the middle of the sixteenth century political and economic affairs with Northern Europe gained importance. Until her tragic death in 1603, Esperanza Malchi enabled Safiye Sulṭān to have connections with Elizabeth I, the queen of England and played a critically important role in the 1580 trade agreement that was signed with the Elizabeth I’s newly founded Levant Company.229
Both Ester Handali and Esperanza Malchi was also serving the sulṭānas for financial matters at the palace. Their names were constantly mixed up in bribery.230 Esperanza had control over the customs office with her sons. Her eldest son was even called “the little padishah.” Eventually, the fortune queen mother made with her servants caused an upheaval among the cavalry troops in 1600. Esperanza paid the consequences by being executed wildly awkward. The troops stabbed her and the eldest son to death and parts of her body was exhibited to the public.231
Safiye Sulṭān criticized the cruelty in the execution of Esperanza Malchi and blamed her sons-in-law, grand vizier İbrāhim Pasha and the admiral Ḫalīl Pasha since they did not even try to protect the dignity of her confidant. Selānikī mentions a letter that Safiye Sulṭān addressed to her son, Mehmed III, where she wanted them to be dismissed owing to their incapability of taking precautions to manage the troops in their service.232 The tone of the letter reveals the sulṭāna’s compassion towards Esperanza Malchi:
If it was determined that the Jewish woman had to be punished with death, did it have to be in such an obscene fashion? Why couldn’t she have been
229 Ibarra and Türkçelik, “The Ottoman Empire of Murad III,” 32.
230 Naima, Tarih-i Naima, 131.
231 Peirce, The Imperial Harem, 242; Rozen, A History of the Jewish Community in Istanbul, 205-207.
232 Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, 861-2.
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thrown into the sea? Couldn’t this have been more thoughtfully planned and carried out?233
Esther Handali de Jerez de la Frontera (d. 1588) was a Sephardi whose family resided in Venice while she was in the service of Ottoman sulṭānas.234 She is described as a “filthy sorceress, with devilish actions” by Topçular kātibi, ʻAbdülḳadir Efendi:
Kirāʼ nām bir Yehūdī ‘avratı derler bir fāside, sāḥire-pelīd, Harem-i Muḥterem’e duḫūl eder; şeyṭān efʻāli muḳarrer. Ba‘żı cevāhir fürūḫti ile şerīr ḥarām-zāde bed-baḫt oġulları Yehūdī ibn Yehūd, siḥirler ile ‘ālem şerrinden ḫalāṣ olmaz. Efsūnları mübālaġa; niçe maẓlūmlara varub, erzāḳdan çıkarub, ḫizmetlerin görmek içün aldayub, menāṣibler alıvermek diler . . .235
Similar accusations towards kirāʼ women can be seen through statements made by contemporary Ottoman chroniclers as well as some European writers.236 The misogynistic tone of these critics which even goes further by characterizing kirāʼ women as witches reveals that the motivation behind must be relevant to ethnocentric stereotyping and disapproval of woman’s newly gained roles in state administration.
During their service in the Ottoman palace, Esther Handali and Esperanza Malchi were in connection with another prominent woman, Canfedā Kadın, who managed to obtain an exceptional power besides Ġażanfer Agha, as one of the closest allies of Nurbānū Sulṭān. Canfedā Kadın was in charge of the education of the concubines as the head of the harem (ked-ḫudā).237 She was also in charge of dealing with the commercial goods coming from Venice to fulfill the harem needs and get
233 Peirce, The Imperial Harem, 243.
234 We know her full name based on some letters discovered in Ottoman and Venetian archives. Pedani and Bartolozzo, Le Carte del, 48-50. See Skilliter, “The Letters of the Venetian ‘Sultana,’” 522-524.; Galante, Esther Kyra.
235 Topçular Kâtibi Abdülkâdir Efendi, Topçular Kâtibi Tarihi, 272-273.
236 Bassano, Costumi et i modi, 18v qtd. in Peirce, The Imperial Harem, 87; Busbecq, Turkish Letters, 49; Kovaleva, “The Trope of Kyra,” 22; Aydın, “Osmanlı Dünyasında Yahudi Kira Kadınlar,” 625.
237 Rycaut, The Present State, 39-40.
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help from kirāʼs for translation of the relevant letters. Canfedā Kadın was able to represent her power publicly through architectural patronage. She had old, ruined masjids restored and turned them into new mosques. Her endowment deed includes a long list of patronage activities, which is quite unusual for a simple confidante, the best example of which is Canfedā Mosque in Karagümrük. The location of the mosque was particularly daring for a simple housekeeper of the harem, since Karagümrük was a trade center on the main road between Istanbul and Edirne, and the mosque was close to where the tariffs were paid for accessing Istanbul.238 Although she gained respect with her service in the court and philanthropic investments, Canfedā Kadın was notorious owing to her participation in Nurbānū Sulṭān’s plans of bribery.239
In such a period of time when even a simple harem member like Ked-ḫudā Canfedā Kadın managed to found endowments and had a mosque that bear her name built in a strategically important location, needless to say, royal women became visible more than they have ever been before, by making a name for themselves through investments in larger scale. Architectural patronage was an effective way to signify both political and philanthropic image of royal women. Nurbānū Sulṭān achieved that goal with her monumental mosque complex, ῾Atīḳ Vālide Sulṭān Mosque Complex in Üsküdar, Toptaşı (991/1583). Sinan was the architect of the complex that enabled her making a successful self-representation.240 Nurbānū Sulṭān was at the zenith of her political career when she died in 1583, a year later than the circumcision festival of Mehmed III. In İstanbul, funeral was announced with declaration of curfew as if a sulṭān died.241 Her funeral was illustrated in
238 Karademir, “Harem-i Hümayun Kethüdası,” 97-100.
239 Sakaoğlu, Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları, 196.
240 Özen, “Atik Valide Complex.”
241 Spagni, “Sultana Veneziana,” 332.
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Şehinşehnāme (TSMK Bağdat Köşkü, nr. 200, II) depicting Murād III mournfully mounted on his horse behind the cortege.242
Safiye Sulṭān followed in her footsteps when she became the queen mother. She wanted to build a monumental mosque in Eminönü.243 In 1598 (Muharrem 1007) construction started with a small ceremony during which Molla Futūhī Efendi left a geomantic table (zayiçe) on the basement for making the endowment auspicious.244 Clearly, his contribution did not save the mosque from the lamentations of local communities who were forced to leave their houses and shops when the construction started. The mosque remained on the center of critics for a long time and signified the cruelty of the queen mother.245
Whether it worked or not Molla Futūhī Efendi’s action highlights that tendency towards relying on auspicious times was a common faith in the Ottoman household. Moreover, while being criticized because of their interference to sulṭān’s decisions in state matters and the cases of bribery they were involved in, Nurbānū and Safiye Sulṭān applied to alternative methods to protect their sons, and the politically significant status they gained. These alternatives were either applying to the mystical power of talismans, taking action according to auspicious times, or relying on fortunetelling through dream interpretation.
242 TSMK B. 200, II, fol. 146°. As I have been informed by Prof. Serpil Bağcı, we do not know another Ottoman royal woman whose funeral was illustrated in an imperial book. 243 Thys-Şenocak, Ottoman Women Builders.
244 Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, vol. II, 761: “Ve yevmü’s-sebt fī 17 Muḥarremde dīvān olmayup, erḳān-ı devlet vuzerā’-i ʻiẓām ve ʻulemāʼ-i kirām Vālide Sulṭān ḥażretlerinün cāmiʻ-i şerīfinün bunyādına mubārek vaḳt ve kutlu sāʻat tāyin olunup, Molla Futūhī Efendi zāyiçe yazup temel bıraġıldı . . .”
245 This building campaign of Safiye Sulṭān was not perceived as a pious endowment but a sign of oppression. As the patroness Turhan Sulṭān took over the project she succeeded to complete it and change the name of the complex from ẓulmiyye (oppression) to ʻadliyye (justice). Thys-Şenocak, Ottoman Women Builders, 93-94.
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3.1.1 Talismanic shirts and prognostication
Ordering talismanic shirts was also a traditional occult activity which was believed to bring luck or break a spell, by the members of the imperial household. Ottomans widely used daily items like the shirts, healing bowls, caps, handkerchiefs, swords, all sorts of amulets, lockets (nusḫa) on which certain combinations of letters (cifr) and numbers (vefḳ) were inscribed along with verses from Ḳur’ān. What these symbols signify is largely unknown to us.246 They must be corresponding to a meaningful term in the abjad system. This system that combines numbers and letters for defensive or offensive purposes is quite common in the Islamic world and it is subjected to the field called ʻilm-i ḥavāss.247
Topkapı Palace houses 87 talismanic shirts today and three of them are attributed to Murād III. Talismanic shirts were used to serve sulṭāns as healers in case of an illness or protectors during a battle. Some of them has inscriptions (kitābe) through which we can identify the sheikh who gave the talismanic power with the prayers he chose. Talismanic words, numbers and prayers that relates to the case were decided by a chosen sheikh and then artisans were texturing the prepared composition on the exact day and hour the head astronomer detected as the best time (eşref sāʻat) for its ultimate efficacy.248
Talismanic shirts at the Topkapı Palace collection show that royal women had access to such talismanic knowledge. Other than three shirts that bears the name of Murād III, there is an earlier talismanic shirt which could have been ordered by Nurbānū Sulṭān. Having written by Dervish Aḥmed bin Suleymān, the shirt bears the 246 Ertaylan, Falname, 1-5.; Şakraf, ʿİlmü’l-cefr; Bozhüyük, “Hurūf,” 397-401.; Şenödeyici, “Ehl-i beyt’in,” 219-236.; Seber, “Cifr/Ebced Metodunun,” 225-255.; Chahanovich, “Ottoman Eschatological Esotericism”; Saif, “Amulets, Magic, and Talismans.”; Ekhtiar and Parikh, “Power and Piety: Islamic Talismans on the Battlefield”, 420-454.
247 Özdemir, “Magic in Various Sources,” 64-67.
248 Tezcan, Tılsımlı Gömlekler, 16-17.
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date, 972 (1565). A year after this date, Selīm II was enthroned upon the death of his father Suleymān I. Since Nurbānū was already the favorite of the prince Selīm at that time, she might have had the shirt woven as a lucky charm that would help him to come to the fore in the competition with his brother, Bayezid.249
One of the shirts attributed to Murād III has an inscription attached. This shirt has an inscription which informs us that it was made on request of Nurbānū Sulṭān for Murād III and completed on 26th January 1582.250 The intention behind the commission of this shirt has been argued to be based on a story given by Muṣṭafā Ālī and Selānikī, since the date of the story matches with the manufacture of this shirt. According to the story, Safiye Sulṭān was jealous of Murād III when his sister, İsmihan Sulṭān introduced other concubines to him by advising that he should have more sons to ensure the continuity of the dynasty. Safiye Sulṭān was the concubine of the sulṭān long before he inherited the throne and the sulṭān was also very fond of her until he kept advise of his sister. In Kunhu’l-Aḫbār251 and Tārīḫ-i Peçevi, Safiye Sulṭān was mentioned as if she crafted black magic with the help of an unknown witch to prevent Murād III consort with other concubines. In the first years of his reign, Murād III was suffering from impotency and this must have been interpreted as though the sulṭān fell under the spell of a witch. Following Muṣṭafā Ālī’s tale, Peçevī stated that Nurbānū Sulṭān managed to break the spell by trying various ways.252 This was the year of the circumcision festival of Mehmed III and also when
249 Tezcan, Tılsımlı Gömlekler, 50.; Sakaoğlu, Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları, 193.
250 Tezcan, Tılsımlı Gömlekler, 68-71, 54. On the corner of the front skirt of the shirt, an attached paper is visible: “Vālide sulṭānın sarayına saadetlü pādişāh vardıḳda vālide sulṭānın hibe ettiği zırh ḳamīṣdir ki, min evvelihi Kelām-ı Ḳadīm mektuptur sene 990 māh-ı Muḥarremin āḫirinde.”
251 “Kendüsi iştihāʼda çabuk-cüst / Ᾱlet emma ki ḫaylī bi-ferdest / Bildiġim muḳteżā-yı sen deġil ol / Mekr idüp añu baġlamış cādū” Mustafa Ali, II. Selim, III. Murat ve III. Mehmet Devirleri, 229.
252 “. . . Aḥvāl vālide sulṭāna münʻakis oluncak ḫaṣṣagī sulṭāna mensūb olan baʻżı cevāriyi ṭavāşīler ellerine şikenceye virdiler. Baʻżı kimesnelerin taḫt-ı nikāḥına dāḫil olanları dahī götürttüler ve bi’l-cümle bilindi ve bulundu ve ʻuḳde-i Murād bir muḳteżāyı fuʼād çözüldü ve düzeldi.” Peçevi, Tarih-i Peçevi, 3-4.
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Safiye Sulṭān, along with her son, was sent back to Manisa for a while.253 In the absence of Safiye Sulṭān, Nurbānū Sulṭān was argued to be in search of finding a cure for her son, to ensure the continuation of the sultanate. Thus, she probably ordered the shirt (13/1135) for breaking the said black magic of Safiye Sulṭān.254
The head astronomer was not only consulted for auspicious times while manufacturing the talismanic shirts, but also for learning what the future holds and the consequences of his assumptions could be deadly. As written in Tārīḫ-i Naima, the mother of the prince Maḥmūd, the eldest son of Mehmed III, asked the head astronomer to analyze the natal chart of her son. When the head astronomer informed her that the prince Maḥmūd would be enthroned in a short time, the queen mother Safiye Sulṭān somehow learnt about this message and showed it to her son as a conspiration.255 On the other hand, Henry Lello, the contemporary English ambassador who usually presented Safiye with an evil character, asserted that Maḥmūd’s mother was highly superstitious and in connection with an unknown soothsayer who informed her that his son will succeed Mehmed III within six months.256 One way or another, the affair ended up with the execution of the prince Maḥmūd.
Having the natal charts examined was not the only means of prognostication. The sulṭān Murād III himself was highly interested in the idea that dreams can assist one to learn about events that will occur in future. Rāziye Ḫātūn (1005/1596) was a renown confidante who played an intermediary role in sheikh-disciple (şeyḫ-murīd) relations between Murād III and Şeyḫ Şucāʻ. The role she played should be
253 Skiliter, “Nurbanu and her kira,” 524.
254 Tezcan, Tılsımlı Gömlekler, 44.
255 Naima, Naima Tarihi, 336-337.
256 Lello, The Report of Lello, 14-15.
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mentioned to highlight that dream reading, or in other words, the science of oneiromancy was a shared interest among the harem members.
3.1.2 Oneiromancy: Dream interpretation
Rāziye Ḫātūn was one of the ladies-in-waiting (muṣāḥibe, nedīme) to Murād III during his tenure as princely governor and she played an intermediary role in the connection of the sulṭān with a Ḫalvetī sheikh, Şucāʻ. According to Muṣṭafā Ālī’s narrative in Kunhu’l-Aḫbār, Şucāʻ was an Ḫalvetī sheikh who was also working as gardener. The sheikh worked in a garden, belongs to Rāziye Ḫātūn. One day she asked him to interpret the meaning of a dream the young prince had seen. Şucāʻ interpreted it as a sign for the enthronement of Murād III in three months. Since then, upon the request of Murād III, Şucāʻ became his spiritual guide.257
Rāziye Ḫātūn’s past and her affinity to Şucāʻ has not been explained clearly. Primary sources followed the narration of Muṣṭafā Ālī. The broadest examination of her life was made in the article, “Raziye Hatun und ihr Umfeld” by Markus Köhbach in 2002.258 Other than that, Özgen Felek analyzed the women figures in the dream letters of Murād III, Kitābu’l-Menāmāt,259 in a recent article in 2017. Felek exemplified the undeniable concern of Murād III for Rāziye Ḫātūn upon a letter in which he asked his sheikh to convince Bekir Agha (second husband of Rāziye Ḫātūn) to give up on divorce.260
257 “culūsdan bir ay miḳdārı evvel şeh-zāde-i ʻali-maḥall ʻalem-i ru’yāda görmüşler ki yigirmi ayaḳdan ziyāde muraḫḫam ü kār-gir ve müstaḥkem ü müstaḳarr bir nerd-bandan yuḳarı olmuşlar. Her birini eflāk-ı tisʻadan nişān muraṣṣaṣ-ı refi’u’l-bunyān yigirmi otuz ʻaded miḳdārı ḳubbelerin üstine çıkmışlar. Kemāl-ı imtiyāzla oturıb ol maḳūle ‘ali-maḥallden eṭrāf-ı ʻalemi seyr etmek üzere turmışlar. Feemmā ol hinde Muḥammad ve Maḥmūd nām şeh-zādelerini haṭıra getürmüşler. Eṭrāfına baḳındıḳça görememişler. Baʻdehū dört ayaḳ aşağı inerken uyanmışlar.” Mustafa Ali, II. Selim, III. Murat ve III. Mehmet Devirleri, 246.
258 Köhbach, “Raziye Hatun und ihr Umfeld.”
259 Nuruosmaniye Library, no. 2599. The prologue of these dream letters and first 100 dreams can be found in English, in online: https://depts.washington.edu/ndtwp/sultansdreams/.
260 Felek, “III. Murat’ın Rüya Mektuplarında,”125.
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Markus Köhbach argued that a man called Ḳuş Yahyā, who was mentioned by Ata’i as one of his grandfather Pīr ʻᾹli’s pupils, was most probably Rāziye’s third and last husband before she died.261 Rāziye was already a confidant of Murād III in Manisa. At that time, she must have had good relations with Safiye as well. Throughout the sultanate of her husband and of her son, Safiye Sulṭān kept Rāziye Ḫātūn close to herself. As Ata’i noted, Ḳuş Yahyā Efendi got promoted after interpreting the sulṭāna’s dreams.262 This statement is repeated in Mehmed Süreyya’s Sicill-i Osmanī while introducing “Yahyā Efendi (Ḳuş).”263 Besides, according to the information Maria Pedani derived from Venetian ambassy letters, Rāziye Ḫātūn’s two sons achieved success. One of them became beylerbeyi of Erzurum and then governer of Damascus while the other obtained a significant office in Egypt. One of her daughters married to Muhyiddin Efendi, who served in Bursa and İstanbul as ḳāḍī, then promoted ḳazasker of Anadolu, and later ḳāḍī of Egypt, and she became very influential in harem. Rāziye Ḫātūn and her other daughter lived in a palace of their own in Beşiktaş. The palace was not less luxurious than those of bureaucrats.264 Thus, Rāziye Ḫātūn must have strengthened her influence with her family members. In addition, she must have been an important person who got so close to the sulṭān that she even was daring not to follow his words yet still been forgiven. In one of his letters Murād III complained to sheikh:
. . . Rāziye Kadın için ne kim buyurmuşsız. Ol ẓālime kendüye ider ne iderse. Şol kadar aña naṣīhat itmişüzdür, tutmadı. Benüm saʻādetüm evet ivmek ile iş olmaz. Taḳṣīrāt kendüdendir. Kimesneyi suçlamasun. Saʻādetüm, ben ister miyim? Allāh ḫayırlar vire. Ammā aña nesne açmayasız, ihsan idesüz.265
261 Köhbach, “Raziye Hatun und ihr Umfeld,” 116.
262 Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, 695.
263 Süreyya, Sicill-i Osmanī, Cilt V, 1673.
264 Pedani, “Safiye’s Household,” 25; Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, 312.
265 Kitābu’l-Menāmāt, fol. 156b-157a.
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Letters in Kitābu’l-Menāmāt, suggest that Murād III was afraid of death or suffering from an illness after a concubine saw him dying in her dream. Another considerable statement in these lines is that Nurbānū Sulṭān was said to be the one who delivered the concubine’s vision to Murād III:266
. . . Rūḥum, ol cārīye gene bizi bir vechile muşāhede eylemiş. Ve vālide bize ‘Cümle aḳrabādan evvel sen gelirsün’ dimek. Hey rūḥum ṭāḳat ḳalmadı meded!
Apparently, that was not the first negative dream the unknown concubine had seen and this evokes the idea that she may not be the only harem member whose dream were interpreted to the sulṭān.
Maria Pedani noted an event upon a report, dated 1578, from the Venetian archive which reveals that not only Rāziye Ḫātūn and some concubines but even the kirāʼ Esther Handali may be involved in the tradition of dream-telling. The document includes an event which pointed the guidance of Esther Handali and the Jewish physician Salomon Ashkenazi in match-making. The beylerbeyi of Aleppo wished to arrange a marriage between his son and one of the daughters of the sulṭān whose name was not mentioned. Ester Handali told this idea to the queen mother Nurbānū Sulṭān as though she had just dreamt of it instead of directly informing her about the beylerbeyi’s wish. Nurbānū Sulṭān convinced with this idea and told about it to her son. Murād III rejected the engagement, owing to the reason that Ottoman sulṭānas were accustomed to marry with devşirme officers who were born non-Muslim and raised in the palace.267 One more time, this rumor highlights the impact of dream-telling tradition since it was enough to convince the queen mother for offering the match to the sulṭān.
266 Kitābu’l-Menāmāt, fol. 242b: 1718; Felek, “III. Murat’ın Rüya Mektuplarında,” 120.
267 Pedani, “Safiye’s Household,” 30-31. Pedani noted that the event was narrated in a document from Venetian archives: ASVe, CCX, Lett. amb., f. 5 (5 Oct. 1578).
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Dream letters of Murād III gives some clues about his relations with his mother, Nurbānū Sulṭān and his sisters. For instance, in one of the letters written to Şeyḫ Şucāʻ, the sulṭān pictures himself as the teacher of his sisters. In his dream, he gathers them and describes how to perform dhikr to praise God. The most curious feature here is that he played the role of his sheikh by interpreting their dreams:268
. . . ḥażretnüz hemşīrelermüze dest-i tevbe virmişsiz ve bu ḥaḳīri üzerlerine ḫalīfe ḳomuşsız. Her vaḳıʻaların taʻbīr idesün deyip gidersiz. Biz dahī bunları yanımıza cemm idüp dirüz. ‘Diyün imdü her birinüz ḫalvet yirlere varun meşġūl olun. Lā ilāhe illā’llāhu sagdan alun, sola virün ve her ne vaḳıʼa olursa gelüp bize diyesiz ve zinhāra āfāḳa götürmeyesiz, enfusehu götüresiz, saḳın, kāfir olursız.’
On the other hand, the relations of Murād III with his mother, does not seem to be as good as it is with his sisters. In one of the dreams that show the miscommunication between them, the sulṭān saw himself crying out. When his mother came close to take his arm he rejected and wanted her to leave:269
. . . Ve gene gördük aglaruz ziyāde şavṭla. Vālidemiz gelür, koltugmıza girmek ister, biz redd iderüz, ‘Var Allāhu seversen öte tur!’ deyü.
Contemporary chronicles portray Murād III as a sulṭān who was fond of his mother. On the contrary, in Kitābu’l-Menāmāt he appears as a fragile person who did not always willingly obey the dominant mother, he even tried to get away from her. Once he asks his sheikh, whether is it right to obey the mother even if one knows that she is wrong.270 Consequently, studying the dream letters may lead us to some clues about the relations of the sulṭān to his family members.
Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde’s two copies (1582) represent tables on dream interpretation, without any illustration. These tables suggest interpreted meanings of
268 Kitābu’l-Menāmāt, fol. 73a-73b: 558.
269 Kitābu’l-Menāmāt, fol. 202a: 1436.
270 Felek, “III. Murat’ın Rüya Mektuplarında,” 120-121.
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the things seen in dreams. Like the tables on physiognomy, this section is absent in the Arabic prototype. In both copies of Turkish version, tables of dream interpretation are presented under the headings, “table of dream interpretation” (“cedvel-i taʻbīr-nāme,” both Paris and Morgan copy, on fol. 66v), and “reliable dream interpretation” (“taʻbīr-nāme-i muʻteber” Paris and Morgan copy, on fol. 67r, 67v and 68r). Some of these expressions relate to a woman figure. These depicted woman figures may allude both positive and negative meanings to the seer. Obviously, the attributed meanings to women are not easily understandable for today’s readers.271 A close examination and comparison with other contemporary dream letters and/or similar scientific treatises on oneiromancy can be effective for comprehending the Ottoman common sense towards women in everyday life.
3.2 Daughters of Murād III and Safiye Sulṭān
There is no solid information on the exact birth dates of ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭāns. Safiye Sulṭān already had three children when they were in Manisa and since her son, Mehmed was born in 1566, ῾Āyşe and then Fāṭima must have been born in between 1566-1574. Both of them were buried in the graveyard of Ayasofya which was their parents’ resting place.272
The marriages of princesses functioned as an opportunity that widen the harem members’ political network. Especially the queen mother was effective in choosing the royal son-in-law (damad) who would enable building alliances in the
271 Morgan MS. M788; BnF Suppl. Turc 242, 66v: “yaban eşeği: avrat; dişi eşek: maʻīşete mūyīn avrat; tavşan: güzel avrat; tilki: avrat; kırlangıç: avrat ya da mal veya ogul; tavuk: el-ḥaḳḳ avratlar; tosbaga: bir avrattır ki kendüye zīnet vire; balık: çok ise mal-ı ḥalāl, az ise avrat.” 67r: “dişi deve: avrat; cārīye: ḫayr; geyik: güzel avrat; deve kuşu: köylü avrat; avrat: dünya ma‘mūrlugu; kız: faḳrdan sonra devlet bulmak; karı: zevāl-i ḳarīb-i devlet; dişi koyun: şeref ġanī avrat; sıçan: fāsiḳ avrat.” 67v: “bahçe: rizḳ ya da avrat.” 68r: “deveye binse: aṣīl avrat ala.” 272 Ayvansarāyī, Camilerimiz Ansiklopedisi - Ḥadīḳatü’l-cevāmi‘, I, 28-29.
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inner palace. Therefore, high-ranking officers had the best potential for a marriage with sulṭān’s daughters.273
Like the circumcision festivals, the royal weddings played a considerably important role in spreading the power and wealth of the state.274 Although not as much their brother Mehmed’s circumcision festival in 1582, ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s and Fāṭima Sulṭān’s weddings were also ostentatious. In both weddings, the parade of the luxurious gifts sent by the grooms, exhibition of the princesses’ dowries (çeyiz alayı), the feast and entertainment were open to public.275
῾Āyşe Sulṭān left three deeds of trust for her waqf and a testament (Vaṣiyyet-nāme) which may offer clues about her personality, whereas, unfortunately, we know a little about Fāṭima Sulṭān.
῾Āyşe Sulṭān (d. 1605) married three times. Her first marriage was with Bosnalı İbrāhim Pasha in 1586.276 İbrāhim Pasha was also named “Kaniceli” after he succeeded at the siege of Kanice, where he lost his life. After his death Yemişçi Hasan Pasha was assigned as the grand vizier and married to ῾Āyşe Sulṭān in 1601.277 ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s last marriage was with Güzelce Maḥmūd Pasha, which lasted until her death on 26 Ẕi’l-ḥicce 1013 (5 Mayıs 1605).278
῾Āyşe Sulṭān founded a waqf, ῾Āyşe Sulṭān ve Gazi İbrahim Paşa Vakfı, which has three endowment deeds, dated 11 Şaʻbān 1011/1603.279 According to the
273 Peirce, The Imperial Harem, 145. 274 Kafescioğlu, “Sokağın, Meydanın, Şehirlilerin Resmi,” 7-43.
275 Selānikī reported ῾Āyisha Sultan’s wedding with İbrāhim Paşa in 1586, Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, I, 168-170. See Yağcı and Akkaya, Ayşe Sultan, 62-78. For Fāṭima Sultan’s wedding with Kaptan-ı Deryā Ḫalīl Paşa, Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, I, 340-3.; Topçular Kâtibi Abdülkâdir Efendi, Topçular Kâtibi Tarihi, 596-8.
276 Altınay, Kızlar Ağası, 16.
277 Yağcı and Akkaya, Ayşe Sultan, 93. 278 Duran, Hanım Sultan Vakfiyeleri, 30; Yağcı and Akkaya, Ayşe Sultan, 103.
279 All three documents were registered in the archives of General Directorate of Pious Foundations (Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü Arşivi), nr. 1431; Duran, Hanım Sultan Vakfiyeleri, 30. The list of ῾Āyisha Sultan’s belongings (muḫallefāt defteri) can also be found in Topkapı Museum Archive, nr. 2815.
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first deed of trust, she turned over the incomes from some of her property for employment of pious people who would read Ḳur’ān at the tomb of Ibrahim Pasha and go pilgrimage in his stead. The second one conditions foundation of a madrasa, a school for teachers as well as providing scholarship for the students and salaries for teachers; employment of reciters by her tomb and go pilgrimage instead of her; building a fountain near her deceased husband’s tomb. The third deed adds more properties from Bolu, Egypt, Damascus, Hama and bequeaths the revenue of the shops, inns, villages here to the waqf.280 Although she was already married to Yemişçi Hasan Pasha at that time, there is no statement concerning him in these deeds of trust.
The waqf has one more endowment deed dated 1013/1605.281 In this last document, which was prepared before her death, the same conditions as those concerning the rituals for honoring İbrāhim Pasha’s soul were this time given for Güzelce Maḥmūd Pasha. Moreover, the request of reciting Ḳur’ān and building a fountain for Ibrahim Pasha was repeated. One of the poems by Ᾱrifī, the famous sixteenth century poet, was partly used in this last deed of trust:
Like my heart this world is in ruins, I learned
Its house is desolate like the life of man, I learned
Neither a tiny ant nor Suleymān owns the world
All of its thrones and crowns are wretched, I learned (“my translation”)
Bu gönlüm gibi ʻalem bir ḫarāb ābād imiş bildim
Bināsı ʻömr -i ʻadem gibi bī-bunyād imiş bildim
Ne bir mūr-i żaʻīfe ne Suleymān’e kalur ʻalem
Cihānın tac ü taḫtı cümleten ber-bād imiş bildim282
Choosing this poem to be written in the endowment deed, may indicate the princess’ sensitive, fragile temper. Conversely, she might have solely aimed at
280 Duran, Hanım Sultan Vakfiyeleri, 30-59.
281 VGMA, nr. 1433.
282 VGMA, nr. 1433, 15; Yağcı and Akkaya, Ayşe Sultan, 106, 110-114.; Ergun, Türk Şairleri, 85.
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reminding transience of worldly values and inevitability of death. In any case, addition of these couplets from the poem of Ᾱrifī is an interesting, debatable detail.
The fountain ῾Āyşe Sulṭān mentioned in these deeds, was built in a very short time, while ῾Āyşe Sulṭān was still alive. It was placed out of the Saraçhane Gate of the Şehzade Mosque Complex which includes the resting place of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s first husband, the mausoleum of Bosnalı İbrāhim Pasha.283 This fountain is recorded either with the name of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān or İbrāhim Pasha in the various sources. Above the arch of the marvel fountain, İbrāhim Pasha was praised and the second inscription under it informs that it was built to receive prayers for the soul of İbrāhim Pasha, on the request of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān without naming her. However, one can assume that her name might have been erased in time, since a part of the inscription is not readable:
. . .
Her Highness the pure pearl, the virtuous one
wished those who are thirsty drink water and be grateful day and night
. . . founded this fountain as alms
donated it to the soul of İbrāhim Pasha
May the God help him in the after life
The completion date was given by the praying legal entity
The flowing water for the soul of İbrāhim Pasha. 1012/1603 (“my translation”)
. . .
Ḥażret-i Sulṭān-ı ʻiffet-gevher ʻiṣmet-me’āb
Teşneler içüb duʻāʼ kılsun deyu ṣubḥ ü şam
. . . çeşme-i kevser-niseb
Rūḥ-ı İbrāhim Paşa’ya bagışladı anı
Ᾱḫiretde ḥaḳḳ vire aña sevāb-ı bī-ḥaṣan
Ḥukmī-i dāʻi dedi itmāmının tārīḫini
Oldu İbrāhim Paşa rūḥu için sāʼil āb. 1012/1603.284
283 Orman, “Şehzade Külliyesi,” 483-5.
284 Evliyā’ Çelebi, Seyahatname, İstanbul, I, 283-5.; Aynur, “Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi,” 201.; Köse and Meyveci, İstanbul’un 100 Hanım Çeşmesi, 36-37.; Yağcı and Akkaya, Ayşe Sultan, 129-132.
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Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān is another document that portraits her as a pious and sensitive person. In her testament, she introduced herself as ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, daughter of Murād:
Fe-li-zālike seyyidetü’l-muḥaẕẕirāt, iklīletü’l-muḥassenāt refī‘atü’d-derecāt, ṣāfiyyettü’s-ṣifāt, ḳudsiyyetü’z-zāt, sulṭānü’n-nesevāti ve’l-benāt, faḫrü’l-ummehāti’l-mu‘azzamāt, ‘azīmetü’ş-şān, refī‘atü’l-mekān, el-muhtessati biṣunūfi letāyifi’l-melīki’l-muste‘ān ῾Āyşe Sulṭān binti Murād edāma’l-lāhu teʻālā.285
Beginning by fol. 8a, she noted what should be done in case of her death, with all the details in-depth. She ordered one third of her property spent on expenses of the things to be done after her death. She requested appointment of three pious women for the mission of reading Ḳur’ān and Yāsīn-i Şerīf by her side until she gives the last breath at her death bed. During the recitation, they would blow her face for each prayer. Each woman will get paid 600 akçe for this process. Then each of them will continue with reading the surah Tebāreke for four times and 200 akçe per person will be given for this service.
In the testament, ῾Āyşe Sulṭān specified from which mosques her funeral prayer (selā) will be read to public. These are Suleymāniye, Bayezid, Fatih, Şehzade, Ayasofya and ῾Atīḳ Vālide Mosque.286 She wanted 5000 akçe paid to the woman who will wash her dead body and 3000 akçe for all the ladies in assistance. Before this process she wished two slave girls to be released. After the bathing process she stipulated that two pieces of paper which have besmele written on, should be prepared. One of them should be placed on her chest and the other one on her forehead. She also requested papers with the inscribed prayers to be placed on the cover of her coffin, in a way that she can face them. Until the funeral cortege reaches
285 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, fol. 6a; Full text transcription of the testament can be found in Yağcı and Akkaya, Ayşe Sultan, 167-182.
286 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, fol. 11a.
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to where she will be buried, she wanted the attendants say “eyü Muslimān idi ve ṣāliḥa ḫātūn idi” outloud, during the way.287
She conditioned that three righteous sheikhs should be ready there to place her coffin. These three sheikhs were also tasked with reading the prayer she noted to her testament.288 After her coffin is placed, she wanted one stone to be put on the level on her head, one at her chest and the last at her feet. During this ceremony, another prayer she wrote in the testament will be read.289 Finally, a piece of paper with the surah Asr written on, will be placed inside her mouth before the ceremony ends by putting earth to her dead body.290
We learn from the testament that ῾Āyşe Sulṭān prepared a green cloth which bares the inscription, Hannān and Mennān291 to cover her grave which will be lightened with the candles she kept to be used there for forty nights. She requested five hundred leaves of myrtle, a thousand stone and five hundred leaves of olive be poured upon her grave, in order, by reading the surah İḫlāṣ:
. . . Bir ṣāliḥ kimesne bin dane hurda taş üzerine bir İḫlāṣ okıyup kabrüm üzerine döke. Buna dahī iki yüz aḳçe virile ve daḫi bir ṣāliḥ kimesne beş yüz dane zeytun yaprağınun her danesine bir İḫlāṣ okıyub kabrüm üzerine dökeler.292
At this point, the testament of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān drives into an idea that she may be interested in the mystical power of numbers and words (vefḳ and hurūf) owing to her attitude which highlighted the number of myrtle leaves, olive leaves and stones, and
287 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, fol. 11b.
288 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, on fol. 12a, she wrote the whole prayer which she wanted to be read.
289 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932. This prayer is given on fol. 13a.
290 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, fol. 13a-13b.
291 In the Islamic belief, Hannān (acıyan) meant mercy and Mennān (luṭf eden) meant blessings of God. The phrase: “Yā Hannān yā Mennān” is expressed for being away from punishment and the hell after death.
292 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, fol. 18b-19a.
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in which order they should be used. The ritual she described here is not a part of commonly performed funeral ceremonies in the Islamic tradition.
῾Āyşe Sulṭān cursed whomever acts out of the conditions written in her testament. The tone of her curse reveals that she must have committed the testament to paper with a great care and expected all the details will be implemented solemnly:
. . . her kim ki ẕikr olunan vaṣiyyetlerüme ʻinād ve daḫl-u teʻarruż eylerse yevm-i maḥşerde ḥaḳḳ celle ve ʻalā ḥażreti ḳāḍī olub, ve faḫr-i cihān ḥażreti risālet penāh (s.a.v) şefāʻat maḳāmında kāyim olduğu vaḳt davacısı olub elüm yakasında ola . . .
Lastly, she declared the slaves in her service will be freed after her death:
Gerek āġālarumdan ve gerek dişi kısmı cārīyelerümden küçügü ve büyügü ve taşrada erkek kısmından mülk kullarumdan olan, kırk günden evvel cümlesi malımdan ve mülkümden āzād olalar.
After this statement the testament ends with repetition of her curse on those who may spoil her will.293
῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s testament is a rarely encountered document that was written in an Ottoman sulṭāna’s own words. A comparison with contemporary testaments that were written by other members of the royal family would help to see whether the remarkably interesting details here were commonly performed actions during and after a funeral. In Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān all deliberately described steps of undertaking may be a sign for the sulṭāna’s knowledge in esoteric practices in Islam.
Like her sister, Fāṭima Sulṭān (d. 1617) also founded a waqf yet the endowment deed is lost. This endowment deed was dated 1006/1597 and the founder of the waqf was specified as the Fāṭima Sulṭān, daughter of Murād III on fol. 7b:
. . . Ḥażret-i ʻalīyye-i muʻazzama ve muḥtereme Fatima Sulṭān ibneti’l-merḥūme . . . sulṭāni’l-ʻArab ve’l-ʻAcem ve’r-Rūm, es-sulṭān Murād Han.294
293 Vaṣiyyet-nāme-i ῾Āyşe Sulṭān, TSMA D6932, fol. 22b.
294 Sarıaltın, “Sultan III. Murad’ın Kızı Fatma Sultan,” 30-51.
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Fāṭima Sulṭān’s waqf was a palace located in Kasımpaşa, built for Fāṭima Sulṭān and Ḫalīl Pasha.295 She married to admiral (kaptan-ı deryā) Ḫalīl Pasha (d. 1629) in 1593. The celebrations of the wedding lasted for a month. Ḫalīl Pasha got promoted and became deputy of the grand vizier in 1599. However, he could hold this post until the revolt in 1600, since he failed managing to suppress the rebellion. According to Selānikī, Ḫalīl Pasha was reassigned in 1603 yet dismissed again.296 They had a son who died of the plague in 1597-8.297
During the sultanate of Mehmed III, queen mother Safiye Sulṭān achieved a considerable power in politics due to the undeniable impact she had on her son. Besides her confidants, her daughters’ husbands were following her orders. However, as seen in the revolts in 1600, İbrāhim Pasha and Ḫalīl Pasha did not always prioritize what she commanded. Since Ḫalīl Pasha remained as the deputy of the grand vizier, Fāṭima Sulṭān’s marriage might not have been functional for the queen mother’s plans as much as the ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s marriages.298 The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) copies that bear the names of ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭān remains as the only example we know as a luxurious book project by the Ottoman court atelier. There are a few examples of illustrated imperial books that are argued to be created for royal women. For example, there is a copy of Leylā ve Mecnūn that has been arguably attributed to İsmihan Sulṭān. This copy of the famous mesnevī, was dated 987/1579, and includes chronogram that was hidden in a poem praising Sokullu Mehmed Pasha at the beginning. Having been illustrated by Ustād Osman, the manuscript may have either belonged to the grand vizier’s wife, İsmihan
295 Sarıaltın, “Sultan III. Murad’ın Kızı Fatma Sultan,” 47-48.
296 Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki, II, 808, 861-2.
297 Süreyya, Sicill-i Osmanī II, 581-2.
298 Sakaoğlu, Bu Mülkün Kadın Sultanları, 294.
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Sulṭān or be commissioned for her.299 Other than that, there is a copy of Firdevsī’s Şehnāme (TSM H.1482) whose owner was a woman from imperial family. The illustrated Şehnāme, dated 939/1533, has an inscription on a flyleaf which documents that it was “Hatice Sulṭān the elder’s Şehnāme” (“Şehnāme Büyük Hatice Sulṭān’ındır”).300 The issue of her identity has not been solved, yet the book is highly precious since it belonged to a harem member. Consequently, the case of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) is still exceptional since they directly indicate the names of the princesses. Neither any record of their waqf nor the list of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s belongings (muḫallefāt defteri) leads to a direct clue about the sisters’ possible familiarity with astrology and/or the Ḳur’ānic sciences, therefore the Islamic occult activities. However, the catalogues of the libraries that were founded by their grandmother and their aunt expose that the patronage of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) copies which bare the names of ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭān may not be just an exceptional coincidence.
3.3 Occult books in the waqf libraries of the royal women: Waqf libraries of Nurbānū Sulṭān and İsmihan Sulṭān Nurbānū Sulṭān is accepted as the first bibliophile imperial woman who founded a library for her mosque complex. Selīm II honored and loved her depending not only on her beauty but also on her rarest intellect.301 İsmihan Sulṭān, the sister of Murād III, must have followed her mother while building a library with her husband, Sokullu Mehmed Pasha.
299 Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 191.; Binney and Denny, Turkish Treasures, 6-10. 300 Uluç, Türkmen valiler, Şirazlı ustalar, Osmanlı okurlar, 475.
301 Kayaalp, The Empress Nurbanu, 22.
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Nurbānū Sulṭān may not be the first one who started the librarianship tradition among notable women. For instance, Şah Sulṭān, daughter of Selīm I was one of them. She was a famous book collector and after her death nine books from the library of her waqf were purchased for the Palace.302 Şah Sulṭān had managed to be a visible imperial elite woman in Sunbuliyye sub-branch of Ḫalvetī order, with her patronage for three Ḫalvetī dervish lodges.303 As Merve Kaplan convincingly argued in her research “Women’s Participation in Dervish Lodges,” she even might have had married with Merkez Efendi, the renowned Ḫalvetī sheikh who gained respect through his miracles.304 Last but not least, Hatice Turhan Sulṭān donated more than three hundred manuscripts to the New Mosque where they were carefully catalogued. Gülnūş Emetullah Vālide Sulṭān, was another famous bibliophile sulṭāna who founded libraries in Galata, Üsküdar and Chios.305 Pertev Nihal Vālide Sulṭān also had a library in which her collection with almost one thousand books took place.306
Libraries of Nurbānū Sulṭān (Hacı Selim Ağa Library) and her daughter İsmihan Sulṭān Sulṭān (Süleymaniye Library) are worth a special attention since they provide significant clues about the interests of bibliophile royal women and may be reflecting their newly gained power as active recipients of information. Although large number of books are about Islamic law and interpretation of Ḳur’ān, ethics (ʻaḳā’id ve kelām) both also include literature books, dictionaries and grammar books for Arabic and Persian. Furthermore, there are various books about Ḳur’ānic
302 Uluç, Türkmen valiler, Şirazlı ustalar, Osmanlı okurlar, 471; Faroqhi, “Shah Sultan.” 303 Kaplan, “Women’s Participation in Dervish Lodges.”
304 Kaplan, “Women’s Participation in Dervish Lodges,” 127-131.
305 These libraries should be considered within the context of the eighteenth-century library movement. Yavuz, “The Architecture of Bibliophilia.” 306 A list of libraries including that of royal women: Su, “Eski İstanbul Kütüphaneleri,” 1975.
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science, math, philosophy besides a few about astronomy, dreams and visions and occult sciences.
In the Ottoman education agenda, writing and speaking in Arabic and Persian was an indispensable step for being a learned person. Arabic was the language of the scientific treatises whereas Persian was important to obtain an advanced knowledge in literature. In the Ottoman studies, there is still a gap on the case of harem education. Thus, we do not know how the training of a sixteenth-century-royal woman was conducted beginning from her childhood. At least, there are some evidences that show that female courtiers had access to the books in the imperial treasury and to those owned by their fathers and/or husbands.307 Two collections I mention here underlines that they were familiar with Islamic ethics, science and law and maybe they were not less educated than the sulṭāns.
Nurbānū Sulṭān’s library in ῾Atīḳ Vālide Mosque Complex, was transferred to Hacı Selim Agha Library in Üsküdar, when the madrasa and devish lodges were closed in 1924.308 The endowment deed was written with the sentences that end with “şarṭ ḳıldı.” Therefore, the deed was prepared upon the sulṭāna’s own statements. She listed the conditions one by one to make sure people will achieve maximum benefit from her charity.309 As seen in the endowment deed dated 990 / 1582, the library of the mosque complex was exclusively for the use of müderris and şeyḫ of the madrasa. Murād III also donated a number of books to his mother’s library.310 The library of the ῾Atīḳ Vālide Mosque was extended with donation of Sheikh ʻAbdülḳadir Efendi (Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş) and bābʻü’s-saʻāde agha Yaʻḳūb Agha’s
307 Fetvacı, Picturing History at the Ottoman Court, 36-37.
308 Bayraktar, Üsküdar Kütüphaneleri, 49. See also. SK, “Yazma Bağışlar,” nr.105, a booklet on Nurbanu Sultan’s waqf registers.
309 Kaytaz, “Nurbanu Valide Sultan’ın Hayatı ve Şahsiyeti,” 260-261. Sabırlı, “Nurbanu Atik Valide Sultan Vakfı,” 24.
310 BOA. MAD. 5455, 9.; MAD. 6488, 5.; Erünsal, Osmanlılarda Kütüphaneler ve Kütüphanecilik, 141.
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library in 1680. Therefore, the catalogue of the library includes these personal collections too.
Defter-i Kütüb-ḫāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş has an introduction (muḳaddime) before the index:
(Sulṭān ʻAbdülḥamīd Han Sānī) efendimiz ḥażretlerinin . . . erbāb-ı ʻilm ve muṭāleʻanın murācaʻatını taḥṣīl etmek üzere bu kere merḥūm . . . Ḫōca Kemānkeş el-Üsküdārī ḥażretlerinin . . . Vālide-i ʻAtīḳ Cāmīʼ şerīfine binyüzotuzbeş tārīḫ-i hicrīsinde vāḳı’ ve ihdāʼ buyurduḳları kütüb-ü mutenevvialarının . . . işbu defteri . . . ṭabʻ ve temṣīl ḳılınmışdır.311
In Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş, the books Nurbānū Sulṭān gifted to her waqf ῾Atīḳ Vālide’s library were listed between the pages 50-63.312 The index of her library starts with an informative text:
Cennetmekān sulṭān Murād Han sālis ḥażretlerinin vālide-i muḥteremeleri Nurbānū Sulṭān ʻaleyhaları himmet ve’l-ġufrān ḥażretlerinin doḳuzyüzdoḳsanbir tārīḫ-i hicrīsinde Üsküdar’da Vālide-i ʻAtīḳ dimekle māruf inşā kerdeleri olan cāmīʼ şerīfleri derūnuna vāḳıʻ ve ihdā’ buyurduḳları kütüb-ü nefīselerinin defteridir.313
The Sulṭāna’s collection today includes 158 manuscripts although the mentioned index noted that she donated 157 books:314
işbu Vālide-i ʻAtīḳ Nurbānū Sulṭān ʻaleyhaları himmet ve’l-ġufrān ḥażretleri kütüb-ḫānelerinde ber-vech-i-bālā dört cilt żāyiʻden mā-ʻadā ma‘a-mukerrerāt yalnız yüz elli yedi cild kitāb mevcūddur.315
The books of the collection have the seal of Nurbānū Sulṭān with the inscription, “Vālide-i pādişāh-ı dīn-penāh sulṭān Murād Han el-mutevekkil alellah
311 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş, 2.
312 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş (1135/ 1723), İstanbul Maḥmūd Bey Matbaası, 1262/1846? The catalogue, printed in the reign of Abdülhamid II, documents these three collections seperately under the title, “Üsküdar Vâlide Âtik Camî Şerif-i Derununda Vakı’adır.”
313 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş, 50.
314 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş, 63.
315 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş, 64.
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el-Melīkü’l-Mennān.”316 At first sight, this collection seems to be dominated by religious books. It has Ḳur’ān-ı Kerīm copies (Muṣḥaf-ı Şerīf) between the numbers 1-16.317 However, her collection also includes a book about natural sciences and mathematics, literature books in Arabic and Persian, books about philosophy. The books were gathered under fourteen titles, which are el-muṣaḥif eş-şerīfī (Ḳur’āns), kütüb el-ḳırā’a (the ways of reading Ḳur’ān), kütüb el-tefāsīr (tefsīr, interpretation of surahs of Ḳur’ān), kütüb uṣūl el-ḥadīs (interpretation on hadith), kütüb el- ḥadīs (hadith), kütüb uṣūl el-fıḳh (methodological principles of the Islamic law) , kütüb el- fıḳh (Islamic law), kütüb el-teṣavvuf (sūfīsm), kütüb el-manṭıḳ (logic), kütüb el-maʻnā ve’l-beyān, kütüb el-edebiyyāt (literature books), kütüb el-naḥv (Arabic grammar), el-cāmīʻ el-funūn (science), kütüb-ü muʻtenevviyā (various books). Among her books, presence of the Muḫtaṣar’u Ta‘bīri’r-Ru’yā318 about dream interpretation and the Risāletü’l-Leduniyye319 about occult sciences are particularly interesting, since their subjects compromise with the content of Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (1582) that was commissioned for her grand-daughters.
İsmihan Sulṭān’s library was organized for a madrasa she commissioned in Eyüp, with the grand vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pasha.320 In the endowment deed dated Recep 976 (December 1568), it was stated that the donated books were meant for the use of teachers (müderris), their assistants (müʻidd) and students (dānişmend) and the library was placed inside the sepulcher (türbe) nearby the madrasa. İsmail Erünsal
316 Kut and Bayraktar, Yazma Eserlerde Vakıf Mühürleri, 48.; Kaytaz, “Nurbanu Valide Sultan’ın,” 259.
317 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i Emir Ḫōca Kemānkeş, 50-52.
318 The book’s writer is ʻAbdurrahman b. Nasr b. ʻAbdullaheş-Şirazī eş-Şāfīʻī (774/1373). Name of the copyist and date is not given. It is the shortened version (muḫtaṣar) of Ebū Bekr Muḥammad b. Sīrīn el-Basrī (d. 110/729)’s book, Ta‘bīri’r-Ru’yā.
319 Hacı Selim Ağa Kütüphanesi Nurbanu Sultan Koleksiyonu, 46-7. The manuscript is dated 8 Şevval 887 and the copyist is Muḥammad b. Aḥmed b. ʻAlī el-Kārī et-Tebrizī. It is originally attributed to Gazāli (d. 1111).
320 Parlak, “Sokullu Mehmed Paşa Külliyesi,” 358-359.
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noted that the catalogue of this collection was prepared with a great care at that time, by the support of Sokullu Mehmed Pasha.321 In 1924, the library was firstly moved to Eyüp Hüsrev Paşa Library, then in 1957, it was brought to Süleymaniye Library.322
İsmihan Sulṭān’s library is today preserved in Süleymaniye Library (Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān).323 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān starts with exactly the same introduction with the index of ῾Atīḳ Vālide Mosque’s library, since the index was printed in the reign of ʻAbdülḥamīd II.324 On the last page of the index some additional information was provided:
Eyüb’de Şehīd Mehmed Paşa Türbesi ittiṣālinde kā’in İsmihan Sulṭān ʻaleyha el-ġufrān ḥażretlerinin doḳuzyüzyetmişyedi tārīḫinde inşā etmiş olduḳları medrese ders-ḫānesinde mevcūd kitābların . . . işbu cedvel-i defteri tanẓīm ḳılınaraḳ ber-vech-i-bālā yalnız dört yüz ḳırḳ bir cilde bāliġ olmuş oldugunu mubeyyin işbu maḥalle şerḥ virildi . . . 1301/1884.325
İsmihan Sulṭān Library includes books which are mostly about religious subjects, Islamic law and ethics like her mother. Additionally, this library included literature books in Arabic, Persian, Turkish (kütüb el-edebiyyāt); books about logic, philosophy (kütüb el-manṭıḳ ve’l-ḥükemā’), maths and astronomy (kütüb el-hey’et ve’l-hendese ve’l-ḥesāb); Ottoman law (kütüb el-fetāvā). The library has a copy of Netāyic el-Fünūn,326 books on astronomy (Risāle fi’l-hey’et,327 Kitāb Ḥāllü’l Müşkil fi Seyri’l-Kevākib328), Ḳur’ānic sciences (e.g. Mevāhibü’l-ledüniyye)329, dream
321 Erünsal, Osmanlılarda Kütüphaneler ve Kütüphanecilik, 139-140.
322 Bayraktar, “İstanbul’da Kadınlar Tarafından Kurulmuş Kütüphaneler,” 88-89.
323 This catalogue was printed in time of ʻAbdülḥamīd II (r. 1876-1909), in İstanbul, in 1310/1893.
324 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, İstanbul, 1893, 2.
325 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, 40.
326 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, 31, nr. 343.
327 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, 28, nr. 295. The Arabic manuscript dates 914. No copyist is mentioned.
328 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, 28, nr. 297/2. The register of this Arabic manuscript lacks information on date and copyist.
329 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, 29, nr. 302. The book was written by Şahābeddin Aḥmed Kastallānī (d. 923/1517) and the copy dates 978.
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interpretation (Mecmūʻa el-risāil Şerḥü’l-İstiʻāre)330 and a Ḳur’ān designed for bibliomancy (tefe”ul).331 Examining the books on astrology, physiognomy, dream interpretation in the libraries of the sulṭānas can be an important step for understanding their involvement in the subject areas of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde. Since large amount of the books cover Ḳur’ān and related subjects, one automatically thinks that Ottoman women were merely fond of theology. However, existence of books on Islamic law and its methodology has not much to do with a common interest in religion. These books in private libraries show the familiarity of royal women to the issues of social order and ethics in law, owing to the fact that they were living in a society that was subjected to the sharia law. The waqf libraries of Nurbānū Sulṭān and her daughter İsmihan Sulṭān might not be composed of books they personally have read. However, these royal women may have at least be familiar with the content of the books they donated to be used by madrasa students.
In these collections also all the Ḳur’āns are waiting to be checked whether they were available for bibliomancy and how their content relates to Ḳur’ānic sciences. For instance, in Nurbānū Sulṭān’s library, Risāletü’l-ledünniyye is a book registered under the title, el-cāmīʻ el-funūn so as Mevāhibü’l-ledüniyye in İsmihan Sulṭān’s library. In the Islamic philosophy ʻilm-i ledün or ʻilm-i bāṭin, ʻilm-i ġayb, ʻilm-i ḥavāṣṣ are all corresponding to numerology and cosmology, overall, to the occult sciences. ʻİlm-i ledün basically refers to the ultimate metaphysical knowledge that are unknown to human except the gifted ones. ʻİlm-i ledün was mentioned in Ḳur’ān as a knowledge that could not be received by reading and studying (kesbī
330 Defter-i Kütüb-hāne-i İsmihan Sulṭān, 37, nr. 427.
331 SK, Yazma Eserler, İsmihan Sultan Koleksiyonu, nr.3.
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ilim) but by being chosen (vehbī ilim). The one who comprehend it is described as a person who may have the ability of travel in time and foreseeing the future.332
Since the boundary between the scientific and religious fields was ambiguous in the Ottoman mentality, Ḳur’ānic sciences such as ʻilm-i ledün, ʻilm-i ḥavāṣṣ should be considered as homogenous disciplines with alchemy, physics and astronomy. We should not forget that for the sixteenth-century Ottoman perception, even medical treatments were applied hand in hand with the occult sciences.333 Kitāb al-Bulhān that borrowed Abū Maʻshar’s treatises and Ja῾far al-Ṣādiḳ’s divination text encompasses the Ḳur’ānic sciences as well. That is why its Turkish translation, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde should be examined without eliminating the impact of these disciplines on the contemporary harem members.
In conclusion, the reign of Murād III was a period of time when the harem members became more visible through their investments on pious foundations and participation in state affairs, financial matters. In this period, confidantes like kirāʼ women Esperanza Malchi, Esther Handali, Kethüda Canfedā Kadın and Rāziye Ḫātūn elevated their status as the assistants of royal women as well as of the sulṭān. As been argued upon various examples, consulting the head astronomer for auspicious times, believing in the mystical power of the words and numbers and applying to means of fortunetelling through astrological calculations and dream interpretation may all be accepted as a common interest in the sixteenth-century Ottoman household. Even though we do not have information about personal interests of the first two daughters of Murād III, ῾Āyşe and Fāṭima Sulṭān, we can
332 فَوَجَ دَا عَبْدًا منْ عِّبَادِّ نَا آتَيْنَاهُ رَحْمَةً منْ عِّندِّنَا وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِّن لَّدُنَّا عِّلْمًا ”; fe vecedā ʻabden min ibādinā ʻāteynāhu raḥmeten min indinā ve allemnāhu min ledunnā ilmā (ilmen). https://kuran.diyanet.gov.tr/tefsir/Kehf-suresi/2205/65-ayet-tefsiri.
333 Saif, “Between Medicine and Magic”; Shefer-Mossensohn, “A Sick Sultana in the Ottoman Imperial Palace,” 281-312.
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state that the content of the book that was copied for them was a compilation of subjects which are undeniably parts of a shared culture in the imperial harem.
Having the socio-political and artistic atmosphere in which the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde was produced been briefly analyzed and the possible reasons why it was dedicated to two royal women been presented, the full-page paintings of the book, which we divide as the talismanic paintings and the paintings for prognostication will be examined in the last chapter.
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CHAPTER 4 MAṬᾹLİʻÜ’S-SAʿᾹDE (ASCENSION OF FELICITY):
QUESTIONS OF VISUAL TRANSLATION
Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde is an exceptional project in the Ottoman history of art since it exists only in two copies, which were both dedicated to royal women. In addition to this, the translation itself is also interesting. Some of the sections of the Arabic Kitāb al-Bulhān were directly copied, some were excluded, and as has already been mentioned, some sections such as the tables of physiognomy and dream interpretation, were probably added by the Ottoman artists.334 The images also underwent a visual transformation possibly because the Ottoman artists adjusted some of them to coincide with the Ottoman perception. The intention behind the pictorial differences may have been stemming from various reasons. They could be the result of differences in artistic preferences, perceptive differences or a wish to correct or update information. It is also possible that the Ottoman artists might have made these changes just because they were not familiar with some of the scenes that they had been tasked with copying from the Arabic prototype.
This chapter will focus on these differences between the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde and the Kitāb al-Bulhān with a particular focus on the paintings of the respective volumes. Rather than going through the illustrations of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde one by one, I will try to conduct a pictorial analysis which is based on the comparison between the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Or. 133) and the two copies of its Ottoman adoption (Morgan M. 788, Paris Suppl. Turc. 242). To achieve the best efficiency, I chose a number of illustrations that are particularly helpful to point out
334 See Chapter 2.
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the alterations made by the Ottoman artists, while keeping the basic iconography provided by the Arabic model.
After providing a comparative analysis of the stylistic and iconographical differences between the paintings of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies and their Arabic original, the function of the full-page images will be discussed.
The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copy that is dedicated to ῾Āyşe Sulṭān (Morgan M. 788) and the one dedicated to Fāṭima Sulṭān (Paris Suppl. Turc 242) are identical in terms of the page order and the illustrative cycle. But stylistic differences in the paintings reveal that they were produced by the hands of different artists. The illustrations of the Morgan copy underwent some alterations, supposedly in a later date and as a result of this interesting attempt, especially the faces of the figures have been repainted, including the face of the sulṭān which appears as the first illustrated page. The colors seem more vivid in the paintings of the Morgan copy. Therefore, maybe the intervention included overpainting to refresh the colors. Even though the later interventions create some confusion, the project of the Matāliʿü’s-saʿāde manuscript was clearly conducted to create twin books for the sisters.
Both books follow the same order except a few differences and if a painting which is present in the Arabic original, Kitāb al-Bulhān, is lacking in one, the same one is not found in the other as well. The Ottoman artists also added more treatises to both of the copies. Before examining what might be added to the content, we should always keep the existence of another hypothetical copy of the Arabic miscellany which might have been used as a secondary prototype by the Ottomans. If we assume the Oxford manuscript (Bodl. Or. 133) as the copy that they used during the translation project, we can state that the Ottoman artists added and extracted the
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same sections while creating the two copies of the Ottoman version of the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān. The main differences between the content of the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān and its Ottoman adaptations should be discussed in order to see the connections and divergences of the later manuscripts to the original.
4.1 The sections that are absent in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodleian Or. 133) and present in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies (Morgan M. 788, Paris Suppl. Turc. 242)
The sequence of the contents of the twin copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde are almost the same, except in a few instances. In both Ottoman copies, the original sequence of the miniature cycle is preserved. Therefore, the Ottoman Turkish adaptation follows the same order with the Bodleian manuscript which is nearly-two-centuries-older (Or. 133). Nonetheless, some particular scenes, a number of tables and the whole section on constellations (Bodl., Or. 133, fol. 81v-93v) are absent in both of the Ottoman copies. Conversely, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies include some additions in their contents. The Bodleian manuscript apparently has undergone careless mending. As a result of this, some treatises might have been lost in the course of time. However, considering the fact that both Ottoman copies lack the same sections, it is highly possible that Ottoman removal of some sections as well as the addition of new details were intentional.335
Stefano Carboni (2007) argued that specific scenes were avoided in the copies of the Ottoman version possibly because of the personal choice of the author, Su῾ūdī, or the illustrator or perhaps the Ottoman copies were based on another, presently lost copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān. However, Carboni (2007) concluded that
335 See Appendix A, Table 1
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the copy which was used by the Ottomans must have been the Bodleian manuscript since illustrative cycle and the form of representation are highly similar. Besides, on the various pages of the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān (Or. 133) there are marginal notes in Ottoman Turkish and in one of the pages (fol. 8r) there is even a poem, entirely written in Ottoman Turkish with a signature. Unfortunately, it is not easy to determine when and why this page is placed here and who was the owner of the signature. This page might have been added later yet together with marginal notes, its presence leads one to assume that this copy might have been the one used in the Ottoman court atelier as a prototype for the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies. Carboni suggests that the Ottomans might have excluded scenes which they were not familiar with.336 This clearly makes sense yet in addition to this argument, some of the illustrations or sections of text could have been excluded on purpose even though the artists and/or Su῾ūdī were familiar with them. The Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde project might have been planned as a simplified version of the Arabic prototype. On folio 141r of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, Su῾ūdī provides some information about the compilation of the Paris manuscript (Suppl. Turc. 242):
I have compiled, in response to an imperial order, a few compositions; each one of them became, in fact, a beauty. Out of this lot is this collection, backed by a rescript; I paid attention during the compilation and composition, by comparison.337
When they saw the ‘bliss’ of my action in this way, they pronounced the date: it amounts to seventy-two sciences, 990 (in abjad, equivalent to 990/1582).338
Emr-i ʻālī-şān ile bir niçe te’līf eyledim. Her biri maʻnīde oldi bir nigār-ı ḫūbrū
cumleden biri de bu mecmūʻadır, fermān ile eyledim taḥrīr ve tertībinde diḳḳat mūbemū
çūn bu üslub üzere itmamen Su῾ūdī gördiler 336 Carboni, “Two Fragments of a Jalayirid Astrological Treatise in The Keir Collection and in The Oriental Institute in Sarajevo”, 149-186; Carboni, “Description of The Miniatures”, 71-196.
337 Schmitz, “(M.788). Maṭāliʻ al-saʻāde wa manābiʻ al-siyāda”, 72
338 Schmitz noted that “the bliss” is a play on the name of the author Su῾ūdī. Schmitz, “(M.788). Maṭāliʻ al-saʻāde wa manābiʻ al-siyāda”, 72; Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text”, 431.
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didiler tārīḫini, yetmiş iki ῾ilmi oldi bu, 990.
On fol. 7r, Su῾ūdī has an interesting statement which implies that the Kitāb al-Bulhān was not translated in its entirety. He accordingly changed some details in the text, cut unnecessary ones and even made additions since some of the information in the book was outdated. In addition, he tried to ease the ways of expression to provide a better understanding for the reader:
However, the maiden fruits of its meaning, being an assemblage of beautiful pictures ornamented with the shapes of the Arabic words, were not accessible to everyone at first sight without being subjected to painstaking deliberation. Therefore, an enlightened imperial decree was drafted and issued to this worthless slave full of shortcomings, for its translation into the Turkish language. But when the pupil of the eye strolled in the gardens of the book’s meaning, having witnessed gaps and deficiencies in certain locations, it insisted on redressing the defects and perfecting and completing the deficiencies with the intention of making the benefit general and causing the advantage to reach everybody339
. . . lākin ebkār-ı meʻānīsi ḥīlye-i elfāẓ-ı ῾Arabiyye ile muḥallā bir yoluñ nigār-ı zībā olmaḳ ile herkese evvel naẓarda bi-zaḥmet te’emmul musaḫḫar olmadan ibā’ itmegin bu ῾abd-i ḥaḳīr kesir’üt-taḳṣīrlerine lisān-ı Türkīye terceme olunması içün emr-i şerīf-i fā’iż’ül-nevvārları ẓuhūr ve ṣudūr buldı. İmtisālen li’l-emri’l-ālī ḫidmete şurūʻ ve iștiġāli emr-i lāzim ve kār-ı muhimm görülüb ol kār-ı saʻādet encāma cur’et ve iḳdām olundı. Pes murādımdı da riyāż-ı meʻānīsinde seyrān ittükde baʻżı mevāżiʻnde ḫalel ü nuḳṣān mușāhede idüb taʻmīm fā’ide ve tetmīm-i ʻā’ide ḳast olunub ḫalelini iṣlāḥ ve ibrām ve nuḳṣānını tekmīl ve itmām idüb . . . (Paris Suppl. Turc, fol. 7r).
The Ottoman copies may also have information added during the translation process. As already been mentioned, an example to Ottoman additions can be given in the
339 Paris Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 7r; Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text”, 210.
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section on physiognomy, which included an extra page for “physiognomy of womankind” and a section on dream interpretation.340
Consequently, since most of the pages of the Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān is missing, it is not easy to claim for sure that each text or image that is not found in the Arabic original but in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies reflects new information that was added by the Ottomans. However, regarding the statement of Su῾ūdī that is mentioned above, we can at least think that Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde project was not conducted by directly copying all the treatises exactly as they were.
4.2 The sections that are absent in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies (Morgan M. 788, Paris Suppl. Turc. 242)341
Su῾ūdī does not specify the name of the prototype of his work as Kitāb al-Bulhān in his preface even though he mentions that it is an Arabic source. The Bodleian painting that includes Abū Ma῾shar (Or. 133, fol. 34r) whose studies shaped half of the book before the section of the divination of Ja῾far, is not found in the Ottoman versions. However, the name of the author of the astrological treatises, the Arab astronomer Abū Ma῾shar is mentioned throughout the first section of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde that deals with the characteristic features of the twelve zodiac signs and their usage for the compilations of natal charts (Paris copy, fol. 8v-32r; Morgan copy, fol. 7v-31r). Additionally, his name is mentioned among other “wise men” of the Islamic world (fol. 69v of both of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies), whose studies on various scientific branches were included in the Ottoman copies.
340 Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 65v; Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 65v; “cedvel-i ta῾bīr-nāme”, both Paris and Morgan copy, on fol. 66v; “ta῾bīr-nāme-i mu῾teber”, Paris and Morgan copy, on fol. 67r, 67v and 68r.
341 See Appendix A, Table 2.
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In addition to the painting that includes the portrait of Abū Ma῾shar, 4 more full-page paintings of the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān, which are “A Devotee at the Temple of Ahmin” (fol. 29r), “Rainbow and planets (fol.34v), Tree of Waqwaq (fol.41v), Itinerant and the City of Brass (fol.45v) are also not included in both of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies. Since the pages of the Oxford manuscript are out of order, Rainbow and Planets (fol.34v) might not be a part of the section that is composed only by full-page images but that of an informative section on astrology. Exclusion of the other three images however may be stemming from different reasons.
If we put these one-page paintings aside for now, Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies both lack two more single pages that are present in the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān. These have informative texts accompanying related illustrations. “Waxing and Waning of the Moon” (fol. 50r) and the page that is titled as “Compassion of the victor” (fol. 50v) are the missing single pages in the Ottoman copies. These two have both texts and accompanying illustrations. Their content might have been unknown to the contemporary knowledge of the Ottomans or the information given on these pages of the Kitāb al-Bulhān may have been too outdated to be copied. It is also probable that the above-mentioned full-page paintings and these half-illustrated two pages did not appeal to the contemporary Ottoman reader.
The Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān, which is currently bound out of order, has sections that are not present at all in the Ottoman Turkish versions. These are the sections for the four seasons (Bodl. Or.133, fol. 38v, 44r, 44v, 45r), the seven climes (Bodl. Or.133, fol. 41r, 47r-49v) and the constellation images (Bodl. Or.133, fol. 81v-93v). In the Arabic copy, seasons are given along with images that reflect characteristic features of each season (Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 38v, 44r, 44v, 45r). However, in the Ottoman copies, the section on the four seasons is totally lacking.
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Furthermore, the whole section of the seven climes, which is composed with full-page representations without any related text, are also excluded in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies.342
Lastly, the exclusion of the whole section of constellation images is interesting. In the Topkapı Palace Library, there is an illustrated copy of the ʻAcāʼibu’l-Maḫlūḳāt (H. 3632), which is in Ottoman Turkish. It is stylistically attributed to the end of the sixteenth century, which corresponds to the last years of the reign of Murād III. The manuscript has a section with the images of the constellations together with their explanations.343 The images of constellations that are found in the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān are highly similar to the illustrations of the constellations found in the said ʻAcāʼib copy and also to those we are familiar with from the later Yıldıznāme copies.344 Most of all, presence of a copy of Ṣuveru’l-Kevākib345 from the Seljukide period and it’s fifteenth century-copy prove that the Ottomans were acknowledged with the constellation images.346 Therefore, one can assume that the Ottomans excluded the images of the fixed stars whether because they did not have an updated version or their explanation and related calculations were too complicated to be given in a simplified scientific encyclopedia.
Consequently, their exclusion from both of the two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde cannot be easily explained by the argument that the Ottomans were not familiar with the subject. Rather, the images of constellations, seasons and climes might have been
342 Rice, “The Seasons and Labors”, 3-6.
343 TSMK, A3632. See Chapter 2.
344 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 81v-93v; İlhan, The Astrology of the Ottoman Empire, 42-47; Aydüz, “Lale Devrinde Yapılan İlmi Faaliyetler”, 143-170; For general information on constellation, Fegani, The Elements of Astronomy.
345 SK, Fatih, No 422.
346 Erbaş, Suver’ul Kevakib Minyatürlerinin İkonografik İncelemesi.
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excluded because they were considered to not have a crucial role in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde project. This lead us back to the statement of Su῾ūdī, which noted that the translation project was conducted for making the information in the Arabic original understandable for everyone.
4.3 Stylistic Differences between the illustrations of the two copies of the Matāli’ü’s-sa‘āde (Paris, Supl. Turc. 242 and Morgan M. 788)
The Morgan and the Paris copies of the Matāli’ü’s-sa‘āde follow the same illustrative cycle. Even though some of the compositions differ stylistically, both of these Ottoman manuscripts follow the same iconography in their illustrations. I will mention a number of differences between the two Ottoman copies of the work, before comparing their illustrations with those of the Arabic original.
Since the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies were written by the order of Murād III for his daughters, the sulṭān is depicted as the patron of the book [Figure 1].347 In both copies, the portrait of Murād III is the first full-page illustration. On fol. 7v of the Paris copy, the sulṭān sits cross-legged on a low platform as the central figure of the composition. Playing around a fountain before the sulṭān are two royal dwarfs. On the left, there are two attendants of ḫāṣṣ oda standing. One of them is a silāḥ-dār agha holding a sword and the other is a çūḫa-dār agha carrying a treasury box (ḫazīne matarası) in which the sulṭān’s personal belongings that could be a book or precious stones or fabrics were kept.348 Murād III is represented as a bibliophile
347 Morgan MS. 788, fol.6v; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 7v. Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 72
348 Schmitz mentioned these attendants simply as janissaries. In Şehinşehnāme 1 (İÜK, FY 1404), there is a scene which shows two aghas in the same attire, holding the same items while standing behind Murād III (fol. 25a). Çağman noted the role of these figures in her article, Çağman, “Altın Hazine Matarası”, 85-122.
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sulṭān, looking at an open book, which appears to be the completed copy of the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. The book is set on a desk, where there are also some other books, an hourglass, and a European clock. In the Morgan copy, all these elements, except one of the dwarfs, are present yet they are placed in different positions. The aghas are standing on the right side and the desk of the sulṭān is to his left. Therefore, for an unknown reason, this illustration seems to be the mirror-image of the previous one.
The most significant difference between these two illustrations depicting Murād III is the overpainted face of the sulṭān in the Morgan copy. Barbara Schmitz, who catalogued the Morgan copy and described its illustrations one by one, asserts that “This miniature was one of the finest known Ottoman book illustrations until the face of the sulṭān was crudely altered.”349 As Schmitz suggested, the altered face might be that of Aḥmed I and since he shared common interests in prognostication with the sulṭān Murād III, the manuscript might have been handed over to his daughter ῾Āyşe Sulṭān. Schmitz also suggested that the new face might be that of Osman II as well, since he was a beardless sulṭān and at the time this manuscript was produced, Murād III had never been painted without beard in his portraits.350 Serpil Bağcı argued that the project of the Matāli’ü’s-sa‘āde seems to emphasize father-daughter relation in the Ottoman dynasty. Therefore, the face of Murād III might have been altered at a later date for the continuity of this purpose.351
In the Morgan copy, the portrait of sulṭān Murād III is not the only one that appears to have been overpainted. The faces of some jinns in the section that shows the full-page talismans (Morgan M. 788, fol. 84r-89r), and those of Solomon’s jinns that are depicted in the section of prophetic divinations (Morgan M. 788, fol. 128r)
349 Schmitz “(M.788). Maṭāliʻ al-saʻāde wa manābiʻ al-siyāda”, 78.
350 Schmitz, “(M.788). Maṭāliʻ al-saʻāde wa manābiʻ al-siyāda”, 78.
351 Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 73-75.
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are also overpainted. Some examples even reveal that this repainting process may have been rather clumsily done. The illustration, “Sinbad and Old Man of the Sea” (Morgan M. 788 fol. 79r) is a good example to demonstrate this point. In the Arabic original the creature has the body of a fish and the face of an old man, the Paris copy repeats this iconography, while in the Morgan copy its face loses its white beard, which may have been there to be altered at a later period. At the present, the face of the creature seems to be repainted just like the faces of the jinns (Paris Suppl Turc. fol. 85r-90r; Morgan M. 788, fol. 84r-89r). The reason for these interventions and whether they were all made at the same time or not are unknown to us.
Although the Morgan and the Paris copies largely follow the same iconography in their paintings, the placement of the various elements in the compositions differs in two particular paintings. First is the already mentioned portrait of the sulṭān which is depicted in a mirror image of the two copies. The same preference for painting an identical composition in a mirror image is also seen in the illustration above the text of the “Divination of the prophet Solomon” (Fāl-ı Suleymān Peyġāmber).352 The page for the divination of Solomon is missing in the original Kitāb al-Bulhān, therefore cannot know which of the two Ottoman renderings repeats the original image made by the Arab artists. It is possible that the paintings in question were copied through stenciling, resulting in the mirror images.
The same section of the divinations by sixteen prophets has another interesting difference between the two copies of the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. First, the titles of the divination of the prophets Elias (İlyās) and Jacob (Yaʻḳūb) have different designs. On the page that shows the divination of Elias, the title is divided in three 352 Suppl. Turc. 242, fol. 131v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 128r
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and each part is written in three circles in the same size as, “Fāl-ı / ḥażret-i İlyās/aleyhim’es-selām”.353 Similarly, the title of Prophet Jacob’s divination on the following page is written as “Fāl-ı / Yaʻḳūb/aleyhim’es-selām”.354 This design is not kept in the pages of the other fourteen prophets. Furthermore, in three illustrations in the same section, the Morgan copy has an extra figure which is not seen in the corresponding Arabic models or those of the Paris copy.
These extra figures are on the pages which present the divination texts of the prophets Shuaib (Şuʻayb),355 George (Cercīs),356 and Joseph (Yūsuf).357 The Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Paris copy of the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde both have the same compositions for these three divinations except some artistic differences in architecture. On the page of the divination of prophet Şuʻayb, along with his symbolic tomb, both the Oxford manuscript and the two Ottoman copies represent a flock of sheep and goats before the tomb. The Morgan copy, however, presents the same shrine as the one in the Paris copy, yet includes a shepherd herding the flock as an extra figure. In the symbolic illustration of Prophet Cercīs’ shrine there are two fountains facing each other. In the Morgan copy, there is an extra figure, who is standing in front of the fountain on the left. Lastly, in the illustration that relates to the shrine of Prophet Yūsuf, the artists of the Morgan copy added a figure of an old man sitting outside the building.
Paintings in the Morgan copy have relatively more vivid colors than those in the Paris copy. The best example for the use of relatively brighter colors in the Morgan copy’s illustrations can be seen through a comparison of the full-page image
353 Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 127r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 130v.
354 Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 127v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 131r.
355 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 163v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol.125v; Morgan Ms. 788, fol.124r
356 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 164r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 126v; Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 125r
357 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 167r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 129r; Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 126v
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that displays “İskender and Ḫiżr” [Figure 2].358 In the Morgan copy, the tone of gold also clearly looks more vivid and bright in the rings of the jinns throughout the entire section of full-page talismanic images (Paris Suppl Turc. fol. 85r-90r; Morgan M. 788, fol. 84r-89r).
The artists who worked in the production of the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies are unknown. Miniatures of the Paris copy are attributed to the renowned Ottoman artist Ustād (Master) Osman (active c. 1576-1581).359 One of the reasons of this assumption is the presence of sulṭān Murād III’s portrait in the Paris copy. Considering Ustād Osman worked on the project of Ḳiyāfetü’l-insāniyye fī şemāili’l-Osmāniyye which introduced Ottoman genealogy, it is possible that Osman or at least one of his students was assigned to illustrate the sulṭān’s portrait in the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. Ustād Osman had an ability to express faces and body languages of people from different walks of life. Examples of this can be seen in the rendering of the craftsmen in the Sūrnāme illustrations.360 Each craftsmen appears as an individual, who is integrated with his profession, just like the personified zodiac signs (Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 8v-30v; M. 788 fol. 7v-29v) and the figures whose professions are associated with a particular planet (Suppl. Turc 242, f. 32v-33r) in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies.361 The characteristic style of Ustād Osman is also recognizable from his excellence at depicting elements of nature and topographical details, as is seen in the Şehnāme-i Selīm Han (TSMK, A.3595).362 The illustrations of another contemporary book, Tārīḫ-i Hind-i Ġarbī (1583), which displays newly discovered geographies and wondrous creatures, are also considered to have been created by
358 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 39v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 75v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 75v. Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 110.
359 Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 192.
360 Bağcı et al., Ottoman Painting, 146-8.
361 Renda, “Ottoman Painting in the Sixteenth Century”, 61-64.
362 Çağman, “Şahname-i Selim Han ve Minyatürleri”, 411-21.
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Osman and/or by his students.363 Furthermore, since Osman was among the artists who illustrated the miniatures of the Zübdetü’t-tevārīḫ (at least the copy that was made for the sulṭān Murād III, TİEM, no. 1973) which is a compendium that also includes the images of zodiac signs and illustrated stories of the prophets, it is probable that he worked in the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde project too.364
Günsel Renda suggests that Lütfü ʻAbdullāh may have been one of the painters of the Morgan copy since the two copies of the work seem to be illustrated by different hands yet these artists were likely from the circle of Osman. Lütfü ʻAbdullāh was one of them and he was also one of the artists who were tasked with illustrating the Zübdetü’t-tevārīḫ and also a contemporary Şehnāme (Book of Kings) copy written in Ottoman Turkish.365 However, Renda stresses that it is not possible to suggest a certain name as the head painter of the Morgan manuscript, especially since it was largely altered.366
A rapid overview is enough to notice that the two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde were painted by different hands. Each project must have been conducted with two different groups of artists since each copy has a stylistic continuity in itself. In the section with the full-page images with their related headlines, comparison of the illustration of “The Laughing Snake” (Şekl-i Mār-ı Ḳahḳaha ve Ayna) [Figure 3],367 can set an example for the stylistic differences between the paintings of the Paris and the Morgan copies. The scene is one of the missing pages in the Oxford Arabic manuscript. In the Ottoman copies it pictures a snake with the head of a woman,
363 Renda, “Ottoman Painting in the Sixteenth Century”, 59.
364 Minaz, “Paris Ulusal Kütüphanesi Suppl. Turc. 242 Numaralı Metâliü’s Saâde yazma”, 219.
365 TSMK B.284, Firdevsī’s Şehnāme, dated 1584.
366 Renda, “Ottoman Painting in the Sixteenth Century”, 60; see Renda, “New Light on the Painters of the Zubdat al-Tawarikh in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul”, 183-207.
367 Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 90v; Morgan M. 788 fol. 89v. Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 166.
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whose own reflection in a mirror makes her giggle herself to death. In the Paris copy, the image represents a hilly landscape with a group of men behind a hill, one of which is holding a round silver mirror towards the serpentine beast to forestall her ambush whereas in the Morgan copy the same composition has only three men behind the hill, while they are proportionally larger. Though the representations of architecture always look identical in the two Ottoman copies, in this painting, the structure of the walled city seen in the distance differ from each other. Additionally, the image in the Morgan copy has a Chinese cloud, which is lacking in the Paris copy. Like the men behind the hill, the size of the beast is proportionally larger in the Morgan copy.
The curls in the beast’s tail in the former copy is also lacking in the latter. These curls in the Paris copy make the creature look static, while her face makes her seem anxious. Conversely, the beast in the Morgan manuscript seems more dynamic and has a smile on her face. Painters of the Morgan manuscript did not add the curls to the tail thus creating an effect of movement for the big smiling creature, who seemed to be moving rapidly and threateningly towards the figures behind the hill.
When a comparison is made between the illustrations of two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde, it can be seen that main differences are due mostly to artistic preferences. As is noticed in the case of the “Laughing Snake” scene, the illustrations of the two copies do not differ from each other in terms of iconography. Even though the paintings of the two copies mostly include the same compositional elements in the same placement, stylistic differences reveal that they were created by different artists. Overall, the entire compendium includes various subjects that can be considered to be borrowed from almost all of the subjects of the contemporary illustrated manuscripts that were dealing with genealogy, world histories, geography,
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cosmography, religious stories, legends. Each of these subjects were illustrated by depicting individual figures whose looks and movements imply certain allegories; they also include vivid representations of nature and architecture. Therefore, one thinks that some unknown contemporary artists who had already proven themselves as master painters at that time may have been influential in the production of the paintings of these twin books.
We do not have any information about the painters who worked in this project, yet Su῾ūdī, the author and translator of the two copies wrote a preface that gives some clues about how and why the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies differ from their Arabic original.
4.4 Iconographical and Stylistic Differences between the Illustrations of the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde
A comparison between the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies and Kitāb al-Bulhān shows that not only the text but also the visual language was translated. As has been indicated above, the Ottoman artists excluded some of the illustrations because of an unknown reason. Furthermore, they made some alterations in most of the paintings instead of copying them with exactly the same details. There are three main types of differences between the illustrations of the Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān and its translated versions in Ottoman Turkish. The first one is the difference of architectural style and the flora in the outdoor scenes. This change is understandable if we think that the Ottomans aimed to adopt the physical elements of the images to their own environment. The second one is the alterations that had most probably been made simply because of visual preferences. In these kinds of changes, it is clear that the
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Ottoman painter was well aware of which scene from which story to depict after looking at the Arabic original, yet did not prefer to create an exact copy. The third type of difference is the most curious one. These changes had been made in critical points either by adding irrelevant elements that do not match the title of the painting or excluding necessary details that were supposed to recall a certain meaning in the spectator’s mind. The motivation for creating these changes is vague.
The first obvious difference is that the architectural features and environmental elements such as the type of flora were Ottomanized in both the Paris and Morgan copies. This difference can be noticed easily by comparing the section of the “Divination of Ja῾far” which includes the divination of sixteen prophets with illustrations. In the Bodleian copy each prognostication is given along with an illustration which depicts that particular prophet’s shrine. In all of these representations, there are palm trees and/or typical vegetation of Baghdad’s climate (Bodl. Or 133, fol. 163v-169r). On the other side, the Ottoman counterpart of these scenes are dominated with cypress trees and purple flowers. Although the Morgan copy includes other types of trees as well, in the Paris copy, the cypress is the only type of three depicted in the entire section. (Suppl. Turc. 242 fol. 125v-133r; Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 123r-130v). It goes without saying that the change in flora is visible throughout the two Ottoman copies, and none of the two has palm trees in any of their illustrations. Moreover, each Ottoman counterpart of the illustrations of the Arabic original has more trees and therefore displays a greener environment.
Besides changing the elements of flora according to their own geographical and climatic conditions, Ottoman artists completely changed the way the buildings look. The architectural style throughout the illustrations of the Arabic copy differs from that of the two Ottoman copies. For instance, The Umayyad Mosque [Figure
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4]368 is one of the most famous buildings of the Islamic world, yet the Ottoman painter changed the appearance of the mosque by adding stylistic features of Ottoman architecture, and rendered this building as a sulṭānic Ottoman mosque.369 In both copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde, even in images that are very similar to the late-fourteenth-century Arabic prototype in terms of iconography, architecture is always depicted in the Ottoman style.370 Similarly, in the Miftāḥu’l-Cifri’l-Cāmiʻ (İÜK 6624), there is an illustration which depicts Jesus Christ descending from the sky above the Süleymaniye Mosque in Damascus.371 This shows the tendency for associating the apocalyptic moments with the recognizable landmarks that bear the characteristics of the Ottoman architectural forms. Once again, a particular scene was preferred to be depicted by adding stylistic elements that is peculiar to the Ottoman artistic tradition. Therefore, this attitude is not limited with the pictorial program of the Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde manuscripts.
The second type of difference is seen in the paintings where various elements were added or excluded yet the story still looks the same with the Arabic original. This can be explained in the illustration that shows the shrine of the prophet Ẕekeriyyā (Fāl-i Ẕekeriyyā Peyġāmber) [Figure 5]372 and the illustration of the baths of Tiberias (Ḥammām-ı Teberiya) [Figure 6].373
To begin with comparing the images that represent the shrine of prophet Ẕekeriyyā, recognizing the iconographical elements which relate to his story in the religious context is essential. According to the Islamic belief, Ẕekeriyyā (Zacharias
368 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 36v; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 77r; Morgan M. 788 fol. 76r
369 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 116
370 Aynur, Uğurlu, Osmanlı Mimarlık Kültürü; Kuban, Ottoman Architecture; Goodwin, A History of Ottoman Architecture.
371 İÜK 6624, f. 89v.
372 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 166r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 128r; Morgan M. 788 fol. 129v
373 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 35v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 82v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 74v
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in the New Testament and Zachariah in the Old Testament), the father of St. John the Baptist, died as a martyr. The Muslim legend narrates that prophet Ẕekeriyyā hid in a tree, which miraculously opened for him to hide in while he was escaping from his Jewish pursuers. However, the devil noticed that the hem of his cloak was protruding from the tree trunk and betrayed the prophet by pointing it to the pursuers. The legend ends with the death of Prophet Ẕekeriyyā as the tree was sawed into two by his enemies while he was still inside it. Therefore, in the Islamic iconography, the story of Prophet Ẕekeriyyā is expressed with the representation of a saw on a tree, or people sawing a tree into two. 374
The artists of the Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān preferred the former option in the image that depicts the prophet’s shrine. The Paris copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde lacks any additional sign that is associated with a certain prophet, rather, it solely depicts the symbolic shrines throughout this section. The painters of the Morgan copy on the other hand, followed the iconography that is found in the Arabic original and even added two figures sawing the tree. These are differences that basically can be explained as the artistic preferences of different artists, since additional elements did not change what the image connotes. Furthermore, in this painting, once again, we observe that the form of the building was entirely changed by the Ottoman artists, who followed the same structure in both copies of Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde.
Another example to the changes that the Ottoman painters made without changing the content is the painting of the “Baths of Tiberia”. 375 This is an image that displays the famous thermal baths of Tiberias (arab. Ḥammām-ı Teberiya, hebr.
374 Kathir, Stories of the Prophets; Milstein, Rührdanz, Schmitz, Stories of the Prophets: Illustrated Manuscripts of Qisas al-Anbiya.
375 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 138.
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Hamei Teverya), which is today located on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, in the city of Tiberias, in northeastern Israel. Besides having been one of the most fertile areas of the world since the ancient times, the city bears various symbolic values for the three main Abrahamic religions.376
In the Paris copy, the bath of Tiberias is located in an isolated, mountainous terrain, whereas the painters of the Morgan copy depicted the same hammam flanked by trees. Even while picturing this specific location, Ottoman painters of the Morgan copy did not use palm trees. Conversely, the comparable representation in the Paris copy depicts the hammam closer to its real topography. Thus, Ottoman artists were informed about the baths of Tiberias which must have been very well-known by the Arab geographers yet they did not depict the area of the hot springs exactly as it was. This also can be perceived from the resemblance of the building to the Ottoman hammam structures which have domes with bulbous glass inserts. It goes without saying that the artists who worked in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde project insisted on transforming the buildings into a form which appeals to the taste of the Ottomans.377
The most notable difference is that the baths of Tiberias is represented as an interior in the Arabic origin, whereas Ottoman copies show it from outside. The same transformation is visible in all of the illustrations that depict a church. Continuity of this transformation reveals that the Ottoman artists preferred to depict the buildings themselves instead of showing their interiors as the painters of the Kitāb al-Bulhān did. Other examples that show the exterior of architectures are the “Church of the Idol” (Şekl-i Kilise-i Ṣanem),378 “Church of the maidens” (Şekl-i Kilise-i Binat),379
376 “Sea of Galilee”, Encyclopedia Britannica.
377 Kafescioğlu, Constantinopolis/İstanbul, 103-109; Ergin, Anadolu Medeniyetlerinde Hamam Kültürü.
378 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 37v; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 78v; Morgan Ms. 788 fol. 78r
379 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 35r; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 82r; Morgan Ms. 788 fol.78v
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“Church of the raven” (Şekl-i Kilise-i Ġurāb).380 Whatever the intention behind this change was, the Ottoman manuscripts eventually recreated the scene without contradicting the title. Both the Arabic and Ottoman painters depicted the figure of half-naked jinns who guard the fire in the basement of the baths to stress the eternal, natural hot water that comes from the famous springs of Tiberias. Consequently, though they preferred to depict not the interior but the exterior of the buildings, the main elements of the composition were kept so as to connect to and visualize what was written in the title.
The third type of difference between the images of the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde covers the significant changes that created a contradiction with the given title or the stories they were supposed to display. This can be exemplified with the illustrations, “Sinbad and the old man of the sea” [Figure 7]381, “The Ship of Sorcerers” [Figure 8]382, “A man who had a family” (Ehl-i ῾İyāl Olan Kimesnenin Şeklidir) [Figure 9],383 “The lighthouse of Alexandria” (Şekl-i Menāre-i İskender) [Figure 10].384
Stefano Carboni interpreted the first scene, “Sinbad and the old man of the sea” [Figure 7] as a part of the Sinbad story, from The Thousand and One Nights based on the overlapping elements such as a young man carrying an old man, who has the body of a fish, a basket full with grapes and the wine tree.385 Additionally, “A valley of the diamonds and jewels” (Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 46v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 84v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 83v) and “City of Brass” (Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 45v) are also
380 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 37r; 78r; Morgan Ms. 788 fol. 80v
381 Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 43r; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 79r; Morgan M. 788 fol. 79r
382 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 42r; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 81r; Morgan M. 788 fol. 79v
383 Morgan M. 788 fol.76v, Suppl. Turc 242, fol.77v
384 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 36r; Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 76v
385 Mardrus, ed. by Mathers, The Book of The Thousand Nights and One Night, 299-302; Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 126
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recognizable from The Thousand and One Nights.386 However, the illustrations in the Ottoman copies do not seem to embrace the essential elements of these stories. Neither the Paris nor the Morgan copy includes the wine tree. Moreover, the corresponding painting in the Morgan copy appears to be repainted, since the creature does not have the face of an old man. To be more precise, in the Morgan copy, the face of the creature appears not to have been painted at the time the manuscript was copied and was later made by a different hand. While the painting was already lacking the wine tree, erasing the face of the old man is an interesting choice, since the composition ended up missing an essential element of the story.
The choice of remaking the face of the old man that is in shape of a fish can be explained as a need for showing originality. In the Qanun al-Suvar (Canons of Painting), Sadiqi Beg, the sixteenth-century Safavid court artist, notes that it is better to follow the lines of the old models while painting figures. However, if painting animals, creatures is the case, he suggests: “There is no swerving here from the principles established by the masters of old; here artful imitation (tetebbuʻ) is the way that must be pursued”.387 As the meaning of the originally Persian term tetebbuʻ is remembered, one can suggest that a creature, an animal should be repainted by following the technique used in the prototype but adding a little originality is essential. Consequently, this suggestion can explain why the Ottomans kept the shape of the animal the same but changed the face. As been mentioned earlier, the same preference can be seen through the paintings of the talismanic jinns. When the Ottoman versions are compared with those depicted in the Arabic original, the jinns that are present in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies follow the same bodily figuration in
386Marzolph, Leeuwen, and Wassouf. The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia, 30.
387 Dickson and Welch, “Appendix 1: Canons of Painting by Sadiqi Bek”, 262-5.
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the identical iconographical settings, especially in the Morgan copy, the faces were altered.
In both of the Ottoman copies, the illustrations for “The Ship of Sorcerers” [Figure 8] are similarly straying from the point of what was represented in the Arabic original. In the Bodleian copy, the scene must be alluding to a story that relates to sorcerers, who are aboard a ship. This illustration includes particular elements that are relevant to the caption. From the window of a building, a man with long horns is watching the ship where a man with a cape and pointed hat performs a sort of magic which creates flames in a bowl.388 However, none of the elements relating to sorcery is visible in the Ottoman copies. Although the caption remains the same, Paris and Morgan copies both depict a large sailing ship on a raging sea and a watchtower.
In the Bodleian copy, whether the building is an isolated watch tower or a part of a larger building is not clear. Ottoman painters of both of the copies made it clear that the building is a salmon-colored watchtower with a pointed roof. The illustration in the Paris copy shows a more decorated watchtower, fish in the raging sea and troubled sailors in the ship whereas the corresponding painting in the Morgan copy has a simpler building as the watchtower and depicts neither the fish nor the sailors. Because of an unknown reason, the Ottoman copies do not portray the sorcerer in the ship. Moreover, the painting of the Paris copy lacks a figure at the window of the watchtower, whereas that of the Morgan manuscript shows a bearded man with a turban, who seems quite ordinary compared to the mysterious look of the man with long horns in the Arabic original. The artists of the Ottoman copies were perhaps familiar with the story which may be ending with the destruction of the ship
388 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 132
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that is caught in a storm, since God punished the sorcerers in the ship. Another possibility is that they changed the scene to adopt to a specific augury which is now unknown to us. Therefore, the ship of sorcerers is a good example to show that perhaps the Ottoman artists who worked in each copy were keen to copy the paintings in their own style.
Lastly, an illustration in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (fol. 40r) shows a man remaining outside the entryway of his home conversing with somebody holding a piece of paper. Overall, the scene might be perused as the narrative of a man who has asked a doctor to cure his sickly kid. The other half of the scene shows a woman, presumably his wife, a newborn child and a cat on the upper floor of a house [Figure 11]. However, the Paris copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde lacks the figure of the man, although the caption is exactly the same with that of the Arabic original, “A man who had a family” (Ehl-i ῾İyāl Olan Kimesnenin Şeklidir). Carboni (2007) asserts that the absence of the man in the Ottoman manuscripts must be the result of the unfamiliarity of the Ottoman painter with the correct version of the story: 389
The painter of the Ottoman copy has apparently misunderstood the meaning of the story transmitted by the Kitāb al-Bulhān to the point that the figures of the two men seem to have disappeared and the family is composed only by women and a larger number of children. Outside the house are two adult characters, easily recognizable as women, each holding an infant child. … Three women and ten children can hardly tell the same story represented in the Kitāb al-Bulhān but this is probably a case of free interpretation by the Ottoman artist who did not recognize the original account.
This statement may be correct yet there may also be another reason for making these changes. Carboni neglects the fact that the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde were twin books prepared for the daughters of the sulṭān, therefore did not mention the
389 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 118.
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possibility that the Ottoman painters might have omitted the male figure on purpose. To illustrate, a copy of the Yūsuf u Züleyhā ascribed to 1580 has been argued to be owned by a royal woman, probably once again the daughter of a sulṭān, since it unusually delineates scenes as much from Züleyhā’s life as from Yūsuf 's, as if the aim was giving more space to Züleyhā.390 Thus, the scene in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde (Morgan fol. 76v, Paris fol. 77v) could be aiming to transmit the story by showing only the female members of the family. The two Ottoman copies may be differing from their original, Kitāb al-Bulhān, in terms of such details since they were produced for royal women.
The painting of “The lighthouse of Alexandria” (Şekl-i Menāre-i İskender) [Figure 10] is depicted in a different way than the one found in the Bodleian copy of Kitāb al-Bulhān (fol. 36r). Apart from representing the legendary lighthouse, the Arabic copy might have been referring to a certain event or a legend, since there is a woman with red lips and a white headdress, standing at the top of the tower. However, in both of the Ottoman copies, two men standing on either side on the top of the tower, looking at the solar disk above them while at the background there is a fortified city which resembles medieval European architecture. Carboni does not mention the presence of the woman at the top of the lighthouse. Her role in the story which is expressed only through the image in the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the reason why the Ottoman painters excluded her are unknown.391
The obvious and apparently intentional changes that had been made in the composition of these last three images (“The Ship of Sorcerers”, “A man who had a
390 DCBL, No. 428; And, Minyatürlerle Osmanlı-İslam Mitologyası; 408-21; Bağcı, [et al.] Ottoman Painting, 190; Minorsky, Wilkinson, The Chester Beatty Library: A Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts and Miniatures, 1958.
391 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 114.
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family”, “The lighthouse of Alexandria”) do not suggest that the Ottoman artists were unfamiliar with these scenes. Overall, this is an unusual artistic attitude, however it is not peculiar to the Ottoman artists. For example, among the illustrations of a copy of the Khamse by Niẓāmī that is preserved in the State Hermitage Museum (Inv.no. VP-1000, dated 16 December 1431), there are a number of full-page images which present compositional variations instead of showing the usual treatment. In some of the paintings, the position of the figures was changed whereas some of them lacks the common iconographical elements. A. Adamova who examined and compared the illustrations of this Timurid copy with those of other identical Khamse copies, reached a conclusion that the painter of the Hermitage copy of Khamse “… sought to demonstrate his skill in repeating models with varying degrees of exactitude. He also showed that he was able to invent new compositions for the most popular subjects”.392 I think this statement also explains the alterations that had been made in the above mentioned illustrations of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde.
Comparison between the content of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde and the Kitāb al-Bulhān copies presents how the vocabulary of the sixteenth-century Ottoman visual codes differs from that of its fourteenth century Jalayirid original. Apparently, all these alterations that have been made by the Ottoman artists, largely stem from the need for adopting the environmental elements to the Ottoman culture and artistic choices of the painters who wished to prove that their training was good enough to adopt the old themes to a new trend. However, the visual transformation that the images of the Kitāb al-Bulhān underwent needs to be analyzed also by considering the possible functions of these images.
392 Adamova, “Repetition of Compositions in Manuscripts”, 69.
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4.5 Paintings for Prognostication (Bodleian Or. 133, fol. 35v-50v; Paris Suppl. Turc. fol. 75v-85v; Morgan M. 788, fol.74r-83v)
The Ḳur’ān, Ḳıṣāṣ al-Anbiyā (Stories of Prophets),393 and well-known Arab and Persian epics such as Şehnāme (Book of Kings), or tales from Kelīle ve Dimne, The Thousand and One Nights could have provided models for the Ottoman artists while adopting the illustrations that had been made in the Arabic compendium, Kitāb al-Bulhān. Stefano Carboni also suggests that the section that is present in the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān and was recreated in both of the two Ottoman copies, might have been meant to express moral advice through the scenes referring to well-known legends. And perhaps they might just be illustrating the wonders of the world along with the myths.394
This argument is acceptable. I also suggest that the full-page paintings without a related text could have been transformed by the Ottomans to serve as images for prognostication. In the Arabic prototype, the impetus behind the creation of this section may have been to introduce the wonders of the world, which had been mentioned in various legends and myths, as Carboni has suggested. Nonetheless, since there was no text relating to a story, Ottoman artists may have decided that this section could function as a means for prognostication. Therefore, each of these full-page illustrations may have been revised and reorganized to express some allegorical meaning.
We have evidence for the Ottomans’ familiarity with the Persian fālnāme tradition. The Topkapı Museum Library houses two monumental fālnāmes, H1702 (Topkapı Persian Fālnāme) and H1703 (the Fālnāme for Aḥmed I). In addition,
393 Milstein, Rührdanz, Schmitz, Stories of the Prophets.
394 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 108-146; Carboni, Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, 61-70.
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Hüseyin Kefevī’, who was the author of the Rāznāme written during the reign of Murād III, stated in his book that attributing meanings to the verses of widely known poets and using them for fortune telling was a highly popular leisure activity in İstanbul.395
Evliyā’ Çelebi (ca. 1611-84) also mentions an old image reader (falciyan-ı muṣavver), Ḫōca Muḥammed Çelebi, who had a shop at Maḥmūd Paşa Bazaar, in İstanbul. Ḫōca Muḥammad Çelebi was quite an old man who may even have had the chance to meet Suleymān I. Evliyā’ Çelebi describes that he was displaying various paintings on his shop window. These were the images that were painted on large papers by old masters and depicted “all wrestlers (pehlivān), predecessor sulṭāns, prophets and countless fortresses, war and combat scenes, sea battles with lots of vessels, in marvelous places (ʻaġrāb u ġarāʻib). By paying one silver coin (bir akçe), the customers were choosing a random image and Ḫōca Muḥammad Çelebi was interpreting the related omen to these selected images by reciting a convenient rhyme, such as, “the augury seeker took the image of Ferhād / you will be elated if you work hard.” (“…fāl ıssına geldi işte Ferhād, çalışmaḳla olursun sen de dilşād”). In addition to being used as allusions to auguries, Mehmed Çelebi also used these paintings as tools for entertainment. Evliyā’ Çelebi asserts that sometimes Muḥammad Çelebi recited humorous verses which proved to be amusing for both the augury seeker and everyone who heard it. Moreover, this old image-reader was even taking these images to the sulṭān and on his way publicly exhibiting them on a palanquin. Lastly, Evliyā’ Çelebi stated that, in his day, the mimics (muḳalled) of İstanbul were still reciting Muḥammad Çelebi’s verses to make the audience laugh.
395 Renda, “Ottoman Painting in the Sixteenth Century”, 57-8.
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. . . cümle pehlivānlarıñ ve selef pādişāhlarınıñ ve niçe Mürsel peyġāmberleriñ ve bi-ḥisab ḳal’alarıñ ceng-i cidāllerin ve deryāda keştīleriñ aġrab ü ġarāyibden ḥarb [ü] ḳıtāllerin evāyil-i eyyām üstādlarınıñ siḥr-i iġcāz ve pesendīde ketebeli ḳalemleriyle iri İslāmbol ṭabaḳı kāġız cirmler üzre yazılmış taṣvīrleri cild cild rūy-i dükkānına dizüp āyende ve revende gelüp ṭaliʻ dutup bir aḳça verüp bu taṣvīrlerden fal açup “Ceng [ü] cidāl mi gelür yāḫūd Yūsuf ü Züleyhā mı gelür yā Leylī ü Mecnūn ve Ferhād ü Şirīn ve Rakkā-i Gül-i Şāh mı veyā selef-i ṣāhib-kırānlarınıñ birbirleriyle muḫāsemeti ve ‘ayş [ü] ‘işretleri gelüp aña göre bu fāl ıssına geldi işte Ferhād, çalışmaḳla olursun sen de dilşād” diyü her taṣvīrlere münāṣīb ‘indiyyāt-ı ebyat-ı eşʻarlar oḳırdı kim istimā‘ ideniñ gülmede ‘aḳlı giderdi. Ol pīr anıñla kār iderdi. Kāhīce bu ṣūretlerle pādişāha giderdi. Bu daḫı bir taḫt-ı revān üzre ṣūretlerin ḫalḳa gösterüp alayda giderdi. Hālā İslāmbol muḳallidleri içre bu taṣvīr fālcısınıñ ‘indiyāt ġazelleri gūnā-gūn evżāʻ [u] eṭvārlarıyla taḳlīd iderler kim niçe biñ gūne muḍḥik kelāmlardır.396
In Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde and Kitāb al-Bulhān, there is a section which includes full-page paintings with titles. None of these paintings have a text in company. Most of these scenes are found in the above mentioned monumental fālnāmes. For example, evidence in the Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme and the two Topkapı fālnāmes show that the scenes from the life of İskender (Zū’lḳarneyn) are largely used in the tradition of image-reading. The paintings that depict İskender building a wall against of Gog and Magog and İskender and the Talking Tree (H1703, fol. 38r-37v) were used to serve as auguries. In the two monumental fālnāmes from the Topkapı Museum Library, there are various scenes relating to the stories about İskender, which depict, Dara’s Death, İskender building a wall against of Gog and Magog, İskender and the Talking Tree (H1703, fol. 38r-37v), İskender’s Death (H1703, fol, 26r-25v). “The Wall against of Gog and Magog” [Figure 12]397 also take place in the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān and in both copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. The illustrations of the myth of Gog and Magog (fol. 38r) are also visible in one of the pages of the Ṭahmāsp
396 Evliya Çelebi, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, 292.; Bağcı, “Images for Foretelling,” 237-8.
397 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 38r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 76r; Morgan M. 788 fol. 77r. Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 112.
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Fālnāme (so called Dispersed Fālnāme)398 and in the Persian bound copy in the Topkapı Library (H.1702, fol. 20b).399 Divination text of the Topkapı Persian Fālnāme for this image, (TSML H1702, fol. 21a-20b) [Figure 13] is read as:
Whatever intention you have made, it is extremely unfavorable; you must be cautious because this omen is troubling. By any means, you must avoid conversing with evil people and keeping company with villains.400
The same interpretation may be used in the case of Gog and Magog scenes which are also found in the Kitāb al-Bulhān and Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde copies.
Both Carboni who examined the Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Paris copy of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde and Schmitz who catalogued the paintings of the Morgan copy asserted that although the section of full-page paintings was used to serve as wonderous events and legends, stories of some of the scenes are not recognizable from any known legends. Moreover, they stated that if these scenes were supposed to carry any moral advice, it is not easy to determine their hidden message. When the elements of a particular painting do not fit into any folk tale or religious narrative, one should keep in mind that the paintings in the fālnāme genre were intentionally symbolic. These paintings may not necessarily have been alluding to already existing buildings and places, which were associated with some marvelous events. Therefore, like some paintings that had been used in the fālnāme tradition, this section of the Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde (Kitāb al-Bulhān, Bodleian Or. 133, fol. 35v-50v; Maṭāliʻü’s-saʻāde, Paris Suppl Turc. fol. 75v-85v; Morgan M. 788, fol.74r-83v) may have been created in such a way as to correspond to metaphorical meanings.
398 verso-image: Dublin Chester Beatty Library, recto-text: Alessandro Bruschettini Collection, Genoa, Italy; Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 44.
399 Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 24.
400 TSMK H1702, fol. 21r.; Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 274.
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For example, Carboni states that the miracle of “The Church of Idolatry” (Şekl-i Kilise-i Ṣanem) [Figure 11]401 is not recognizable from any legend and if it is meant to represent an existing place, the location is vague.402 An image that resembles the Church of the Idolatry (fol. 37v) from the Copenhagen, David Collection, is thought to have been extracted from the Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme and bears the title, “Azure Monastery”.403 An intentional symbolism can be traced from the iconography of this painting, which represents the worship of three golden idols in an imaginary monastery by figures in different outfits which seem to represent members of various religions. These idols resemble Buddhist and Hindu sculptures and it is not easy to identify the worshippers from their garments. One is on his knees; another is curled up on the floor while the others are standing. The scene seems to depict several forms of worshipping through differing attitudes of the figures. The atmosphere created through the motif of the Azure Monastery may recall a peaceful environment that welcomes heterodoxy. However, the omen of this image is bad and it actually advices the augury seeker to avoid any kind of idolatry as can be understood from its text: “Beware, a thousand times beware, turn away from this intent that you have formed, and occupy yourself with another thought, since this augury is extremely bad and has come up bad for all activities.”404
Another specific example can be given with the painting that has the title of the “Circuit of Kaaba” in the Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme.405 The monument in the painting does not resemble the structure of the Kaaba. However, the augury of the painting explains
401 Bodleian Or. 133 fol. 37v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 78v
402 Carboni, “Description of the Miniatures”, 122
403 Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 150-151.
404 Thackston and Tourkin, “Appendix A: Reproductions and Translations of the Dispersed Falnama, H.1702, and H.1703”, 259.
405 Musées d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, 1971-107/37; Bağcı and Farhad, Falnama: The Book of Omens, 144-5.
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this by emphasizing the intentional symbolism in the pictorial program of the fālnāme tradition. According to the augury, the purpose is to imply both the Kaaba in Mecca and the shrine of ʻAlī in Najaf and furthermore the shrines of the imams by representing an imaginary structure that can refer to them all. Thus, the depicted monument is not in the physical world but in the reader’s mind and heart. The augury starts as: “In the opinion of a learned man, the circuit of the Kaaba of the heart is better than the circuit of the Kaaba of clay – you should know this …” and continues: “… in these days, you have good intents in your heart, such as circuiting the Kaaba and visiting the shrine of the Prophet and the holy imams - upon them be mercy and peace - and almsgiving and charity, or you dream that you are occupied with these matters.”406
The motivation for representing the scenes with metaphorical meanings can be the reason why both of the Ottoman copies of Matāliʻü’s-sa‘āde show intricately depicted architectural structures which strayed from the actual look of the monuments they were referring to. In the illustrations that represent the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Umayyad Mosque, the structures are depicted with care by paying attention to details, but neither of them necessarily resembles the authentic look of these monuments. This may be because the point of this overall section was not simply introducing the wonders and marvels. Consequently, considering this section as a form of prognostication makes even more sense, since fālnāme paintings also apply to curious alterations in iconography which makes the meaning vague. Additionally, not only the scenes from well-known legends but also scenes from everyday life could be used to carry a symbolic meaning in the fālnāme paintings.
406 Thackston and Tourkin, “Appendix A: Reproductions and Translations of the Dispersed Falnama, H.1702, and H.1703”, 261.
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Although the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde seem to be composed of separate compendiums that give various information from different branches of science, all of the sections are related to one another. The scientific treatises that start with information about astrology and the celestial sphere should be evaluated together with the second part of the compendium which deals with prognostication. Information given in the astrological treatises are strongly tied with the content of prophets’ divination texts as well as with the talismanic images in between. When the allegorical meaning of each talismanic image in the Islamic tradition is examined and the divination texts that were written for each prophet is read one by one, we can see that the talismanic jinns are associated with a particular zodiac sign and each prophet is associated with a different planet according to his miracles, teachings and fate.
If the first section in the Kitāb al-Bulhān and therefore in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies are examined by paying attention to particular features of each of the zodiac signs, one can understand why each of the talismanic jinns as well as the prophets are associated with a specific zodiac sign. In the section that presents divination texts, each of the sixteen prophets are praised along with a certain advice to the augury seeker. Throughout the section of prophets’ prognostication, portent of things to occur is not only expressed with image of their shrines and the text for augury. On each page, a basic drawing of a geomantic sign, which is a basic drawing with dots and lines, is placed at the right side, below the image of the shrine. Each of these auguries must have been written by considering the moral advice that has been expressed through the mission carried by that prophet and his fate. All of these texts attribute a specific ruler planet, a zodiac sign, a day of the week and one of the sixteen houses that must have symbolized a certain meaning in Islamic astrology
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(Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 163v-169r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 125v-133r; Morgan MS 788, fol. 123r-130v).
To make the statement clear, I made a table which shows the sixteen prophets with the planets and zodiac signs they were related to. All this information is listed according to the texts written in the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies.407 I will deal with the case of prophet Yūsuf as an example, and try to analyze why the prophet Yūsuf might be associated with the first of the zodiac signs, Aries (Ḥaml), which is ruled by the planet Mars (Merrīḫ).408 The symbolic meaning of the planet Mars and then the story of prophet Yūsuf should be learnt to follow the possible connotation chain between the two, in the Islamic tradition.
The two Topkapı fālnāmes include representations of the planet Mars (Merrīḫ) (H1703 Fālnāme, fol. 30v and in H1702 Fālnāme, fol. 6v). Both fālnāmes represent the planet as a malevolent star with the image of a warrior who holds a sword in one hand and the head of a human in the other hand. In Aḥmed I’s Fālnāme (H1703, fol. 31r), the planet Mars is described as “the executioner of the celestial sphere”. In the Topkapı Persian Fālnāme (H1702, fol. 7r), the augury that is presented next to the image of the planet underlines that it symbolizes damage and lost yet reminds the importance of being patient. The advice given here to the augury seeker who opened the page of the planet Mars is: “You must wait with your intention and must not hurry … all your circumstances will be revealed to you in triumph and splendor, and you will be secure from all calamities and grief”.409 In the Kitāb al-Bulhān and in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, divination text of prophet Yūsuf similarly indicates “abundance of grief and sorrow”. However, at the end, it is
407 Appendix A, Table 3. 408 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 167r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol.129r; Morgan M. 788, fol. 126v
409 TSMK, H1702, fol. 7r; Bağcı, “Images for Foretelling”, 235-269.
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advised: “However painful patience might be at first, at the end it is sweeter than candy”.410
Overall, there is a clear reason why Yūsuf is related with the planet Mars and the horoscope Aries. The clue is hidden in his life story which starts with sorrow and grief as his brothers abandoned him in a well and continues with long-time struggle since he was firstly praised then prisoned in Egypt. Eventually, he achieves a great success and becomes a ruler who is strong enough to take a revenge on his brothers. The story ends with his reunion with his father and brothers and altogether they live in prosperity.411 Different stages in the life of a prophet is given with different meanings in the monumental fālnāmes. For example, if the prison of Yūsuf (“Joseph in the pit”) appears as one’s augury, it is interpreted as a sign for difficulties, obstacles in life and importance of waiting patiently412. However, if the scene is “Joseph Enthroned with His Brothers in Egypt”,413 it is the sign of wealth and victory. Therefore, the prognostication given in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies were composed by considering the sum of a prophet’s life to emphasize a certain advise, and the most convenient planet to symbolize their story was added to the content.
The same formula can be used for all other prophets while interpreting their relation with the planet and the zodiac sign which was attributed to them. Solomon is related to the Moon (Ḳamer) which symbolizes sacred knowledge, hidden things and mysteries; or prophet Ẕekeriyyā, whose martyrdom was narrated above, is related to the cruel planet Saturn (Zuhal) which is described as “the greatest misfortune” in the
410 Dedes, “Translation of the Ottoman Text”, 407; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 129r; Morgan M. 788, fol. 126v.
411 Kathir, Stories of the Prophets, 2003.
412 TSMK, H1703, fol. 37r-36v; TSMK, H1702, fol. 37r-36v
413 Ṭahmāsp Fālnāme, recto-text: Copenhagen, David Collection; verso-image: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington D.C.
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H1703 fālnāme (fol. 29r-28v). When the auguries for prophets, celestial sphere, and the planets that take place in the two Topkapı fālnāmes are read carefully, one notices that the interpretations overlap with the prognostication that is presented in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 163v-169r). As it is compared with the same section of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, one can also see that nearly two centuries after, the Ottomans copied this section exactly as it was, without changing a word.414
In the Kitāb al-Bulhān and in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, occupations were also associated with the zodiac signs and their ruler planets. Mars (Merrīḫ) is the symbol of power, destruction, struggle. Besides, the element of the planet is noted as fire. Therefore, the planet Mars and the zodiac sign it rules, Aries (Ḥaml), are associated with occupations such as lion-tamer (arslancı), torchbearer (meşʻaleci), stoker (ateşçi), farrier (nalbend), glazier (sırçacı), butcher (ḳaṣṣāb), executioner (cellād).415 It goes without saying that the section that illustrates the professions, or so-called “planet-children”, are closely related with the astrological information. Not only the professions or prophets’ divination texts but also the talismans are associated with planets and their zodiac signs. The talismanic images do not include any text, therefore, unlike to the table that shows the association of planets with the sixteen prophets (Appendix A Table 3), the table I present for talismanic demons (Appendix A Table 4) is not made out of the information I took directly from the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies. This table is composed by applying to the information given in Stefano Carboni’s research on talismanic jinns which are found in the
414 Suppl. Turc 242, fol.125v-132v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 123r-130v. 415 Bodleian copy, fol. 26r-25v; Paris fol. 32v-33r; Morgan copy, fol. 31v-32r. The figures who are occupied in different branches here, were examined briefly as the allegories of the planets’ children. See Baer, “Representation of Planet Children in Turkish Manuscripts”, 526-33.
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Bodleian Kitāb al-Bulhān. According to his research, some of the talismanic jinns are associated with a planet, a metal, a day of the week and a winged angel.416
In the Kitāb al-Bulhān and in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, there are eleven talisman images. One of them is the Red King (Al-Melīk al-Aḥmer) who is associated with the planet Mars.417 The planet Mars (Merrīḫ) has also been named as the red (al-Aḥmer) planet418 in the Islamic tradition. That is why the talismanic jinn that is called the Red King (Al-Melīk al-Aḥmer) is symbolized with red color and depicted as a creature riding a lion while holding a sword in one hand and the head of a human in the other hand. The same iconography is applied in depiction of the zodiac sign, Aries (Ḥaml) which is ruled by the planet Mars.419 Consequently, the impersonations of the horoscope Aries (Ḥaml) and of the Red King (Al-Melīk al-Aḥmer), which are illustrated in the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies follow the same iconography as the illustrations of the planet Mars that are found in the two Topkapı fālnāmes [Figure 14-Figure 15].
That is to say, Islamic astrology serves as a certain metanarrative whose analysis would facilitate iconographical readings of Islamic art, and Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde is a perfect example of this relationship. Treatises in divinatory writing (melheme), physiognomy (firāset), professions and even the prophecies that relate to each of the sixteen prophets and talismans are strongly tied with the information provided through the section on astrology at the very beginning of the book. Consequently, a broader examination for the texts of this compendium, is highly
416 Appendix A, Table 4. Carboni, Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, 47-61. 417 Bodleian copy, fol. 31r; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 88v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 88v; Carboni, Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, 49-50.
418 The planet Mars is also named as “merrīh, naḥs-ı aṣġar, cellād-ı felek, behrām, el-aḥmer”. Unat, “Yıldız”, İslam Ansiklopedisi, 536.
419 Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 2v; Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 8v; Morgan M. 788, fol. 7v.
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necessary to interpret the meaning of the images and the content of the prognostication. The analysis of the text should be made by considering the sections on astrology and those of divination as a whole, as the fragments of the same metanarrative.
To sum up, in the twin books of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde, the treatises are given in the same order and the sections with full-page images follow the same iconography with a few exceptions. These differences are most probably the result of the interventions that were made on the paintings of the Morgan copy at an unknown date. The two Ottoman copies seem to be illustrated by different groups of artists since the faces, size of the figures, the shape of background elements such as mountains, trees, castles look different. Moreover, in the Morgan copy’s paintings, the use of vivid, bright tones is more intense and the emphasized gold color in each of them makes the entire book look more luxurious than the Paris manuscript.
When the illustrations are compared with the corresponding ones in the Arabic original, it is easy to notice that the flora and architectures had been adopted to the Ottoman visual culture and especially the paintings of architectures were meticulously made in both copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. Other than that, Ottomans might have intentionally changed the story of a number of paintings and both copies exclude the same sections and the same paintings in a particular section. The reason for the absence of the mentioned sections might have been unfamiliarity of the contemporary Ottomans. It can also be suggested that the information given was found outdated or unnecessary. In case of the full-page paintings that comes at the end of the scientific treatises and before the section of talismanic images, their function may be representing wonders of the world and scenes from the well-known legends. However, as I have argued, the Ottomans may have aimed to use those for
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fortunetelling, therefore made some changes on the illustrations they copied and excluded ones that do not correspond to any meaning in their tradition of image-reading.
The exchange of the images and their visual translation from one culture into the another was a common practice throughout the history of the Islamic art. Refashioning an already available manuscript was provided through the adaptation of the existing prototype to the visual language of the receiving milieu.420 In both of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, tendency to represent the architectural elements by using the Ottoman artistic forms, to transform the palm trees that are present in the scenes of the Arabic original into the cypress trees421 or redressing the clothing and manner (kiyāfet) of the figures in the Ottoman Turkish style clearly show that illustrations were translated as much as the text itself.
420 Bağcı, “From Translated Word to Translated Images”, 162-176.
421 Atasoy, A Garden for the Sultan; Andrews, “Gardens -Real and Imagined”, 91-115; Necipoğlu, “The Suburban Landscape of the Sixteenth Century Istanbul”, 32-71.
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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
My research has focused on the story of the two illustrated Ottoman copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde (1582) manuscripts. Having been produced as luxurious gifts from the sulṭān Murād III (r. 1574-1595) to his daughters, ῾Āyşe Sulṭān (d. 1605) and Fāṭima Sulṭān (d. 1617), the two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde are identical books on occult knowledge which include various treatises on astrology and prognostication. ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s copy is named as Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde ve menābiʻü’s-siyāde (Morgan MS M. 788) whereas Fāṭima Sulṭān’s copy bears the title, Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde ve yenābiʻüʼs-siyāde (Paris Suppl. Turc 242). The full title of the books can be translated as, The Ascensions of Felicity and the Sources of Sovereignty.
Seyyid Muḥammad ibn Amir Ḥasan al-Su῾ūdī (d. 1591) is mentioned both as the author, and the translator of these books from the Arabic original, the large miscellany titled Kitāb al-Bulhān. The Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies are almost identical to a-14th century-Jalayirid copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133). The first section of the Arabic compendium is a compilation of various scientific treatises such as astrology, oneiromancy, physiognomy etc., whereas the second section presents several methods for fortunetelling.
The main concern of this study has been not only providing a brief comparative study between the twin books of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde and their Arabic prototype, the Kitāb al-Bulhān, but also trying to find an explanation for the intention behind the production of these twin books. This latter question has guided my
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research. To this end, I have introduced the twin books by briefly comparing them with their Arabic original, Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133).
My study is shaped in three main sections. The first step was to present the cultural and political circumstances that might have led the sulṭān Murād III to manifest himself as a ruler who contributed to astrological research even more than his predecessors and led him to promote book production. I explored the representation of Murād III in the imperial Şehinşehnāme (İÜK FY 1404) as a wise ruler who encouraged Taḳıyyuddīn’s research and argued that Murād III’s commission for the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, which are composed of astrology and prognostication could not be a coincidence. I also underlined that the completion date of these books is particularly interesting. It has always been suggested that the books must have been planned to be completed in 1582, because they might have been planned to be presented to the princesses during the circumcision festival of their bother and the young heir, who would later reign as Mehmed III. However, this date also corresponds to a significant celestial event. Like the Mughal leader Akbar, Murād III might have been informed that the year 1582-3 (990-1) was a significant time because of the great Jupiter and Saturn conjunction, whose effects had been assumed to herald an apocalyptic transformation that would lead to a big turning point in the world history.422
Thus, regarding the content and the completion date (1582) of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies, one wonders whether there was a connection between the commission of these books and the approaching Great Conjunction. While I have suggested such a connection, in order to enlarge the argument that the production of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies may have been linked to the contemporary concerns about the
422 Rice, “Cosmic Sympathies”, 93
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expected Great Saturn-Jupiter Conjunction, the possible impact of the Conjunctionist theories on the contemporary Ottoman society should be further questioned. A close reading of the book’s section on astrology by searching for relevant points with the research made in Istanbul observatory and by considering Conjunctionist theories of Abū Maʻshar, can enlarge the story of the book in future.
The second step of my research was to provide a background information about the contemporary harem women’s possible interests in the occult sciences and related books. Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde is the only version of its kind as a book directly dedicated to the daughters of a sulṭān. Thus, I argued that imperial women might have played a role in the increased commissions of imperial books during the reign of Murād III. For this purpose, I presented the library catalogues of contemporary royal women, Nurbānū Sulṭān (d. 1583) and İsmihan Sulṭān (d.1585). The presence of the books on Ḳur’ānic sciences such as ʻilm-i ledün, ʻilm-i hurūf or on dream interpretation, prognostication may at least give clues about their possible interest also in the occult sciences. Therefore, one thinks that the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde project also might have been conducted on the request of the queen mother Nurbānū Sulṭān or Safiye Sulṭān (d. 1619) although none of these names are mentioned in Su῾ūdī’s preface.
To my knowledge, information about the princesses to whom the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies are dedicated is limited. The endowment deeds of ῾Āyşe Sulṭān and Fāṭima Sulṭān give an idea about their lives and aspirations. I think ῾Āyşe Sulṭān’s testament is an especially interesting document on its own, since it expresses the last request of an Ottoman princess who describes how she wants her own funeral to be. The document shows that she was well-informed about prayers. Moreover, she emphasized how many times the prayers should be read before and during her
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funeral and what items should be used during the ritual that she wished to be performed forty days after her death, as well as their quantities. Both the endowment deeds of her waqf and her testament are worth further investigation.
At the third step, I briefly described the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde copies and discussed them in relation to questions of genre. I suggested that the project might have been planned to create a simplified and partly updated version of the Kitāb al-Bulhān which was a kind of encyclopedia that is composed of diverse scientific fields that relate to one another through astrological information. However, this last chapter only dealt with the second part of the book that includes full-page paintings, (Bodleian Or. 133, fol. 35v-50v; Paris Suppl. Turc. fol. 75v-85v; Morgan M. 788, fol.74r-83v), which I argued to be illustrated auguries utilized for several methods of fortunetelling. The section that represents the divination texts of the sixteen prophets is particularly interesting, since it identifies each prophet with a planet and a related zodiac sign. Furthermore, the function of the talismanic jinns (Paris Suppl Turc. fol. 85r-90r; Morgan M. 788, fol. 84r-89r) that look almost entirely identical to those in the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 28r-33r) and follow similar iconography with those found in another manuscript, Kitāb al-Mavālid (BnF Arabe 2583) remains a mystery. In the Kitāb al-Bulhān and the Matāli’ü’s-sa’āde, not only the prophets but also these talismanic jinns are associated with certain planets and zodiac signs.
My research did not go into the details of astrological tables of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. The Book of Felicity (2007) which is the only book-length study of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde also includes an iconographical and stylistic analysis of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde by Stefano Carboni, who had examined the content of Kitāb al-Bulhān in his master’s thesis, Il Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, published in 1988. Moreover, Yorgos Dedes translated the entire book into English in the volume The
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Book of Felicity (ed. M. Moleiro), yet since then no other close reading was suggested for its texts. Furthermore, transcription of the Ottoman text is not currently available. In my study, all of the transcribed excerpts from the two copies of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde and those from the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān were provided by myself.
The astrological tables have so far not been made the subject of scrutiny.
Authors of The Book of Felicity also do not offer any iconographical analysis for the illustrations of the twenty-eight mansions of the moon. The pictorial program of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde is rare within the medieval and early modern Islamic manuscripts in terms of the presence of mansions of the moon. Besides, the tables on astrology as well as other various branches of science with and without illustrations (grouped between 8v-66v and 68r-75r) have not been analyzed in an in-depth manner so far. Astrological tables including the mansions of the moon are certainly waiting for further study. What has been studied so far about this manuscript is the illustrated zodiac signs and division of labors regarding to horoscopes.423 Other than that, full-page paintings of demons with talismans had been subject to Carboni’s aforementioned master’s thesis, Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford. Therefore, tables on astrology as well as other various branches of science with and without illustrations (grouped between 8v-66v and 68r-75r) needs to be studied. On the whole, a much more detailed comparative analysis between the Kitāb al-Bulhān (Bodl. Or. 133) and the twin books of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde in terms of their approach to astrology (ʻilm-i nucūm) can be conducted.
423 Carboni, Il Kitāb al-Bulhān di Oxford, Turin: 1988; Baer, "Representation of Planet-Children in Turkish Manuscripts", 526-33; Rice, “The Seasons and the Labors of the Months in Islamic Art”, 1-39; Süslü, Urfalıoğlu, “Bir Osmanlı El Yazmasına Göre XVI. Yüzyıl Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Meslekler”, 2868-2878.
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I tried to explore the process of visual translation the paintings of the Arabic prototype underwent when the Ottoman artists recreated them in the twin books of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde. The translation process needs to be discussed in more detail. It must be analyzed in terms of textual and visual inclusions and exclusions, in terms of the visual translation of particular images, and in terms of the implications of the different routes taken in the Ottoman manuscripts. It should be questioned whether the astrological tables of the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde manuscripts were directly copied from those of the Kitāb al-Bulhān without any alteration during the translation project and if there are any, these differences should be specified. Other than that exclusion of the constellation images of the Bodleian copy of the Kitāb al-Bulhān remains as a particularly interesting detail. As I argued here, the reason for their exclusion may be because the Ottoman court artists were tasked to create a simplified adaptation of the Arabic original. However, a scrutiny of the pictorial programs of other contemporary Ottoman manuscripts may provide other possible answers on the function of constellation images.
Exploring the allegorical meanings of the talismanic jinns and conducting an iconographical analysis which include the relation of the prophets and saints with the planets are also important. Especially, the connection between the prophets and planets can be explored by further study of other Ottoman and Arabic manuscripts to see whether they include similar examples. I think that such a research would add an interesting dimension to the iconographical analysis of the prophets and talismanic images in Islamic art.
Overall, the Maṭāliʻü’s-sa‘āde project is an example of the rising interest in the astrology and prognostication in the sixteenth-century Ottoman Empire. Further
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scrutiny of the translation process of these twin books may shed light on their significance in the context of the arts of the books as well as the history of science.
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APPENDIX A
Table 1. Images That Are Absent in The Bodleian Copy
Suppl. Turc 242
Morgan Ms. 788
Taurus
8v
7v
Phases of the Moon
69r
-
Direction of The Ḳible
74v
73v
Tomb of Muḥammad
75r
74r
Kingdom of Apes
83r
75r
Golden King
87v
86v
White King
88r
88r
The Laughing Snake
90v
89v
Divination of Moses
130r
123v
Divination of Elias
130v
127r
Divination of Jacob
131r
127v
Divination of Solomon
131v
128r
146
Table 2. Images That Are Absent in Ottoman Copies
Bodl. Or. 133
A Devotee at the Temple of Ahmin
29r
Portrait of Abū Ma῾shar
34r
Rainbow and planets
34v
Tree of Waqwaq
41v
Itinerant and the City of Brass
45v
Waxing and Waning of The Moon
50r
Compassion of the Victor
50v
147
Table 3. Features of The Sixteen Prophets
The Name of the Prophet
House of the Zodiac
Sign of the zodiac
Planet
Day of the Week
Şuʻayb
1st house
Sagittarius
Jupiter
Saturday
Jesus (Īṣā)
2nd house
Leo
Sun
Sunday
George (Cercīs)
3rd house
-
-
-
Jonah (Yūnus)
4th house
Virgo
Mercury
Wednesday
Noah (Nūh)
5th house
Libra
Venus
Friday
Zacharia (Zekeriyyā)
6th house
Capricorn
Saturn
Saturday
John (Yahyā)
7th house
Aquarius
Saturn
Saturday
Joseph (Yūsuf )
8th
House
Aries
Mars
Thursday
David (Dāvūd)
9th house
Cancer
Moon
Monday
Moses (Mūṣā)
10th house
Taurus
Venus
Friday
Elias (İlyās)
11th house
Leo
Sun
Monday
Jacob (Yaʻḳūb)
12th house
-
-
Saturday
Solomon (Suleymān)
13th house
Cancer
Moon
Monday
Abraham (İbrāhim)
14th
House
Sagittarius
Jupiter
Thursday
İshmail (İsmā‘īl)
15th house
Gemini
Mercury
Wednesday
Job (Eyyūb)
16th house
Libra
Venus
Friday
148
Table 4. Features of The Eleven Demons
The Name of the Demon
Day of the Week
Planet
Metal
The Angel or the Winged Jinn
King Zawbaʻa
Friday
Venus
-
Aniyā’īl
King Meymūn
Sunday
Sun
Gold
Rufayā’īl
The Nightmare (Kābūs)
-
-
-
The Evil Eye
-
-
-
Black King
Wednesday
Mercury
Metal quicksilver
Mikā’īl
Golden King
Saturday
Saturn
Metal lead and color black
Kasfiyā’īl
White King
Monday
Moon
Silver
Cebrā’īl
Red King
Tuesday
Mars
Copper
Samsamā’īl
King Şemhureş
Thursday
Jupiter
Tin
Sarfiyā’īl
Iblīs
The Lord of all demons
-
-
-
Fever (Ḥummā)
Increases the heat of the human body, brings illness
-
-
-
149
APPENDIX B
FIGURES
BnF Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 7v Morgan MS. M788, fol. 6v
Fig. B1 Portrait of the sulṭān Murād III
Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 39v BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 75v Morgan MS. M788, fol. 75v
Fig. B2 İskender and Ḫiżr (İskender Zū’lḳarneyn ẓulmete gitdüġi)
150
BnF Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 90v Morgan MS. M788 fol. 89v
Fig. B3 The laughing snake (Şekl-i Mār-ı Ḳahḳaha ve Ayna)
Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 36v BnF Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 77r Morgan MS. M788 fol. 76r
Fig. B4 Ummayad mosque (Şekl-i cāmiʻ-i binā-yı Ümeyye)
151
Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 166r BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 128r
Fig. B5 Divination of prophet Ẕekeriyyā (Fāl-i Ẕekeriyyā Peyġāmber)
Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 35v BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 82v Morgan MS. M788, fol. 74v
Fig. B6 Baths of Tiberias (Ḥammām-ı Teberiya)
152
Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 43r BnF Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 79r Morgan MS. M788 fol. 79r
Fig. B7 Sinbad and the old man of the sea (Pīr-i deryā bir ῾Arabı tutduġudur)
Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 42r BnF Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 81r Morgan MS. M788 fol. 79v
Fig. B8 The Ship of Sorcerers (Şekl-i Keştī-i Sāḥiran)
153
Bodl. Or. 133 fol. 40r BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 77v Morgan MS. M788 fol. 76v
Fig. B9 A man with a family (Ehl-i ῾İyāl Olan Kimesnenin Şeklidir)
Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 36r BnF Suppl. Turc 242 fol. 76v
Fig. B10 The Lighthouse of Alexandria (Şekl-i Menāre-i İskender)
154
Bodleian Or. 133 fol. 37v BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 78v Azure Monastry, Tahmasp Falnama424
Fig. B11 Church of the idol (Şekl-i kilise-i Ṣanem)
Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 38r BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 76r Morgan MS. M788 fol. 77r
Fig. B12 The wall of Gog and Magog (Şekl-i Sedd-i Ye’cūc ve Me’cūc)
424 Dispersed Falnama, The David Collection, Copenhagen.
155
Topkapı Persian Fālnāme, TSML H1702, fol. 21r-20v
Fig. B13 The wall of Gog and Magog
TSMK H1703, fol. 30v Bodl. Or. 133, fol. 2r BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 8v
Fig. B14 The planet Mars (Merrīḫ) and the zodiac sign Aries (Ḥaml)
156
Bodleian Or. 133, fol. 31r BnF Suppl. Turc 242, fol. 88v Morgan Ms. 788, fol. 88v
Fig. B15 The Red King (Al-Melīk al-Aḥmer)
157
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