Shahinshahname Of Sayyid Luqman, One of the 16th Century Ottoman Shahname Writers
Saniye Simla ÖzçelikThe shahname [book of kings] manuscripts, which are considered a kind of palace historiography of the Ottoman Empire, started semi-officially with Mehmed II and became a permanent state duty during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent with the establishment of the office of the shahname writings. Shahname manuscripts were institutionalized in the Ottoman Empire in the 1550s and ended in 1601, with five shahname writers having officially served in this function. This study examines the Shahinshahname of Sayyid Luqman, one of the 16th-century Ottoman shahname writers. Luqman’s work includes events between 982-989 AH (1574-1581 CE) in the first volume of a shahname devoted to Murad III and deals with the main events that started with Murad III’s accession to the throne until 1581, addressing especially the turbulent relations with the Safavid dynasty. Most of the events took place in Eastern Anatolia, Southern Caucasus, and Northwestern Iran during these conflicts. The work describes the events through their details and qualities and is especially important in terms of shedding a narrative light on the realities of the period in which the author lived. This study first briefly provides information about the birth and development of shahname writing in the Ottoman Empire before going on to examine Sayyid Luqman’s life, literary personality and works. The study will identify the content and orthographic features of the single surviving copy of the manuscript registered in Istanbul University Rare Works Library under FY 1404.
XVI. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Şehnâmecilerinden Seyyid Lokmân’ın Şehinşâhnâme’si
Saniye Simla ÖzçelikOsmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda bir tür tarih yazıcılığı sayılan şehnâme yazarlığı yarı resmî olarak II. Mehmed’in saltanatı döneminde başlamış, Kanûnî Sultan Süleyman döneminde ise daimi bir devlet görevi hâline gelerek şehnâmecilik makamı tesis edilmiştir. Nitekim Osmanlılar’da 1550’lerde kurumsallaşan şehnâmecilik 1601 yılında sona ermiş ve bu süreçte resmî olarak beş şehnâmeci görev yapmıştır. Bu çalışmada, XVI. yüzyıl Osmanlı şehnâmecilerinden Seyyid Lokmân’ın Şehinşâhnâme eseri değerlendirilecektir. III. Murad için yazılan bir şehnâmenin ilk cildi olarak 982-989 (1574-1581) yılları arasındaki olayları ihtiva eden eser III. Murad’ın tahta çıkışıyla başlayıp 1581 yılına kadar geçen başlıca olayları, özellikle Safevî devleti ile olan keşmekeşli ilişkileri konu edinir. Olayların çoğu bu çatışmalar sırasında Doğu Anadolu, Güney Kafkasya ve Kuzeybatı İran’da geçer. Olayları ayrıntıları ve nitelikleriyle betimleyen eser yazarın bizatihi yaşadığı dönemin gerçeklerine öyküsel bir dille ışık tutması açısından oldukça önemlidir. Çalışmamızda ilk olarak Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Şehnâmecilik makamının doğuşu ve gelişmesi hakkında kısaca bilgi verildikten sonra Seyyid Lokmân’ın hayatı, edebî kişiliği ve eserleri üzerinde durulacaktır. Ardından ise tek nüshasına ulaştığımız İstanbul Üniversitesi Nadir Eserler Kütüphanesi, FY 1404 numarada kayıtlı yazma eserin nüsha özellikleri, muhtevası, imlâ özellikleri tespit edilecektir.
The “Shahnameh” [Book of Kings] by the famous Iranian poet Ferdowsi played an important role in the birth of shahname writing, which is considered a kind of palace historiography of the Ottoman Empire. With the intense influence of Persian language and literature alongside the results of scientific, intellectual, commercial and artistic progress in the 15th and 16th centuries in particular, the sultans wanted their victories and works to be recorded; this resulted in shahname writing becoming widespread and emerging as an official institution. Shahname writing, started semi-officially during the reign of Mehmed II and became a permanent state duty during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, with five shahname writers serving officially over a period of about 50 years. Sayyid Luqman is the author of the Shahinshahname which constitutes the subject of the study and also draws attention as the longest-serving shahname writer of the Ottoman Palace. Luqman was appointed as a shahname writer in 1569 and retained this position for about 27 years, having written many works in both Persian verse and Turkish prose. Among these, would be his last Persian shahname. This work includes events that occurred between 982- 989 AH (1574-1581 CE) in the first volume of a shahname devoted to Murad III. Most of the events took place in Eastern Anatolia, Southern Caucasus, and Northwest Iran during these conflicts, with the work especially addressing the turbulent relations with the Safavid dynasty. The work narratively describes the events through their details and qualities and is especially important in terms of shedding light on the realities of the period in which the author lived. The work provides the exact dates of many events and chronologically tells historical events in full. Many place names, tribe name and personal names from the conquests were also written down for various reasons. The Shahinshahname contains first-hand information and clues about the history as well as social life of the period. Expressing most of the events he narrated based on his own observations and hearings, the author sheds light on the historical texture of the period. The work is seen to have a realistic approach in accordance with its historical narrative. The work also conveys the brutality and violence of war as it had occurred. Due to being an ideological work that was naturally presented to the sultan, the work negatively characterized hostile communities. Despite this, one can still learn some details about the Safavid dynasty from this work. The work is a historical document due to being a report of the events the author had personally heard and witnessed and in a sense because he tells the events of his own time. While daily events are described in a simpler and more descriptive style, a high literary mastery is used for the transitions and natural depictions. Apart from the familiar places in Istanbul, the work also has detailed information and descriptions about many regions in the Caucasus and many geographical locations such as Kars, Erzurum, Sivas and Van. These places where the events took place are generally described in detail through the use of similes and metaphors. The structures of cities, castles, rivers and other geographical places are introduced by specifying the features for which they are famous. The work also elaborates upon ceremonial depictions, explaining in detail such things as the sultan’s enthronement, circumcision ceremony, burial ceremonies, appointments to high positions and donation ceremonies. The work was enriched with many miniatures depicting the described events and these miniatures attempt to reflect the cultural and social life of the period, as well as the clothing, art, and city and palace views. Luqman is understood to have had deep knowledge of astronomy and to have processed data related to this field in many places in his work. The names of celestial bodies in particular are seen to have been used when describing battlefields, encampments, ceremonial scenes and natural descriptions, which also benefited from their characteristics. The Shahinshahname is also considered an important resource in terms of Turkish quotations used in the military field and in the government. Detailed information is found in many sections about how the Ottoman Palace was organized, as well as its various duties. Due to the education Luqman had received and the societies in which he had been raised, he knew both the Persian and Ottoman geographies and cultures well and succeeded in blending the two cultures in their most conflicting periods in this work.
