This volume contains an Ottoman Turkish translation of a treatise in Persian on ethics and government. Although neither author nor translator are identified in the manuscript, the text is almost certainly a translation of Mevlana Şükrullah's (Şükrüllah ibn-i Şehabeddin Ahmet er-Rumi) work on ethics called Enisü'l-arifin. The translation was carried out by the man of letters, poet, and statesman Tacizade Cafer Çelebi (864-921 AH/1459-1515 CE) for Vezir Ali Paşa. The text comprises 15 bablar, and the subjects are listed on ff 5r-v. The manuscript is incomplete, lacking two folios at the end, and there is also a lacuna, including the end of bab 13 and the beginning of bab 14 following f 64. The present manuscript has a small illuminated heading in blue and gold at f 1v, and ff 1v-2r are rubbed. The title of the manuscript misidentifies the text as Kitab-i ahlak-i mühsinin tercüme, thereby confusing it for a translation of Hüseyin Vaiz-i Kaşifi's (died 910 AH/1504-1505 CE) Persian treatise on ethics called Ahlak-i Muhsini or, more correctly, Cevahirü'l-esrar. His work was translated with the title Enisü'l-arifin by Pir Muhammed b. Ali, whose mahlas was Azmi. The British Library holds a copy of this work at Or 6316. The present manuscript does not have a colophon, as the manuscript is incomplete. However, it likely dates to the twelfth century AH/eighteenth century CE.
[Tercüme-yi Enisü'l-arifin] - [ترجمۀ انیس العارفین]
This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections
- Reference
- GB 59 Or 14394
- Dates of Creation
- 12th century
- Language of Material
- Turkish
- Physical Description
- 1 text 77 ff Material: Good, slightly brownish paper. Foliation: European, 77 ff. Dimensions: 175 x 102 mm; text area 122 x 60 mm. Pricking and Ruling: 15 lines; catchwords. Rubrics and red overlinings. Quotations in Arabic are vocalized. Text frames in black and gold. Script: Good nestalik. Binding: original deep maroon morocco with gilt stamped central medallions, lacking the flap; rebacked.
Scope and Content
Access Information
Not Public Record(s)
Unrestricted