Summary View

Country

Turkey

City

Istanbul

Institution

İstanbul Üniversitesi Nadir Eserleri Kütüphanesi

Collection

Farsça Yazmalar

Shelfmark

585

Contents

Work 1: Rawz̤at al-kuttāb va ḥadīqat al-albāb (Ṣadr, Abū Bakr ibn al-Zakī)

LOC subject headings

Sufism (Early works to 1800)

Persian letters

Author

Ṣadr, Abū Bakr ibn al-Zakī

صدر، ابو بكر بن الزكي

Show other names

Abū Bakr ibn al-Zakī al-Qunawī

el-Konevi, Sadr Ebu Bekr b. ez-Zeki el-Mütetabbib (13th c.)

Biographical notes

From his nisba we can suggest that he was born in the city of Konya. We have no information about his youth in that city or any references to his family except for the name of his father al-Zakī provided in his own work ( (Zaki_Sevim, pp. 215)). According to his own works, he received instruction for writing in prose in Persian and Arabic languages and studied with Badr al-dīn Yaḥyā, fl. 13th century, the translator of the İnşa Divanı during the rule of ʿIzz al-Dīn Kaykāvūs II, Sultan of the Seljuks, d. 1280). His literary activity mostly deals with rhetoric, instructions for correspondence (tarassul) and left some poetry, which he wrote under the penname of “Sadr”. He also used occasionally the title “al-Mutaṭabbib” which suggests a connection to the field of medicine. However, we can not tell from his writing if he was an actual medical doctor or simply interested in medicine. In one of his letters, he mentions the famous physician Akmal al-Dīn Nakhjavānī, اکمل الدین مؤيد النخجوانی. Sevim has suggested ( (Zaki_Sevim, pp. 3)) that Akmal al-Dīn Nakhjavānī could have introduced al-Zaki to medicine because the latter referred to himself as “chākar-i qadīm” (old servant/apprentice) in one of the letters addressed to the former (letters 29 and 30, see (Zaki_Sevim, pp. 111-119)). He was well connected among the high class of Seljuq Konya and attended literary meetings in Konya. His eloquent prose became popular and recognised among his peers and friends, progressively being in charge of writing letters on their behalf. Among his friend mentioned in the letters are the already mentioned Badr al-dīn Yaḥyā, fl. 13th century and Akmal al-Dīn Nakhjavānī together with other relevant personalities of the Seljuq political and religious life such as Amīr Nuṣrat al-Dīn Ḥasan, the chief of Karahisar-ı Devle in the city of Afyonkarahisar, Amīr Ẓahīr al-Dīn b. Bogdin from Çankırı or Maulānā Sharaf al-Dīn Khaṭṭāṭ, among others (see (Zaki_Sevim, pp. 4-5)). Although he asked on one occasion for a position in the administration to Badr al-dīn Yaḥyā, fl. 13th century in one of the letters addressed to him, we do not know if al-Zaki ever occupied an office in the Seljuq administration. He travelled at least once to Afyonkarahisar and to Kayseri, from where he sent two letters included in his work. He died in Konya but the date of his death is uncertain, some authors suggest 690 AH [1291 CE] (see (Ashraf_Banuazizi_Eir)) while others think that 694 AH [1294-1295 CE] could be a more accurate date (Zaki_Sevim, pp. 7)).

Title

Rawz̤at al-kuttāb va ḥadīqat al-albāb

روضة الكتاب وحديقة الألباب

Notes

The work contains selections of 50 letters in the form of an Inshāʼ compilation. According the preface of the work, the author compiled this work at the request of a friend. The majority of the letters deal with ways of congratulate the addressee and are meant to be used as models for letter writing. Some of the letters include correspondence written by the author’s teacher Badr al-dīn Yaḥyā, fl. 13th century and other letters exchange between the author and different personalities of 13th century Anatolia.

Compossed in 677 AH [1278 CE]

Main language of text

Persian

Foliation

ff. 1b-49b

Bibliography

Editions

ibn al-Zakī Ṣadr, Abū Bakr. Rawz̤at al-kuttāb va ḥadīqat al-albāb. Edited by Sayyid Yūnisī, Mīr Vadūd. Tabriz: Intishārāt-i Muʼassasah-ʼi Tārīkh va Farhang-i Īrān, 1970.

Studies

Ashraf, Ahmad and Ali Banuazizi. "CLASS SYSTEM iv. Classes In Medieval Islamic Persia." Encyclopaedia Iranica. 5, [n.d.]: 658-667.

Koman, M. Mesud. "Şeyh Sadreddin Konevi Mescidi ve Şeyh Cüneyd." Konya Magazine. , no. 31 1940: 1632-6137.

Sevim, Ali. "Anadolu Selçuklularına Ait Bir Eser: Ravzatü’l -Küttab ve Hadikatü’l -Elbab." Tarih Vesikaları. 1, no. 3 1961: 388-418.

Storey, C.A.. Persian Literature. A Bio-Bibliographical Survey. Leiden: Brill, 1984.

Turan, Osman. Türkiye Selçuklulari hakkinda Resmi Vesikalar. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1958.

Catalogue

Waley:, M. I.. Supplementary handlist of Persian manuscripts, 1966-1998. London: British Library, 1998, 19.

Show filiations

Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi 4015

Ankara Milli Kütüphanesi 664

British Library 13215

Physical Description

Number of folios

103 ff.

Dimensions of folio

width 8cm, height 13.5cm

Columns

1

Ruled lines

19

History

Date of copy

15th. century