This Turkish translation of the eleventh-century Persian classic, the Qābūsnāma, was dedicated to Murad II (d. 855/1451) in 829 and survives
in a unique manuscript. The original Qābūsnāma, composed for ʿUnṣur al-Maʿālī
Kaykāʾūs b. Iskandar b. Qābūs (d. after 475/1082-83), a prince of the
Ziyarid dynasty in Tabaristan and Gilan, was one of the most popular medieval
Persian works of rational discourse on moral behavior. Whereas the original Persian
Qābūsnāma consists of forty-four chapters
which dispense practical advice on all aspects of the adab or proper conduct,
manners and virtues for the political elite, this Turkish translation consists of 51
chapters and a total of 10410 couplets. The relationship of this Turkish translation
or adaptation with the original Persian has not been clearly established. It
contains much original information, and ends with a set of apocalyptic chapters such
as the appearance of the Mahdi and the
Dajjāl, as well as Jesus’s descent to
earth and the conquest of Istanbul.
Some scholars have incorrectly attributed the work to Muḥammed b. Maḥmūd Şirvānī (d. after
841/1437-38). Show more
The place of composition is Western Anatolia, possibly Bursa.
Dedicated to Murad II (d.
855/1451), this work is a Turkish translation of Ibn al-Kathīr (d. 774/1372-73)'s al-Bidayah wa al-Niḥāyah, a voluminous universal
history of 10 volumes, going up chronologically to 772 and ending with accounts of the end of the world drawn from
hadith. The most complete surviving text of Bedri-i Dilşād’s translation is the Ayasofya manuscript of
four volumes (893-896), which covers events from Creation up to the year 658. The work has been often
incorrectly attributed to Muḥammed b. Maḥmūd
Şirvānī (d. after 841/1437-38). Show more
The place of composition is Western Anatolia, possibly Bursa.
