Virtually nothing is known of his life. The pen-name of Ṭutmacı may come from the word
“ṭutma,” which refers to a type of melon which grows near the stream of Zengibasar, زنگیبصر in the
vicinity of Yerevan. The existence of elements from Azari
and Chaghatai Turkish in his language further implies that he grew up in the Caucasus region. In the introduction to his Gül ü Ḫüsrev, Ṭutmacı refers to his contemporaries Aḥmedī (d. 815/1412-13)
and
Şeyḫoġlı (d. . 817/1414) as great masters, thus suggesting that he lived in the second half of the
fourteenth century and composed his work while living in Anatolia.
In the same introduction Ṭutmacı also refers to being of significant age at the time of writing.
Manuscripts by this author
Gül ü Ḫüsrev
An abridged translation of the mathnawi of the same name by Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār (d. 618/1221)
. Ṭutmacı’s work is two thirds of the size of ‘Aṭṭār’s work (5467 couplets in
the Yoldaş edition). Ṭutmacı shortens ‘Aṭṭār’s
descriptions and entirely rewrites some sections. There are also parts which
strictly follow the original. The date of completion figures as 8 Ramadan 808 in the Paris manuscript.
A book of medicine in mathnawi form consisting of 372 couplets dedicated to the
Aydinid Umūr Beg (d. 748/1348). It
focuses on preventive medicine and describes the benefits and harms of different foods.
In the introduction to the work Ṭutmacı states
that his work is a translation from a Persian work.
