Ahmet Bican, active 15th century

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Identifier (lccn)
nr 96020304
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Ahmet Bican, active 15th century
Biographical notes
The early Ottoman mystic and author of religious and apocalyptic works, Yazıcıoğlu Aḥmed, d. after 1465, was the son of Yazıcı Ṣāliḥ b. Süleymān, a clerk employed in the Ottoman government, and younger brother of Yazıcıoğlu Meḥmed, d. 855/1451. Born in a village outside of Malkara (Tekirdağ, Turkey), he later settled in Gelibolu (Turkey) where he composed his works during the reigns of Murad II, Sultan of the Turks, 1404-1451 and Mehmed II, Sultan of the Turks, 1432-1481. Yazıcıoğlu Aḥmed Bīcān was a disciple of Hacı Bayram Veli, -1429 the founder of the Bayramīyah order.
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  • Ahmed Bican, active 15th century
  • Ahmed Bijan, active 15th century
  • Ahmet Bican, 15th cent
  • Bican, Ahmet, active 15th century
  • Bidøjøan, Aḥmet, active 15th century
  • Bijan, Ahmed, active 15th century
  • Yaz♯łc♯łoglu Ahmet Bican, active 15th century
  • Yaz♯łc♯łzade Ahmet Bican, active 15th century
  • ʹƯ ·Ơʹ
Manuscripts by this author
Acaib-i mahlukat
A cosmographies! work Show more
Yazıcıoğlu Ahmed Bican says in the preface that he translated this work into Turkish for the benefit of his countrymen, ignorant of Arabic. This was done at the time when Sulṭan Ghāzī Muḥammad Khān conquered Istanbul (Turkey) in 857
This work is an abstract from the well known ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt (عجائب المخلوقات) of Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad, ca. 1203-1283, which, by the omission of entire chapters and severe curtailing of others, has been reduced to less than a fifth of its bulk
Anvār al-‛ashiqīm
A standard work of Muslim mysticism
Dürr-i meknūn
The Dürr-i meknūn (در مكنون) is an apocalyptic text organized according to an encyclopedic format. It was composed in between the years 1454-1465 in the Turkish Anatolian vernacular for a popular audience. It consists of 18 chapters covering cosmology, Creation, the wonders of the world and marvelous creatures, the Prophets to Prophet Muḥammad, the climes, days and hours, geography, the cities of the world with an emphasis on Constantinople, iconic religious monuments of the Abrahamic faith, King Solomon, physiognomy, materia medica (medicinal plants), geographical wonders, the story of Simurg, divination, portents, and eschatology, with an emphasis on the signs of the Last Hour. It posits the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 as an important sign, and presents Mehmed II, Sultan of the Turks, 1432-1481 as one of the actors of the final tribulations. The chapters on divination and eschatology draw largely on Bisṭāmī, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad, approximately 1380-1454’s Miftāḥ al-jafr al-jāmi‘(مفتاح الجفر الجامع) (The Key to All Divination), a work on the science of letters and which is originally based on Abū Sālim al-Naṣībī, Muḥammad ibn Ṭalḥah, 1186 or 1187-1254 or 1255’s al-Durr al-munaẓẓam fī al-sirr al-aʻẓam (الدر المنظم في السر الاعظم).
Dūrr-i Maknūn
A cosmographies! work Show more
The author does not appear in the present copy but is clearly the well-known mystic, Yazıcıoğlu Ahmed Bican, who lived in Gallipoli (Turkey) in the 9th century
Envārü’l-‘āşıḳīn
The Envārü’l-‘āşıḳīn (انوار العاشقين) , Yazıcıoğlu Aḥmed Bīcān’s most popular work, is a Turkish prose translation of the author’s brother Yazıcıoğlu Meḥmed, d. 855/1451’s Arabic Maghārib al-zamān (مغارب الزمان, written in between the years 1446-1451. Organized in five chapters, the work treats the birth and life of the Prophet Muḥammad and covers events up to the deaths of Ḥasan ibn ʻAlī, d. 670 and Ḥusayn ibn ʻAlī, -680. It is prefaced with a description of Creation and ends with a chapter on eschatology, treating the end of the world and Judgment Day.
Eş'ar
Müntehā
Often described as a free Turkish translation of Yazıcızāde Meḥmed's abridged Arabic commentary of Ibn al-ʻArabī, 1165-1240’s Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam (فصوص الحكم), the Müntehā () (Epilogue) has a strong apocalyptic component. It also includes various stories of the Prophets, the first four Caliphs, and Sufi saints. Show more
The Müntehā() exists in two recensions: the first composed in 1453, and the second revised version completed in Muḥarram 870(Aug-Sept 1465). In the second rescension the work’s eschatological component is elaborated with a portrayal of Mehmed II, Sultan of the Turks, 1432-1481 as an apocalyptic warrior who fulfills the prophecy of the conquest of Rome with his capture of Constantinople and as protector of Muslims as the end of the world approaches
‘Acāib al-maḫlūḳāt
The ‘Acāib al-maḫlūḳāt (عجائب المخلوقات) is an abridged loose Turkish adaptation of Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad, approximately 1203-1283’s popular Arabic cosmographical work of the same name, the first systematic exposition of cosmography in Muslim literature. The work treats supraterrestrial phenomena such as the moon, sun, star and the inhabitants of the heavens such as angels, as well as terrestial phenomena, ranging from the elements, climes, geographical features and natural history as well as discussing mankind and characteristics of human tribes. Yazıcıoğlu Aḥmed Bīcān claims to have compiled the work on the suggestion of Hacı Bayram Veli, -1429. The work was completed in 1453.
Referring authors
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