Part of the process of researching Nawa'i includes, of course, engaging with previous scholarship. It is an onerous task: major monographs and articles have appeared in Russian, Uzbek, Turkish, Persian, German, French, Tajik ... and so on. Curiously, little is available in English - it's a similar situation that alluded to in an earlier post, when I was bemoaning the paucity of English-language translations of Mir 'Ali Shir.
I've recently been loaned by my advisor a volume written by the Soviet orientalist E. E. Bertel's, simply titled Navoi: opit tvorcheskoy biografii [Navoi: An experiment in creative biography] (Moscow/Leningrad: Academy of Sciences, 1948). Bertel's was one of the leading Russian orientalists of the 20th century, despite the obvious political and philosophical constraints placed upon him by the Soviet system, which often required scholars to bend their conclusions to match the prevailing ideological trends.
Bertel's has made an attempt here at a scholarly biography, but with (on the face of it) a populist slant. However, I should refrain from making judgment until I've actually, well, read it.
Bertel's also wrote a similar work on Jami, and it's the relationship between Jami and Nawa'i that is the focus of the latest phase of my research. I'm also holding onto a volume edited by the late Uzbek scholar Asom Urunbaev, entitled Pis'ma-avtografi Abdarrahmana Djami iz "Al'boma Navoi" [Signed letters of Abdurrahman Jami from the "Navoi Album"] (Tashkent: Fan, 1982).
It consists of (Russian) translations from the Persian of letters written by Jami, taken from the so-called Nava'i Album' of collected letters (Ms. of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, no. 2178). Some of these letters were quoted from in Nawa'i's composition Khamsat al-Mutahayyirin, his memoir of his friendship with Jami.
Sunday 26 September 2010
Sunday 19 September 2010
The Historic Nawa'i (1)
part of my research ... well, *part* of it now - probably most of it in the near future - involves examining how successive generations of poets engaged with and responded to Nawa'i's literary legacy. Quite simply, it means reading reams of late medieaval Turkic poetry (Central Asian or Ottoman) and identifying occasions on which poets either responded directly to Nawa'i - usually through the medium of often through the poetic form known as mukhammas, a five-line poem usually written in response to another - or by alluding to him in their poetry.
An example of the latter can be found in the poetry of the noted Khorezmian historian Shīr Muhammad Mīrāb bin ‘Awaḍ Biy Mīrāb al-Khīwaqī (1192/1778-1244/1829), or simply (and more commonly) Mu’nis. Nawa'i's works are known to have been on the curriculum (such as it was) in Central Asian madrassas by the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Examples of Nawa'i's works copied by Munis himself today survive in Central Asian collections.
References
V. A. Abdullaev, O’zbek Adabiyoti Tarixi II: XVII asrdan XIX asrning ikkinchi yarimgacha [History of Uzbek Literature, II: From the 17th Century to the Second Half of the 19th Century], (Tashkent: O’qituvchi, 1967).
Q. Munirov, Munis, Ogahiy va Bayonining Tarikhiy Asarlari [The works of history by Munis, Agahi and Bayani], (Tashkent: Uzbekistan SSR Academy of Sciences, 1960).
Gerhard Schoeler and Munibar Rahman, ‘Musammaṭ’, EI², VII (1993), pp. 660-2.
An example of the latter can be found in the poetry of the noted Khorezmian historian Shīr Muhammad Mīrāb bin ‘Awaḍ Biy Mīrāb al-Khīwaqī (1192/1778-1244/1829), or simply (and more commonly) Mu’nis. Nawa'i's works are known to have been on the curriculum (such as it was) in Central Asian madrassas by the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Examples of Nawa'i's works copied by Munis himself today survive in Central Asian collections.
References
V. A. Abdullaev, O’zbek Adabiyoti Tarixi II: XVII asrdan XIX asrning ikkinchi yarimgacha [History of Uzbek Literature, II: From the 17th Century to the Second Half of the 19th Century], (Tashkent: O’qituvchi, 1967).
Q. Munirov, Munis, Ogahiy va Bayonining Tarikhiy Asarlari [The works of history by Munis, Agahi and Bayani], (Tashkent: Uzbekistan SSR Academy of Sciences, 1960).
Gerhard Schoeler and Munibar Rahman, ‘Musammaṭ’, EI², VII (1993), pp. 660-2.
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Diversions (1)
Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not reading/studying Mir 'Ali Sir all the time - just most of it ... but that's by the by. By way of distraction, and in order to hone my reading and translating skills vis à vis Chaghatay Turkic, I've been working through some materials available online at Harvard University's Islamic Heritage Project.
One is Janāb-i Ba-davlatnī hikāyātlārī ('Tales of the Blessed Lord'), an account of Ya'qub Beg's rule, written by Aḥmad Qulī Andījānī in 1322 AH/AD 1904-05. As manuscripts go, it's fairly easy to read and comprehend; indeed, as literary stylings go, it's pretty banal. Moreover it was one of the works consulted by Hodong Kim for his - as we like to say in these parts - 'seminal' study of Ya'qub Beg and related revolts against Qing rule in Xinjiang during the 1860s and 1870s, Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864-1877 (Stanford University Press, 2004).
Available through the same avenue of research is a collection of 13 Central Asian documents from the 16th-19th centuries, in Persian or Chaghatay. Most of them appear to originate from Samarqand, Kashgar or Yarkend ... and, because the world is arranged this way, they are the subject of a study by - Hodong Kim, published as a chapter in a collection of conference proceedings, entitled Studies on Xinjiang Historical Sources in 17-20th Centuries, edited by James Millward, Shinmen Yasushi and Sugawara Jun, under the auspices of the Toyo Bunko. Hodong Kim's chapter ('Eastern Turki Royal Decrees of the 17th century in the Jarring Collection') compares the Harvard copies with those held, as the chapter title indicates, in the collection of the noted Swedish orientalist, Gunnar Jarring.
One is Janāb-i Ba-davlatnī hikāyātlārī ('Tales of the Blessed Lord'), an account of Ya'qub Beg's rule, written by Aḥmad Qulī Andījānī in 1322 AH/AD 1904-05. As manuscripts go, it's fairly easy to read and comprehend; indeed, as literary stylings go, it's pretty banal. Moreover it was one of the works consulted by Hodong Kim for his - as we like to say in these parts - 'seminal' study of Ya'qub Beg and related revolts against Qing rule in Xinjiang during the 1860s and 1870s, Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864-1877 (Stanford University Press, 2004).
Available through the same avenue of research is a collection of 13 Central Asian documents from the 16th-19th centuries, in Persian or Chaghatay. Most of them appear to originate from Samarqand, Kashgar or Yarkend ... and, because the world is arranged this way, they are the subject of a study by - Hodong Kim, published as a chapter in a collection of conference proceedings, entitled Studies on Xinjiang Historical Sources in 17-20th Centuries, edited by James Millward, Shinmen Yasushi and Sugawara Jun, under the auspices of the Toyo Bunko. Hodong Kim's chapter ('Eastern Turki Royal Decrees of the 17th century in the Jarring Collection') compares the Harvard copies with those held, as the chapter title indicates, in the collection of the noted Swedish orientalist, Gunnar Jarring.
Sunday 5 September 2010
Nawa'i MSS (3)
Earlier posts alluded to a) the lack of English translations of Nawa'i's works, and b) the production of scholarly editions in (mostly) Uzbekistan and Turkey. However, as libraries and archives get stuck into the arduous process of digitizing their collections, it is to be hoped that the manuscript copies themselves will become accessible online - preferably without having to pay for the privilege, but we can but hope.
One good example is the University of Michigan, which has made available for download (courtesy of the excellent Islamic Manuscripts at Michigan project)an early 19th-century copy of the Khamsa-i Nawa'i. Composed during 888-890 AH/AD 1483-85, this is a quintet of mathnawīs modeled on Persian works by Niẓāmī, Amīr Khusraw and Jāmī; Nawa'i's was the first in the genre to be written in Chaghatay Turkic. The five parts are:
I.) Ḥayrat al-Abrār
II.) Farhād va Shīrīn
III.) Laylī va Majnūn
IV.) Sab‘a-yi Sayyār
V.) Saddi Iskandarī
This particular copy comes from the Abdulhamid Collection at UM, so-called because it belonged to the Ottoman Sultan, Abdulhamid II (r. 1876-1909). The name of the copyist and the date of copying is given at the end of the text: Sahib Shaykh Khatib, 1245 AH (AD 1829/30).
I haven't had much of an opportunity yet to examine the ms., but on the face of it, it is a very good copy, made in a clear and tidy hand, with relatively few blemishes or major lacunae.
One good example is the University of Michigan, which has made available for download (courtesy of the excellent Islamic Manuscripts at Michigan project)an early 19th-century copy of the Khamsa-i Nawa'i. Composed during 888-890 AH/AD 1483-85, this is a quintet of mathnawīs modeled on Persian works by Niẓāmī, Amīr Khusraw and Jāmī; Nawa'i's was the first in the genre to be written in Chaghatay Turkic. The five parts are:
I.) Ḥayrat al-Abrār
II.) Farhād va Shīrīn
III.) Laylī va Majnūn
IV.) Sab‘a-yi Sayyār
V.) Saddi Iskandarī
This particular copy comes from the Abdulhamid Collection at UM, so-called because it belonged to the Ottoman Sultan, Abdulhamid II (r. 1876-1909). The name of the copyist and the date of copying is given at the end of the text: Sahib Shaykh Khatib, 1245 AH (AD 1829/30).
I haven't had much of an opportunity yet to examine the ms., but on the face of it, it is a very good copy, made in a clear and tidy hand, with relatively few blemishes or major lacunae.
Saturday 4 September 2010
Nawa'i MSS (2)
Earlier this year I compiled for the purposes of a term paper an initial handlist of Nawa'i MSS worldwide. I identified over 680 copies of Mir 'Ali Shir's Persian and Turkic works in libraries and archives throughout Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia. The oldest dated from his lifetime (i.e. the 2nd half of the 15th cent.) and the most recent from just before WWII (1939, to be precise). As the focus of the survey was on handcopied mss, I excluded lithographic and printed editions of his works.
The survey revealed two trends: first, that his works rapidly spread as far afield as the Ottoman Empire, India and eastern Moghulistan (counterminous to modern-day Xinjiang) within a couple of decades of his death, facilitated by diplomatic and cultural exchanges between the Ottomans, Safavids, early Mughals and rulers of eastern Turkestan; abd second, that there appears to have been a huge increase in the copying of his works from around 1800 - or, to put it another way, we have more copies of his works made between 1800 and 1900 than were made between 1500 and 1800 put together.
I'm still working on the handlist, as I missed several major collections and archives in Turkey, and also did not cover India or China in my survey, so for the moment I'll offer up a few readings which explore the cultural exchanges between Central Asia and neighbouring regions from 1500 onward.
Suggested Readings
Beisembiev, T. K., ‘Farghana’s Contacts with India in the 18th and 19th Centuries (According to the Khoqand Chronicles)’, Journal of Asian History, vol. 28, no.2 (1994), pp. 124-35.
Birnbaum, E., ‘The Ottomans and Chaghatay Literature’, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 20, no. 3 (1976), pp. 157-190.
Dale, S. F., ‘The Legacy of the Timurids’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, series 3, vol. 8, no. 1 (1998), pp. 43-58.
Foltz, R., ‘Cultural Contacts between Central Asia and Mughal India’, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 42, no. 1 (1998), pp. 44-65.
Schimmel, A., ‘Some Notes on the Cultural Activity of the First Uzbek Rulers’, Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, vol. 8, no. 3 (1960).
Soucek, P., ‘Persian Artists in Mughal India: Influences and Transformations’, Muqarnas, vol. 4 (1987), pp. 161-181.
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Art and Politics in Early 16th Century Central Asia’, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 27, nos 1-2 (1983), pp. 121-148.
Tanindi, Z., ‘Additions to Illustrated Manuscripts in Ottoman Workshops’, Muqarnas, vol. 17 (2000), pp. 147-161.
The survey revealed two trends: first, that his works rapidly spread as far afield as the Ottoman Empire, India and eastern Moghulistan (counterminous to modern-day Xinjiang) within a couple of decades of his death, facilitated by diplomatic and cultural exchanges between the Ottomans, Safavids, early Mughals and rulers of eastern Turkestan; abd second, that there appears to have been a huge increase in the copying of his works from around 1800 - or, to put it another way, we have more copies of his works made between 1800 and 1900 than were made between 1500 and 1800 put together.
I'm still working on the handlist, as I missed several major collections and archives in Turkey, and also did not cover India or China in my survey, so for the moment I'll offer up a few readings which explore the cultural exchanges between Central Asia and neighbouring regions from 1500 onward.
Suggested Readings
Beisembiev, T. K., ‘Farghana’s Contacts with India in the 18th and 19th Centuries (According to the Khoqand Chronicles)’, Journal of Asian History, vol. 28, no.2 (1994), pp. 124-35.
Birnbaum, E., ‘The Ottomans and Chaghatay Literature’, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 20, no. 3 (1976), pp. 157-190.
Dale, S. F., ‘The Legacy of the Timurids’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, series 3, vol. 8, no. 1 (1998), pp. 43-58.
Foltz, R., ‘Cultural Contacts between Central Asia and Mughal India’, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 42, no. 1 (1998), pp. 44-65.
Schimmel, A., ‘Some Notes on the Cultural Activity of the First Uzbek Rulers’, Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, vol. 8, no. 3 (1960).
Soucek, P., ‘Persian Artists in Mughal India: Influences and Transformations’, Muqarnas, vol. 4 (1987), pp. 161-181.
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Art and Politics in Early 16th Century Central Asia’, Central Asiatic Journal, vol. 27, nos 1-2 (1983), pp. 121-148.
Tanindi, Z., ‘Additions to Illustrated Manuscripts in Ottoman Workshops’, Muqarnas, vol. 17 (2000), pp. 147-161.
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