Maria Subtelny at University of Toronto is supreme among English-language scholars who focus on this period. Her most recent work, Timurids in Transition: Turko-Persian Politics and Acculturation in Medieval Iran (Leiden: Brill, 2007), is effectively a summation of her life's work, combining both new and previously published scholarship on the latter years of the Timurid dynasty, with particular focus on the reign of Sultan Husayn Mirza and the socio-economic condition of Herat.
However, while it does a fine job detailing complex political machinations and interpreting the economic record - notably waqf (religious foundation) charters - it isn't overly concerned with Mir 'Ali Shir, at least not from the cultural perspective.
On a similar note, The Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (1483-1530) (Leiden: Brill, 2004), by Stephen F. Dale of Ohio State University, while ostensibly pre-occupied with the founder of the Mughal dynasty, has important points to make about the cultural significance of Herat and the flowering of Turkic literature under the benevolent gaze of Mir 'Ali Shir.
Maria Szuppe does a fine job analyzing political relationships, change and continuity at the beginning of the 15th Century in Entre Timourides, Uzbeks et Safavides: questions d'histoire politique et sociale de Hérat dans la première moitié du XVIe siècle (Paris: Association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes, 1992). Ultimately, her survey falls slightly - but only just - outside the period of interest, but her short survey on the main chroniclers of the period (Khwandamir, Vasifi et al) is invaluable.
Soviet and Uzbek scholarship on Nawa'i is voluminous, but for starters A. K. Borovkov's edited volume from 1946 - originally timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Mir 'Ali Shir's birth, but postponed due to a little unpleasantness involving Hitler on the USSR's western borders - contains several valuable articles, not least A. K. Yakubovsky's essay on the political, cultural and social milieu of 15th century Khurasan.
References
A. Yu. Yakubovskiy, 'Cherti obshestvennoy i kulturnoy jizni epokhi Alishera Navoi [some lines on the cultural life of the age of Alisher Navoi]', in A. K. Borovkov, ed., Alisher Navoi, (Moscow/Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1946), pp3-30.
Stephen F. Dale, The Garden of the Eight Paradises: Babur and the Culture of Empire in Central Asia, Afghanistan and India (1483-1530), (Leiden: Brill, 2004).
Maria Subtelny, Timurids in Transition: Turko-Persian Politics and Acculturation in Medieval Iran, (Leiden: Brill, 2007).
Maria Szuppe, Entre Timourides, Uzbeks et Safavides: questions d'histoire politique et sociale de Hérat dans la première moitié du XVIe siècle, (Paris: Association pour l'avancement des études iraniennes, 1992).
Saturday 26 December 2009
Tuesday 15 December 2009
Glossing Nawa'i (1)
In the absence of a Chaghatay-English dictionary/lexicon/glossary and so on, the reader of Mir 'Ali Shir is forced to consult a number of different reference sources to make either head or tail of his works which, transgressing on the territories of religion and poetry, often contain a lot of oblique or obscure words and phrases, many of them loans from Arabic and Persian.
A good starting point is that old warhorse, the Redhouse's [Ottoman] Turkish Dictionary. The English-Turkish/Turkish-English version is available in two editions (1856 & 1880), both out of copyright and both downloadable via Google books. The obvious advantage of Redhouse is that the Turkish is rendered in the Perso-Arabic script.
Good Arabic and Persian dictionaries are also a must. I have thus far relied on a compact paperback edition of The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (4th edn, repr. 1994) and Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary (repr. 1975). Hans Wehr is arranged alphabetically by root, so a little knowledge of Arabic morphology is essentially because you often come across a word in Chaghatay that literally screams 'Arabic!'; words beginning 'muta-' fall into this category. Steingass is particularly useful when perusing Sufi texts inspired or based on Persian works.
Some Turkic works may be really archaic or obscure, so it's necessary to have one of Sir Gerard Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-thirteenth-century Turkish (1972) or Mahmud al-Kashgari, Diwan-i Lughat al-Turk (Compendium of the Language of the Turks) (Harvard, 1982-85) close to hand.
That's just the English-language materials. There are a couple of 19th Century French dictionaries by Abel Pavet de Courteille, Dictionnaire Turk-oriental (1870) and C. Barbier de Meynard, Dictionnaire turc-francais (1881). The former can be found on Google books and downloaded in its entirety.
A Russian curio is Budagov's Comparative Dictionary of Turco-Tatar Dialects (1869) and readers of Turkish, Uzbek, Uyghur and other Turkic languages may find contemporary dictionaries for those languages useful as well.
References
G. Clauson (Sir), An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-thirteenth-century Turkish (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972).
Abel Pavet de Courteille, Dictionnaire Turk-oriental (Paris: 1870) [download].
Mahmud al-Kashgari, Diwan-i Lughat al-Turk (Compendium of the Language of the Turks) trans. and ed. by Robert Dankoff and James Kelly, 3 vols (Cambridge, MA: 1982-85).
C. Barbier de Meynard, Dictionnaire turc-francais (Paris: 1881-86).
J. W. Redhouse, An English and Turkish Dictionary, in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English, (London: Quaritch, 1856) [download].
J. W. Redhouse, An English and Turkish Dictionary, in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English, 2nd edn (London: Quaritch, 1880) [download].
F. Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, repr. 1975 (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1975).
H. Wehr, The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern written Arabic, ed. by J. M. Cowan, 4th edn (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1994).
A good starting point is that old warhorse, the Redhouse's [Ottoman] Turkish Dictionary. The English-Turkish/Turkish-English version is available in two editions (1856 & 1880), both out of copyright and both downloadable via Google books. The obvious advantage of Redhouse is that the Turkish is rendered in the Perso-Arabic script.
Good Arabic and Persian dictionaries are also a must. I have thus far relied on a compact paperback edition of The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (4th edn, repr. 1994) and Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary (repr. 1975). Hans Wehr is arranged alphabetically by root, so a little knowledge of Arabic morphology is essentially because you often come across a word in Chaghatay that literally screams 'Arabic!'; words beginning 'muta-' fall into this category. Steingass is particularly useful when perusing Sufi texts inspired or based on Persian works.
Some Turkic works may be really archaic or obscure, so it's necessary to have one of Sir Gerard Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-thirteenth-century Turkish (1972) or Mahmud al-Kashgari, Diwan-i Lughat al-Turk (Compendium of the Language of the Turks) (Harvard, 1982-85) close to hand.
That's just the English-language materials. There are a couple of 19th Century French dictionaries by Abel Pavet de Courteille, Dictionnaire Turk-oriental (1870) and C. Barbier de Meynard, Dictionnaire turc-francais (1881). The former can be found on Google books and downloaded in its entirety.
A Russian curio is Budagov's Comparative Dictionary of Turco-Tatar Dialects (1869) and readers of Turkish, Uzbek, Uyghur and other Turkic languages may find contemporary dictionaries for those languages useful as well.
References
G. Clauson (Sir), An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-thirteenth-century Turkish (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972).
Abel Pavet de Courteille, Dictionnaire Turk-oriental (Paris: 1870) [download].
Mahmud al-Kashgari, Diwan-i Lughat al-Turk (Compendium of the Language of the Turks) trans. and ed. by Robert Dankoff and James Kelly, 3 vols (Cambridge, MA: 1982-85).
C. Barbier de Meynard, Dictionnaire turc-francais (Paris: 1881-86).
J. W. Redhouse, An English and Turkish Dictionary, in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English, (London: Quaritch, 1856) [download].
J. W. Redhouse, An English and Turkish Dictionary, in Two Parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English, 2nd edn (London: Quaritch, 1880) [download].
F. Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary, repr. 1975 (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1975).
H. Wehr, The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern written Arabic, ed. by J. M. Cowan, 4th edn (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1994).
Friday 11 December 2009
Sources on Mir 'Ali Shir (1)
While we lack for accessible translations of Mir 'Ali Shir's works, there are no shortage of sources on him, his life and times available in English translation (and other languages). An obvious starting point is the Makarim al-Akhlaq, a panegyric written by Khwandamir in Mir 'Ali Shir's honor, listing his virtues and literary achievements. Significantly, it gives details of the institutions established by Nawa'i and the notable scholars and religious figures employed therein. Also by the Khwandamir is the Habibu al-Siyar, a general history that includes a lengthy section on Sultan Husayn Mirza, including at least 200 potted biographies of notable personalities from his reign.
Similarly, the Tarikh-i Rashidi of Mirza Huseyn Dughlat, the Bada’ya’ al-Vaqa’ya’ of Vasifi, and Babur's Baburnameh also include lengthy descriptions of Herat in the time of Sultan Husayn Mirza and Mir 'Ali Shir. Later, 16th-century tazkirahs by Fakhri Heravi and Sam Mirza add more detail to the picture. Excerpts from several of these sources have been collated in a nifty volme edited by B. Ahmedov.
References
Ahmedov, B., ed., Navoiy Zamondoshlari Xotirasida, (Tashkent: 1985).
Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, Bábar-Náma [facsimile of the Haydarabad Codex], ed. by Annette S. Beveridge, E. J. W. Memorial Series, I, repr. (London: Luzac and Co., 1971).
—, Bâburnâma: Chaghatay Turkish Text with Abdul-Rahim Khankhanan's Persian Translation, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 18, 3 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1993).
—, Bābur-nāma (Vaqāyi’): Critical Edition Based on Four Chaghatay Texts, ed. by Eiji Mano, (Kyoto: Syokado, 1995).
—, The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston (New York: Modern Library, 2002).
Mirza Haydar Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Khans of Moghulistan, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 38, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1996).
Fakhri Haravi, Taẕkirah-‘i Rowẓat al-Salātīn, ed. A. Khayyampour (Tabriz: 1345/1966).
Khandamir, Makarimul Akhlaq, trans. by S. Mutallibov (Tashkent: OzFan, 1941).
Khwandamir, The ‘Makārim al-Akhlāq’: A Treatise on ‘Alishīr Navā’ī, ed. by T. Gandjeï (Cambridge, UK: E. J. W.Gibb Memorial Trust, 1979).
—, Habibu’s-Siyar: Tome Three, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 24, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1994).
Sām Mīrzā Ṣafavī, Taẕkirah-‘i Tuḥfaḥ-‘i Sāmī, ed. by Rukn al-Din Humayun Farrukh (Tehran: 1384/2005-2006).
Zain al-Din Mahmud Vasifi, Bada’ya’ al-Vaqa’ya’, ed. by A. N. Boldyrev 2 vols (Tehran: 1970–72).
Similarly, the Tarikh-i Rashidi of Mirza Huseyn Dughlat, the Bada’ya’ al-Vaqa’ya’ of Vasifi, and Babur's Baburnameh also include lengthy descriptions of Herat in the time of Sultan Husayn Mirza and Mir 'Ali Shir. Later, 16th-century tazkirahs by Fakhri Heravi and Sam Mirza add more detail to the picture. Excerpts from several of these sources have been collated in a nifty volme edited by B. Ahmedov.
References
Ahmedov, B., ed., Navoiy Zamondoshlari Xotirasida, (Tashkent: 1985).
Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, Bábar-Náma [facsimile of the Haydarabad Codex], ed. by Annette S. Beveridge, E. J. W. Memorial Series, I, repr. (London: Luzac and Co., 1971).
—, Bâburnâma: Chaghatay Turkish Text with Abdul-Rahim Khankhanan's Persian Translation, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 18, 3 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1993).
—, Bābur-nāma (Vaqāyi’): Critical Edition Based on Four Chaghatay Texts, ed. by Eiji Mano, (Kyoto: Syokado, 1995).
—, The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston (New York: Modern Library, 2002).
Mirza Haydar Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Khans of Moghulistan, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 38, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1996).
Fakhri Haravi, Taẕkirah-‘i Rowẓat al-Salātīn, ed. A. Khayyampour (Tabriz: 1345/1966).
Khandamir, Makarimul Akhlaq, trans. by S. Mutallibov (Tashkent: OzFan, 1941).
Khwandamir, The ‘Makārim al-Akhlāq’: A Treatise on ‘Alishīr Navā’ī, ed. by T. Gandjeï (Cambridge, UK: E. J. W.Gibb Memorial Trust, 1979).
—, Habibu’s-Siyar: Tome Three, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 24, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1994).
Sām Mīrzā Ṣafavī, Taẕkirah-‘i Tuḥfaḥ-‘i Sāmī, ed. by Rukn al-Din Humayun Farrukh (Tehran: 1384/2005-2006).
Zain al-Din Mahmud Vasifi, Bada’ya’ al-Vaqa’ya’, ed. by A. N. Boldyrev 2 vols (Tehran: 1970–72).
Wednesday 9 December 2009
Nawa'i Editions (1)
For the non-linguist, accessing Mir 'Ali Shir is a sisypheaen task. As far as I am aware, only one of his works has been translated into English, the famous Mughamat al-Lughatain (composed AH 905/AD 1499), his treatise on the superiority of Chaghatay Turkic to Persian as a literary language. It's an interesting work, but imho has more novelty value than anything.
If it's critical and/or published editions of his other more substantial works you're after, you need to know one (or all) of the following: Russian, Turkish, or Uzbek. All Mir 'Ali Shir's works have been published in Uzbekistan as a 20-volume set, with the original Chaghatay Perso-Arabic script transliterated into Modified Uzbek Cyrillic. This has led to a few oddities and inaccuracies, but it's basically readable and fairly comprehensible if you have at least intermediate-level Uzbek [n.b. I'm writing for the benefit of non-native speakers, here].
Additionally, there are also several 'scientific-critical' editions, which usually consist of either a facsimile of an original ms. or re-keyed Perso-Arabic text, and introductory essays, annotations and comprehensive indexes. Of these, there's an excellent edition of the Majalis al-Nafa'is (897/1491-2), Mir 'Ali Shir's tazkirah (compilation) of poets' biographies, and a smart edition of Sab'a-i Seyyar (890/1485), the fourth poem in Nawa'i's Khamsa quintet.
The publication of accessible editions is something of a cottage-industry in Turkey. The notable Turcologist Kemal Eraslan has supervised scholarly editions of the Majalis al-Nafa'is - in two vols, consisting of a transliteration in Modified Latin Turkish script and a translation in Turkish with notes and indexes - and the Nasaoim al-Muhabbat (901/1495-6), Mir 'Ali Shir's Chaghatay rendition of Jami's tazkirah of sufi hagiographies, Nafahat al-Uns.
References
‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī, Majalis al-Nafa’is, ed. by Suyima G’anieva (Tashkent: Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences, 1961).
Alisher Navoiy, Khamsa: Sab'a-i Sayyar, ed. by Parsa Shamsiev and Hadi Zarif, (Tashkent: Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences, 1956).
Alisher Navoiy, Muqammal Asarlar To’plami [collected works], 20 vols (Tashkent: Fan, 1987–).
Ali Şîr Nevâyî, Mecâlisü’n-Nefâyis, ed. by Huseyin Ayan and others (Erzurum: Atatürk Ünīversïtesī, 1995).
Alī-șīr Nevāyī, Nesāyimü’l-Maḥabbe min Șemāyimi’l-Fütüvve, ed. by Kemal Eraslan, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari, 608 (Ankara: Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu, 1996).
Alî-Şîr Nevayî, Mecâlisü’n-Nefâyis, ed. by Kemal Eraslan, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari, 735, 2 vols (Ankara: Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu, 2001).
Mīr ‘Alī Shīr [Navā’ī], Muḥākamat al-Lughatain, trans. by Robert Devereux (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1966).
If it's critical and/or published editions of his other more substantial works you're after, you need to know one (or all) of the following: Russian, Turkish, or Uzbek. All Mir 'Ali Shir's works have been published in Uzbekistan as a 20-volume set, with the original Chaghatay Perso-Arabic script transliterated into Modified Uzbek Cyrillic. This has led to a few oddities and inaccuracies, but it's basically readable and fairly comprehensible if you have at least intermediate-level Uzbek [n.b. I'm writing for the benefit of non-native speakers, here].
Additionally, there are also several 'scientific-critical' editions, which usually consist of either a facsimile of an original ms. or re-keyed Perso-Arabic text, and introductory essays, annotations and comprehensive indexes. Of these, there's an excellent edition of the Majalis al-Nafa'is (897/1491-2), Mir 'Ali Shir's tazkirah (compilation) of poets' biographies, and a smart edition of Sab'a-i Seyyar (890/1485), the fourth poem in Nawa'i's Khamsa quintet.
The publication of accessible editions is something of a cottage-industry in Turkey. The notable Turcologist Kemal Eraslan has supervised scholarly editions of the Majalis al-Nafa'is - in two vols, consisting of a transliteration in Modified Latin Turkish script and a translation in Turkish with notes and indexes - and the Nasaoim al-Muhabbat (901/1495-6), Mir 'Ali Shir's Chaghatay rendition of Jami's tazkirah of sufi hagiographies, Nafahat al-Uns.
References
‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī, Majalis al-Nafa’is, ed. by Suyima G’anieva (Tashkent: Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences, 1961).
Alisher Navoiy, Khamsa: Sab'a-i Sayyar, ed. by Parsa Shamsiev and Hadi Zarif, (Tashkent: Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences, 1956).
Alisher Navoiy, Muqammal Asarlar To’plami [collected works], 20 vols (Tashkent: Fan, 1987–).
Ali Şîr Nevâyî, Mecâlisü’n-Nefâyis, ed. by Huseyin Ayan and others (Erzurum: Atatürk Ünīversïtesī, 1995).
Alī-șīr Nevāyī, Nesāyimü’l-Maḥabbe min Șemāyimi’l-Fütüvve, ed. by Kemal Eraslan, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari, 608 (Ankara: Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu, 1996).
Alî-Şîr Nevayî, Mecâlisü’n-Nefâyis, ed. by Kemal Eraslan, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari, 735, 2 vols (Ankara: Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu, 2001).
Mīr ‘Alī Shīr [Navā’ī], Muḥākamat al-Lughatain, trans. by Robert Devereux (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1966).
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Nawa'i MSS (1)
One of the main problems facing the researcher of Mir 'Ali Shir is that manuscripts of his works, whether copied during his own lifetime or after, are dispersed across innumerable countries. Naturally, some institutions have more mss than others; of particular importance is the manuscript collection at the Biruni (Oriental) Institute of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences in Tashkent. There are also important items at libraries in Kazan (Tatarstan) and St Petersburg (Russia).
Outside of the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Bibliothèque Nationale du France in Paris and the British Library in London are arguably of primary importance. It should be pointed out that Nawa'i's works exist in both Persian and Chaghatay Turkic, but because of my language training I am initially focusing on identifying and accessing mss written in the latter language.
There are two ways of identifying mss: 1) scholarship based on mss and published critical editions; 2) published catalogues. In terms of the latter, a limited list looks like this ...
Ethé, H., Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, repr. (London: India Office Library & Records, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1980).
Kut, G., Supplementary Catalogue of Turkish Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library: with reprint of the 1930 catalogue by H. Ethé, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
Meredith-Owens, G. M., Handlist of Persian Manuscripts [acquired by the British Museum] 1895-1966, (London: British Museum, 1968).
Parlatir, İ., Hazai, G., and Kellner-Heinkele, B., Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Oriental Manuscripts in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2 (Budapest: Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2007).
Rieu, C., Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1879-83).
—, Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum, (London: British Museum, 1888).
—, Supplement to the Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, (London: British Museum, 1895).
Smirnow, W. D., Manuscrits Turcs de l’Institut des Langues Orientales [St Petersburg], Collections scientifiques de l’Institut des Langues Orientales du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, 7 (Amsterdam: Celibus, 1971).
Sobranie Vostochnykh Rukopisei Akademii Nauk Uzbekskoi SSR [catalogue of oriental manuscripts at the Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences], 11 vols (Tashkent: UzSSR Academy of Sciences, 1952–1987).
Volin, S. L., ‘Opisanie rukopisei proizvedeniy Navoi v Leningradskikh sobraniyakh' [A description of Navoi manuscript items in the Leningrad collections], in Alisher Navoi, ed. by A. K. Borovkov (Moscow/Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1946).
Waley, M. I., Supplementary Handlist of Persian Manuscripts, 1966-1998, (London: British Library, 1998).
Outside of the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Bibliothèque Nationale du France in Paris and the British Library in London are arguably of primary importance. It should be pointed out that Nawa'i's works exist in both Persian and Chaghatay Turkic, but because of my language training I am initially focusing on identifying and accessing mss written in the latter language.
There are two ways of identifying mss: 1) scholarship based on mss and published critical editions; 2) published catalogues. In terms of the latter, a limited list looks like this ...
Ethé, H., Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, repr. (London: India Office Library & Records, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1980).
Kut, G., Supplementary Catalogue of Turkish Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library: with reprint of the 1930 catalogue by H. Ethé, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
Meredith-Owens, G. M., Handlist of Persian Manuscripts [acquired by the British Museum] 1895-1966, (London: British Museum, 1968).
Parlatir, İ., Hazai, G., and Kellner-Heinkele, B., Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Oriental Manuscripts in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2 (Budapest: Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 2007).
Rieu, C., Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1879-83).
—, Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum, (London: British Museum, 1888).
—, Supplement to the Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum, (London: British Museum, 1895).
Smirnow, W. D., Manuscrits Turcs de l’Institut des Langues Orientales [St Petersburg], Collections scientifiques de l’Institut des Langues Orientales du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, 7 (Amsterdam: Celibus, 1971).
Sobranie Vostochnykh Rukopisei Akademii Nauk Uzbekskoi SSR [catalogue of oriental manuscripts at the Uzbek SSR Academy of Sciences], 11 vols (Tashkent: UzSSR Academy of Sciences, 1952–1987).
Volin, S. L., ‘Opisanie rukopisei proizvedeniy Navoi v Leningradskikh sobraniyakh' [A description of Navoi manuscript items in the Leningrad collections], in Alisher Navoi, ed. by A. K. Borovkov (Moscow/Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1946).
Waley, M. I., Supplementary Handlist of Persian Manuscripts, 1966-1998, (London: British Library, 1998).
Monday 7 December 2009
Notes on Mir 'Ali Shir (1)
The title of Mir (from the Arabic amir, 'Prince' or, sometimes, 'Commander') was not inherited, as is still regularly stated - for example, on the relevant wikipedia article - but awarded. The idea that Mir 'Ali Shir came by the title because he belonged to the aristocracy is erroneous - unfortunately, because this assertion was first made by the otherwise magisterial V. V. Bartol'd, it has stuck.
It is more likely Mir 'Ali Shir acquired the handle after being appointed an amir of the divan-i a'la, or turk divani, the branch of the state administration dealing with the Turco-Mongolian tribes and military affairs, in 876/1472 [Khwandamir, II, fol. 159]. Also known as the divan-i buzurg or tuvaji divani, this stood as a counterpart to the sart divani or divan-i mal, which dealt with the Persian (or Tajik) population [Subtelny, 'Bakhshi and Beg', p803].
Mir 'Ali Shir's origins were slightly more prosaic; he was from a family of Uighur scribes (bakhshis) that had faithfully served the Timurid dynasty for several generations [Dughlat, II, fol. 90]. Additionally, Mir 'Ali Shir shared a bond of foster-brotherhood (kukultashi) with Sultan Husayn Mirza 'Bayqara' (r. 873/1469-911/1506) of Herat [Subtelny, 'Mir Ali Shir', pp90-93].
References
V. V. Bartol’d, ‘Mīr Alī Shīr’, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, trans. by V. and T. Minorsky, 3 vols (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962–63), III (1962), 1-72.
Khwandamir, Habibu’s-Siyar: Tome Three, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 24, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1994).
Mirza Haydar Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Khans of Moghulistan, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 38, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1996).
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī: Bakshī and Beg’, in Eucharisterion: Essays Presented to Omeljan Pritsak on his 60th Birthday by his Colleagues and Students, ed. by I. Ševčenko and F. E. Sysyn, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 3-4/2 (1979-80), 797-807.
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Mīr Alī Shīr Nawā’ī’, EI², VII (1993), 90-93.
It is more likely Mir 'Ali Shir acquired the handle after being appointed an amir of the divan-i a'la, or turk divani, the branch of the state administration dealing with the Turco-Mongolian tribes and military affairs, in 876/1472 [Khwandamir, II, fol. 159]. Also known as the divan-i buzurg or tuvaji divani, this stood as a counterpart to the sart divani or divan-i mal, which dealt with the Persian (or Tajik) population [Subtelny, 'Bakhshi and Beg', p803].
Mir 'Ali Shir's origins were slightly more prosaic; he was from a family of Uighur scribes (bakhshis) that had faithfully served the Timurid dynasty for several generations [Dughlat, II, fol. 90]. Additionally, Mir 'Ali Shir shared a bond of foster-brotherhood (kukultashi) with Sultan Husayn Mirza 'Bayqara' (r. 873/1469-911/1506) of Herat [Subtelny, 'Mir Ali Shir', pp90-93].
References
V. V. Bartol’d, ‘Mīr Alī Shīr’, Four Studies on the History of Central Asia, trans. by V. and T. Minorsky, 3 vols (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962–63), III (1962), 1-72.
Khwandamir, Habibu’s-Siyar: Tome Three, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 24, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1994).
Mirza Haydar Dughlat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi: A History of the Khans of Moghulistan, trans. by Wheeler M. Thackston, Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures, 38, 2 vols (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1996).
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Alī Shīr Navā’ī: Bakshī and Beg’, in Eucharisterion: Essays Presented to Omeljan Pritsak on his 60th Birthday by his Colleagues and Students, ed. by I. Ševčenko and F. E. Sysyn, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 3-4/2 (1979-80), 797-807.
Subtelny, M. E., ‘Mīr Alī Shīr Nawā’ī’, EI², VII (1993), 90-93.
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